Feeling a bit nostalgic today, so I thought I'd share my experience with my first BlackBerry 10 phone - the Z10. I've been a BlackBerry user since the 8520.

I remember getting the Z10 upon release and it was a thing of beauty! It was different but that sleek design, the solid build quality, and that all-new BB10 operating system... I was absolutely mesmerised.

The gesture-based OS was so fluid and intuitive, a breath of fresh air compared to what everyone else was doing at the time. And the Hub? Genius! Looking at Android and iOS today, I can't help but say that in some shape or form, they were inspired by BB10 OS.

Let's not forget fantastic keyboard (even though it was on-screen) Z10 had. I could bash out emails and messages like a pro. It was the perfect blend of productivity and style.

Sadly, we all know how the BlackBerry story ended. It's a shame, because I truly believe BB10 was ahead of it's time. I often wonder what could have been if they'd managed to hold on.

I literally got every BB10 device after the Z10, with BlackBerry Passport SE being my favourite one of all. As for non BB10 BlackBerry devices, the Bold 9900 was my favourite.

Ah man! I wish I could return to those good old BlackBerry days.

I recently bought a BlackBerry Q10 off eBay to use as a dumbphone, but I can't connect it to a computer to add files. I tried adding a 64GB SD card, but it doesn't work because it needs a driver that I can't install without a computer, and to do that, I need to finish the setup, which is impossible. I can't connect my BlackBerry to any computer, Mac or Windows; it only recognizes the SD card. I've tried multiple cables, and I haven't been this frustrated in my life. Does someone know the solution?

I want the key2 to be my text/email/call device, and use it as a hotspot, (bitcoin wallets, bank app, etc) on a 2nd android tethered off of it. But to bypass the network hotspot limits, I also need to use an android app called "every proxy" (older versions are on Aptoide store). Will this setup work?

Bonjour à tous

J'ai bien réfléchis et ayant un téléphone du travail, envie de faire marche arrière avec mon privé, fan de BB, historique de chez BB, j'ai eu des curve, des bold, des passport, le key one et même le P9983.

Cependant, je veux le minimum, mail, appel, sms, un browser correct, après avoir voulu mon préféré de tous le BB passport SE, cela va être trop ancien, je m'y suis fais.

j'arrive à me décider après des semaines à opter pour un Key 2... MAISSSSSSSSSS :

Apparemment, plus de hub natif? OK, je vois que il faut prendre une autre app MAISSSSSS apparemment android 9 minimum?

Help vraiment les amis, éclairez moi.. J'ai pas envie d'y renoncer, mais là tout devient compliqué vraiment..

Hello everyone

I thought about it carefully and having a work phone, wanted to go back with my private one, fan of BB, history of BB, I had the curve, the bold, the passport, the key one and even the P9983 .

However, I want the minimum, email, call, SMS, a decent browser, after having wanted my favorite of all the BB passport SE, it will be too old, I got used to it.

I can decide after weeks to opt for a Key 2... BUTSSSSSSSSSS:

Apparently no more native hub? OK, I see that you have to take another app MAISSSSSS apparently android 9 minimum?

Really help friends, enlighten me.. I don't want to give it up, but now everything is really becoming complicated..

https://preview.redd.it/nyj0ovkypu4e1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c307d61177a5021dc53ff2bf6225cfdb9b369775

I had the Blackberry Storm and absolutely LOVED that phone. Unfortunately they didn't adjust to the times.

Too Bad

My mom is 92 and hates that phones don’t have keyboards (she went so far as to replace the motherboard in an old phone with one, not so long ago!).

She does not use WhatsApp, Facebook, or anything but texting and using the camera to send me pics.

What is Blackberry missing, that someone needs who really just wants a phone?

Hello, I am thinking if switching back to BB, I'm tired of a too much invasive smartphone. BB was the best device I ever had, so I would like to revive it. My use would be an everyday one, I just need phone and whatsapp to communicate. My question are:

1. What are the BB models I could use?
2. What mods will they need?
3. What limitations would I face?

Thank you very much

Thank you my friend for your service, i won't stop using you

Can't root. Can't update. Can't do nothing. It just sits on my desk as an alarm clock. I really do like this thing, though.

