It’s been a long time coming, but the day is finally here.

As of January 4, 2022, BlackBerry has ended access to basic smartphone functionality.

What that means for the rare BlackBerry user

If you have a BlackBerry that’s running the BlackBerry 10 software of 7.1 OS and earlier, it’s time to frame it and hang it up on the wall. That’s all it’s good for now.

As of today, you can bid bye to:

• Sending and receiving messages
• Phone calls
• Accessing the internet

Goodbye. It’s time to sleep.

Once the icon of professionalism and overall coolness, BlackBerry had a cult-like following of 80 million active users in 2012. You could see society’s crème de la crème like President Obama and Kim K furiously button mashing while looking oh so serious.

And then Steve Jobs, Android, and the company itself threw a wrench into the workings by refusing to innovate.

Ah well, at least MBA students have a new case study for them.

Note: In most cases, newer Android-based BlackBerry phones will continue to function normally. Just have a check though.