I Did It... I Just Ordered A Black KEY2... Moving On From My Priv

After using my Priv for a month shy of 3 years, I will be transitioning to a KEY2. I just placed my order for a Black KEY2 from Amazon. Although I have been very happy with my Priv during this almost 3 years, I have been experiencing some issues of late that were not making me feel confident my Priv would continue to function as I require in the near future.

I have checked out other devices over the past few months and today I watched the Pixel 3 Google Event. Similar to Samsung and Apple, it's was clear these devices are all about the camera. I do use the device camera but it's not my #1 priority... I need a device that I can use to communicate using voice, email, and text over the different messaging apps I use. I went hands on with a S9 and a Pixel 2 but I just could not bring myself to believe I would ever be comfortable typing on glass. I have been with BlackBerry since 2005 starting with a 7130C device and I truly believe that I will be the most comfortable, as I have been over all these years, typing on a PKB.

I read through the threads here on CrackBerry regarding cases/screen protectors and it seems that the tempered glass screen protector from Supershieldz received the highest endorsement as well as the BlackBerry OEM Soft Shell Case... which unfortunately are nonexistent here in the states. I was able to place an order for one from Blueshop and that will be on it's way today and hopefully arriving towards the end of next week. I am hopeful I will like the KEY2 and I will report back once I receive it and get it activated with AT&T.

Bob

Niice! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you get it and spend some time with it.

Hope all works well for you and look forward to your opinion on the keytwo. I will be getting one when my contract is due for renewal at the end of this month.

Posted via my Awesome passport

Yes congrats. Let us know what you think. Its fun reading other people's thoughts on a device.

I think you're going to be very happy. I love the KEY2!

Originally Posted by Bob80220

After using my Priv for a month shy of 3 years, I will be transitioning to a KEY2. I just placed my order for a Black KEY2 from Amazon. Although I have been very happy with my Priv during this almost 3 years, I have been experiencing some issues of late that were not making me feel confident my Priv would continue to function as I require in the near future.

I have checked out other devices over the past few months and today I watched the Pixel 3 Google Event. Similar to Samsung and Apple, it's was clear these devices are all about the camera. I do use the device camera but it's not my #1 priority... I need a device that I can use to communicate using voice, email, and text over the different messaging apps I use. I went hands on with a S9 and a Pixel 2 but I just could not bring myself to believe I would ever be comfortable typing on glass. I have been with BlackBerry since 2005 starting with a 7130C device and I truly believe that I will be the most comfortable, as I have been over all these years, typing on a PKB.

I read through the threads here on CrackBerry regarding cases/screen protectors and it seems that the tempered glass screen protector from Supershieldz received the highest endorsement as well as the BlackBerry OEM Soft Shell Case... which unfortunately are nonexistent here in the states. I was able to place an order for one from Blueshop and that will be on it's way today and hopefully arriving towards the end of next week. I am hopeful I will like the KEY2 and I will report back once I receive it and get it activated with AT&T.

Bob

Performance on KEY2 is night and day vs PRIV. You will be very impressed with its snappy performance.

Envious is the word. I hope you are happy with your new device. Take note of the space bar, if it's loose and it bothers you, you may want to return it and get a replacement. Usually have a limited number of days to do a straight return and then it's under the warranty contract.

Don't mean to scare you, just looking out for you. Hopefully your unit is perfect

Congrats

Originally Posted by The_Passporter

Envious is the word. I hope you are happy with your new device. Take note of the space bar, if it's loose and it bothers you, you may want to return it and get a replacement. Usually have a limited number of days to do a straight return and then it's under the warranty contract.

Don't mean to scare you, just looking out for you. Hopefully your unit is perfect

Congrats

Yes, I am aware there have been reports of a loose space bar key on some KEY2s. I will most definitely check for that and see if it is concerning. As you also pointed out, I am aware there is a limited window to exchange the KEY2 for a replacement from the vendor as opposed to dealing with a warranty return through BBMo.

Bob

I just picked up my KEY2 Model BBF100-2 at Best Buy. It came in a day earlier than originally scheduled so that made my day. I initially ordered from Amazon but cancelled the order and went through Best Buy because they have a better return/exchange policy as I understand it. Plus, I can deal with someone face to face in the event I have an issue in their 14 day return/exchange window.