Hi, I'm considering buying a pretty cheap used BB Q10 in order to use it as a dumbphone but the battery in it is pretty much at the verge of death.

Buying a original battery on Ebay or Amazon is not an option in my budget due to import taxes in my country. Are any of the knock-off batteries on chinese sites like AliExpress reliable or safe?

They seem pretty cheap so I guess even if they die quickly I can buy 3 or 4 of them and just ditch the dead one.

I nearly got a blackberry as my first smartphone in about 2012-13 and the shop guy talked me into an iPhone, telling me "you'll adapt to the touchscreen and never miss the keyboard". I did not adapt, but the iPhone lasted me seven or eight years, so by the time I replaced my phone I had pretty much missed the boat.

Because I have never been a blackberry user I'm not sure of the limitations of the devices, especially now, and I'm struggling to find answers for my use case online.

I want to use a blackberry without a SIM, and possibly entirely offline, to write. I don't know if the keyboard will work for me but hand problems limit me using and lifting computers often, and I can't write long format on a touchscreen because it makes me want to do a murder. So I'm curious to see if the berry will be the answer.

Priories are therefore: good keyboard, decent text editor (simple, think more notepad/textedit than word) and the ability to copy that text off the device easily.

The 9000 appeals and I could get near me, but I'm not sure whether I need bbos/BB10 in order to get a decent text editor and function. I also don't know if there's an easy way to get text off the thing. I'm thinking SD card but I do have intermittent access to a Mac computer also, so maybe via cable?

Am I unhinged? Should I prefer a Bb10 phone over a bbos one? And is there an easy way to copy large amounts of text off the phone without internet connectivity? And is there something else I'm missing that an experienced blackberrier would know?

edited: to try and fix the typo in the title but to no avail.

I got ePSXe and an ancient version of PPSSPP. Most games barely function on PPSSPP lol. I did use gba.emu for a while but now there's no audio at all. Do you have any recommendations for both a GBA emulator and a site where I can find apps or games that work on BB 10?

Also, side-question. Do SIM cards work in any of your phones? Mine just straight up doesn't detect it and it really sucks.

Hello everybody,

Since people ask a lot of questions regarding that project, and because u/Balika011 (the one-man project owner) can't answer them all, I I thought that it may be a good idea to write a quick summary of the current project status. Especially because in the last few days, a few questions arised. You can also ask your questions as well.

1/ What devices can be upgraded to Lineage OS 18.1 (Android 11)

The only devices that can be upgraded are the Passport (AT&T, black, white, red, silver) and the Priv

2/ Can we upgrade a Classic, a Z10, a Q10...

No, and never. Lineage OS was possible on Passport because Android builds actually exists for it (Blackberry planned to release the Silver Passport with Android 5.1), which gave a solid work base but the older/other devices do not have such a build.

3/ Can retail BB10 Passports be upgraded to Android ?

Right now, there are 2 cases :

3.1/ Unsecure BB10 devices (dev devices with unlocked bootloader) can be converted quite easily (most of the conversion stuff being the EFS partition which contains the IMEI and other critical data, and also flash the bootloader from BB10 to Android)

3.2/ Retail BB10 devices can be converted but with the price of an hardware modification that is very hard to do (removing, dumping, reprogramming (EFS, Bootloader) and replacing the eMMC chip). Balika is still looking for an easier method but as for now, there is none.

4/ I do have a "Not for sale" Passport with Android 5.02 or Android 5.1 installed on it, can I upgrade to Lineage OS ?

Those devices were used while Blackberry was porting Android on the Passport, while also working on the incoming Priv.

You can install Lineage OS on these devices because they do have an unlocked Android bootloader. Actually, there's still an hardware revision (with some hardware changes) that is not supported (called "V3 - from februay/april 2014") but for the others, it's pretty easy to do so.

If you plan to do so, we would be grateful if you would like to dump your current device data (I can help to do so) as we try to collect as much Android builds as we can (we currently do have 7 full firmwares and 10 partial ones)

5/ How does Lineage OS 18.1 works on the Priv ?

All of the drivers were ported, it means that you can use pretty much everything on the phone (camera, bluetooth, nfc, wifi, network...) but this device is plagged by it's 808 SOC which heats A LOT and constantly throttle. This is not an ideal experience right now.

6/ How does Lineage OS 18.1 works on the Passport ?

This is, surprinsingly, a fairly satisfying experience. It's obviously slower than a 2024 device, but in some cases, and as a reference, it's faster than the Key2. For most apps, it's always faster than the Key1. Most of the apps do react very well to the square screen (the only issue so far is with Instagram), and the keyboard (as well as the scrolling feature) does offers a very satisfying experience.

7/ What is the current status of Lineage OS 18.1 on the Passport ?

Balika is still working on the remaining bugs (a few bugs related to the RIL - Radio Layer Interface, the keyboard scrolling which is sometimes junky, NFC, Camera and a few others)

As for now, I'm daily driving the Passport since about 1 month and despite the remaining bugs, I can do pretty much everything I was doing before, including Google Services : Calls, Telegram, Google Maps, Synology Drive, Facebook, Instagram, X, Office 365, Play Store, Mail, Brave, Deezer...)

As far as I know (because we helped them to install it), there is currently 4 users with Lineage OS on their Passports.

8/ Is Lineage OS faster than original Blackberry 5.1 builds

YES ! No doubt (I did some benchmarks, as I own multiple devices). And this is especially nice on Lineage because you do have gestures, it means that you can remove the Android toolbar, which adds some screen space, while 5.1 still have that unremovable toolbar.

9/ Blackberry Bootchain

Balika recently defeated the Blackberry Bootchain using an exploit. For the experts, here's some insights :

It starts by executing a bootchain that's signed by blackberry. The exploit happens when the SBL1 wants to load the next boot stage. It puts the soc into debug mode then resets the chip. When it starts up instead of the PBL it starts to execute the code i've put into the memory. Then from that code I can load any SBL1. Currently I use a patched version of bb's but we can use source-built ones as well.

The boot chain is the following: PBL -> secure BBSS -> signed SBL1 -> exploit SBL1 to load custom RPM and custom PBL -> reset AP into custom PBL (from RPM) -> custom PBL -> insecure BBSS -> patched SBL1 -> TZ -> RPM -> WDT -> LK

10/ How can I acquire a Lineage OS Passport

While helping Balika on the project, I sourced a lot of Blackberry Passport devices running Android, I don't need them anymore and will sell a few of them (probably 3~5) very soon in a price range between 400$ and 500$ (this is the price I paid them - and will give the proof. I won't make money on Balika's work)

Follow the thread if you want to know when the devices will be available.

! BE CAREFUL ! I'm pretty sure that some people will try to make money on it. Prototype devices do NOT cost > 500$. Everything above that price is not a "fair" price.

11/ Claim : BB10 Passport can't be converted to Android AT ALL

This is a question that has been raised by u/TrumpetTiger I guess that a few other people are asking. As a proof, here's a video of a retail BB10 device that has been converted. The EMEI is the same on the box, on the device, and on the OS as well.

IMEI BlackBerry Passport Android Balika

12/ Ressources

Discord server : Discord

13/ What's next ?

Balika will at some point publish the sources of the various tools he developped. I can testify that I did see them, and he sometimes does public debugging sessions in which you can see his screen.

Releasing the tools is not as simple as it seems to be. Most of the times, they are just working in the dev. environment, and when you plan to release them, you have to "secure" the code to avoid crashes, make documentation, try on various devices... which raises more questions than before. It's just... a pain !

14/ Credits

The project is been driven by a single man, u/Balika011, with some help around (providing Android prototypes, debug, support...) on his own spare time. He worked on that project for at least 2 years. This is not a commercial project, it's an hobby, and it has to be seen like that. Please don't do some "shopping list", we're already a few with Lineage running on our devices and it's a joy to use it.