I checked out the space key and I am not noticing any looseness or wobble... all appears to be good with that reported issue... 👍 I'm liking the keyboard much more in comparison to the Priv.

I connected to WiFi and did the OS update showing an August 5 Security Patch Build ABE181 which is current I believe. I also did all my BlackBerry Beta App updates. I will be doing a clean install of my apps, etc. over the weekend as I familiarize myself with the KEY2.

Tomorrow I will go see my lady friend who works for AT&T and I will install my SIM card from my Priv and check it out on the network. I won't be using it as my primary device until my OEM Soft Shell Case and Supershieldz screen protector arrives next week.

I will update this thread or post any questions that might come up that I can't find the answers to here on CrackBerry. So far so good and based on my initial early getting acquainted time with my KEY2 I think I will be very pleased... 😁

Bob

Originally Posted by Bob80220

I just picked up my KEY2 Model BBF100-2 at Best Buy. It came in a day earlier than originally scheduled so that made my day. I initially ordered from Amazon but cancelled the order and went through Best Buy because they have a better return/exchange policy as I understand it. Plus, I can deal with someone face to face in the event I have an issue in their 14 day return/exchange window.

I checked out the space key and I am not noticing any looseness or wobble... all appears to be good with that reported issue... 👍 I'm liking the keyboard much more in comparison to the Priv.

I connected to WiFi and did the OS update showing an August 5 Security Patch Build ABE181 which is current I believe. I also did all my BlackBerry Beta App updates. I will be doing a clean install of my apps, etc. over the weekend as I familiarize myself with the KEY2.

Tomorrow I will go see my lady friend who works for AT&T and I will install my SIM card from my Priv and check it out on the network. I won't be using it as my primary device until my OEM Soft Shell Case and Supershieldz screen protector arrives next week.

I will update this thread or post any questions that might come up that I can't find the answers to here on CrackBerry. So far so good and based on my initial early getting acquainted time with my KEY2 I think I will be very pleased... 😁

Bob

Glad you like the keytwo so far and to hear that the spacebar is OK. Good luck with your new device and hopefully I will be another keytwo owner soon.

Posted via my Awesome passport

subscribed to this thread since I am considering upgrading to the KEY2 from my KEYone Black Limited

Originally Posted by Bla1ze

Niice! Looking forward to hearing your thoughts when you get it and spend some time with it.

Having spent the past couple of days setting up my KEY2 and getting familiar with it, here are some of my observations coming from a PRIV after almost 3 years.

The KEY2 is a damn nice device and in a lot of ways very reminiscent of the Bold 9900 as some say. I have had every PKB BlackBerry, except the Passport, since 2005 and this device feels similar in a number of ways to those experiences. It feels very nice to use and it is much more comfortable in your hand than the PRIV. Much lighter, narrower, and the keyboard is much better to type on. I did truly enjoy my PRIV but it was time to move on after 3 years, and it appears my decision to get a KEY2 was the correct one.

In addition to the keyboard being very nice to type on, the battery life is freakin amazing. Starting with a full charge I finished setting up my KEY2 and now have 76 apps installed. I did a lot of browsing on other forums, sent and read emails, and just explored all that was on the device. By the time I was done last night I still had 40% of battery remaining and SOT of 7+ hours. The PRIV wouldn't have done that on 2 complete charges... hahaha This morning my 128GB SanDisk card arrived so I installed it and downloaded all my music to it form Spotify. The battery life is superb and the turn around time to recharge to 100% earlier today from 14% was very fast.

I installed my AT&T SIM card from my PRIV today and it fired up on the network just fine. I appear to be getting the same bars showing for signal strength as my PRIV and I'm on 4G LTE. I do have one concern regarding call quality. It isn't as clear as my PRIV, which was an AT&T purchased device, and it had HD Voice connectivity. I don't see this as an option anywhere like on my PRIV so my question is... is this what I should experience regarding call quality or is there something that can be done to make the voice on phone calls clearer. I have read this was an issue with non AT&T KEYones on AT&T, but I haven't read about this regarding the KEY2. Would it make a difference if I installed a new SIM card and registered the IMEI with AT&T? I will have to say I am not thrilled with the call clarity I experienced earlier today in comparison to my PRIV.