Lost my Blackberry Curve in the snow winter of 2012 or 2013 and found it the following Spring.Tucked it into a box until now, and it's charging again. Took a licking but kept on ticking!

i'm thinking of getting a dumbphone for a long time and tbh the only thing keeping me away is whatsapp. my parents basically only use that for conversations and i'd like to be able to communicate with them while running errands etc. they don't do and never have done SMS so it's whatsapp or nothing. so how really doable is this work around of whatsapp web on a blackberry classic, with some newer web brownser apk?
i'm having trouble finding a bb keyone, which i understand is the best i could do

i'll still have a smartphone due to work needs (nowadays i have 2, one for work and one for personal purposes) so i'd just keep whatsapp logged into that and keep it away as i do with my work smartphone

Back in the day I used to play this fun hybrid 2D 3D sidescrolling spaceship shooter game. You would put your finger on the spaceship and shoot while dodging incoming lasers. There were boss battles at the end of each level.

I cannot for the life of me find evidence of its existence. Does anybody else remember this game?

Edit: No it isn’t Satellite Assault or AlphaWave, though similar artstyle.

Ive got an old BB 8520 curve. Do you have any ideas on what I can do with it?

Any idea of how to change fonts on Blackberry classic? BB OS 10 in general?

So, like many people it seems, my wifi has been playing funny buggers and I finally factory reset the phone. However, I now can't access the phone at all. I input the sim, no sim detected (as before) and selecting wifi means nothing is detected. The phone won't do anything without a network... Any help? Please!

Edit: If I reset my phone, I found a small window it would connect to wifi. I quickly connected and got past the initial setup. Now I'm back to trying to figure out how to use my phone again with no network. There's no sim card or network access. It *sometimes* connects, but there's no reliability to it, as with wifi. USB tethering doesn't work either.

Had my Key2 for a few days, absolutely loving it but I want to maximize battery life, it's lasting me nearly all day and I want to make it last the whole of the day. Any tips are massively appreciated 😊

Hey everyone, apologies for the delays, but I've been working hard to bring the app back to life, and I’m happy to say it’s finally here!

https://youtu.be/01A2P9dp5Aw {Download link in Comments Section}

• No more crashes! ✅
• The app is now super stable! ⚡
• Messenger might still not work as expected, but everything else is good to go! 👍

Important: Be sure to delete the old version of the app completely before installing this one.

Check out the video to see how smoothly it’s running now – no crashes!
https://youtube.com/shorts/ogEXdCX6VfE?feature=share

I know that Torch 9800 has a 2FF SIM card slot. Can I use it for torch 9800 if I insert a gender that changes to 2FF to 4FF SIM card?

Kann das BlackBerry Curve 9360 oder ein anderes Modell noch irgendwie genutzt werden? Würde das gerne kaufen, einfach weil ich als Kind immer eins haben wollte. Es wäre aber super, wenn man es irgendwie „modernisieren“ könnte. So Kleinigkeiten wie WhatsApp oder so, würden schon reichen. :)

I have an att branded keyone that I have been able to enable volte on and it meets all the band requirements for att but for some reason when I put my sim in it I can’t make calls. I can use data and text but calls instantly drop. I have contacted att with little help about it and am wondering if anyone has had this issue before.

I don't really know what subreddit to ask - so if anybody has better recommendations than here, I'll ask around. I had a BlackBerry Torch 9180 for the longest time before having to upgrade (begrudgingly, I actually really loved that thing). I figured it was pretty indestructible but one morning I woke up, and it was dead. I even got a few new batteries for it, it is completely dead. It came out of the blue.

I had kitten photos of my senior cats and I'm so disappointed I lost them forever. I hooked my phone up to my laptop and it recognized it...but it wanted my password put into the phone to get into my files. Well, the phone doesn't turn on to put the password in. I've been stumped for years and I really want those cherished photos back. Does anybody know how I can bypass the security measures and get into my phone?

The SD card wasn't the place it was stored in, it was the internal memory. I know - reaaal smart.

Thank you so much in advance.

(If I figure it out, I can also comment kitten photos as thanks / cat tax.)