The screen size is obviously smaller than the PRIV, but in the big picture not that much of a sacrifice as the upside of the KEY2 over the PRIV is substantial. As I reported previously, I don't have a loose/wobbly space bar key and the scrolling from the keyboard is working very smoothly. Overall to date I am very satisfied with the KEY2. I have a lot more to do setting up the device but I wanted to give my first impressions after a full day after setting things up to where I currently am.

I do have one annoying issue after installing WhatsApp... I have double contacts showing in my Contacts app. This didn't happen on my PRIV so I could use some assistance with that if anyone can point me in the right direction. I will do some digging around today to see if I can get this sorted out. My OEM Soft Shell case will be delivered tomorrow so after getting my KEY2 in that I will take it out into the real world... hahaha

Well, there you have it for now and I do have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed typing this on my KEY2 keyboard... 👍

Bob

Originally Posted by Bob80220

Having spent the past couple of days setting up my KEY2 and getting familiar with it, here are some of my observations coming from a PRIV after almost 3 years.

The KEY2 is a damn nice device and in a lot of ways very reminiscent of the Bold 9900 as some say. I have had every PKB BlackBerry, except the Passport, since 2005 and this device feels similar in a number of ways to those experiences. It feels very nice to use and it is much more comfortable in your hand than the PRIV. Much lighter, narrower, and the keyboard is much better to type on. I did truly enjoy my PRIV but it was time to move on after 3 years, and it appears my decision to get a KEY2 was the correct one.

In addition to the keyboard being very nice to type on, the battery life is freakin amazing. Starting with a full charge I finished setting up my KEY2 and now have 76 apps installed. I did a lot of browsing on other forums, sent and read emails, and just explored all that was on the device. By the time I was done last night I still had 40% of battery remaining and SOT of 7+ hours. The PRIV wouldn't have done that on 2 complete charges... hahaha This morning my 128GB SanDisk card arrived so I installed it and downloaded all my music to it form Spotify. The battery life is superb and the turn around time to recharge to 100% earlier today from 14% was very fast.

I installed my AT&T SIM card from my PRIV today and it fired up on the network just fine. I appear to be getting the same bars showing for signal strength as my PRIV and I'm on 4G LTE. I do have one concern regarding call quality. It isn't as clear as my PRIV, which was an AT&T purchased device, and it had HD Voice connectivity. I don't see this as an option anywhere like on my PRIV so my question is... is this what I should experience regarding call quality or is there something that can be done to make the voice on phone calls clearer. I have read this was an issue with non AT&T KEYones on AT&T, but I haven't read about this regarding the KEY2. Would it make a difference if I installed a new SIM card and registered the IMEI with AT&T? I will have to say I am not thrilled with the call clarity I experienced earlier today in comparison to my PRIV.

The screen size is obviously smaller than the PRIV, but in the big picture not that much of a sacrifice as the upside of the KEY2 over the PRIV is substantial. As I reported previously, I don't have a loose/wobbly space bar key and the scrolling from the keyboard is working very smoothly. Overall to date I am very satisfied with the KEY2. I have a lot more to do setting up the device but I wanted to give my first impressions after a full day after setting things up to where I currently am.

I do have one annoying issue after installing WhatsApp... I have double contacts showing in my Contacts app. This didn't happen on my PRIV so I could use some assistance with that if anyone can point me in the right direction. I will do some digging around today to see if I can get this sorted out. My OEM Soft Shell case will be delivered tomorrow so after getting my KEY2 in that I will take it out into the real world... hahaha

Well, there you have it for now and I do have to say, I thoroughly enjoyed typing this on my KEY2 keyboard... 👍

Bob

I am enjoying reading about your journey to the KEY2 from your almost 3 years with the Priv. I have had my Priv that long but went to the KEYone about 16 months ago. I still use my Priv though, as a 2nd device, with T-Mobile Digits (2 linked phones). I'm thinking the KEY2 is an improvement over the KEYone. I actually like the Priv keyboard as much as KEYone keyboard (or even slightly more) but have heard the KEY2 keyboard is better than both of them.

Originally Posted by Bob80220

I just picked up my KEY2 Model BBF100-2 at Best Buy. It came in a day earlier than originally scheduled so that made my day. I initially ordered from Amazon but cancelled the order and went through Best Buy because they have a better return/exchange policy as I understand it. Plus, I can deal with someone face to face in the event I have an issue in their 14 day return/exchange window.

I checked out the space key and I am not noticing any looseness or wobble... all appears to be good with that reported issue... [emoji106] I'm liking the keyboard much more in comparison to the Priv.

I connected to WiFi and did the OS update showing an August 5 Security Patch Build ABE181 which is current I believe. I also did all my BlackBerry Beta App updates. I will be doing a clean install of my apps, etc. over the weekend as I familiarize myself with the KEY2.

Tomorrow I will go see my lady friend who works for AT&T and I will install my SIM card from my Priv and check it out on the network. I won't be using it as my primary device until my OEM Soft Shell Case and Supershieldz screen protector arrives next week.

I will update this thread or post any questions that might come up that I can't find the answers to here on CrackBerry. So far so good and based on my initial early getting acquainted time with my KEY2 I think I will be very pleased... [emoji16]

Bob

What's your device's build date btw? What does it say on the box label and in the MMI test ?

went from Priv to Keyone
returned to my Priv
bought a Key2 , used it for 1 month and returned to my Priv.
still using my Priv and sent 1 to do the 4GB mod.

nice to see that some of you like the Key2.

Originally Posted by the_boon

What's your device's build date btw? What does it say on the box label and in the MMI test ?

I am not finding a build date on the box, or at least any numbers that would indicate the build date. But from doing the MMI Test it shows a build date of 20180803... August 3, 2018

Bob

My OEM Soft Shell Case, that I ordered from Blueshop last Tuesday, just arrived. Very pleased with the shipping time from Quebec to Denver.

Now that my KEY2 is as snug as a bug in it's new case I will feel comfortable going out in the wild with it... ������

The OEM case, although more expensive than the others I found on Amazon, certainly appears to be worth the extra money. Fits great, has a nice look and feel, protects my KEY2 appropriately, side buttons/rocker volume button work as if it has no case which is very nice.

I highly recommend this case if you want to spend the extra money and you can track one down. Unfortunately they don't appear to be available in the US which is why I ordered from Blueshop.

EDIT: I put my Supershieldz screen protector on as well... as others commented here on CrackBerry it fits very nicely and the application process was easy peasy.

Bob

Originally Posted by Bob80220

I do have one annoying issue after installing WhatsApp... I have double contacts showing in my Contacts app. This didn't happen on my PRIV so I could use some assistance with that if anyone can point me in the right direction. I will do some digging around today to see if I can get this sorted out. My OEM Soft Shell case will be delivered tomorrow so after getting my KEY2 in that I will take it out into the real world... hahaha

Have you tried merging contacts? WhatsApp inserts it's own contacts within the contacts app, so you can merge them with your local ones (or from whichever account you have) as to avoid duplicates. If you recall BB10 did this automatically with Facebook and LinkedIn for instance.

If I recall correctly, I didn't have to do it manually on my PRIV, but did on my KEYᵒⁿᵉ. The good thing is there is an option within the contacts app to merge all, so you won't have to do it one by one. Hope this helps.

 Passport (10.3.3.3216) /  KEYᵒⁿᵉ "Black Edition" (8.1.0)

Originally Posted by JG_Agustin

Have you tried merging contacts? WhatsApp inserts it's own contacts within the contacts app, so you can merge them with your local ones (or from whichever account you have) as to avoid duplicates. If you recall BB10 did this automatically with Facebook and LinkedIn for instance.

If I recall correctly, I didn't have to do it manually on my PRIV, but did on my KEYᵒⁿᵉ. The good thing is there is an option within the contacts app to merge all, so you won't have to do it one by one. Hope this helps.

 Passport (10.3.3.3216) /  KEYᵒⁿᵉ "Black Edition" (8.1.0)

Thanks... I will check into that later today when I have time. As I mentioned, this issue didn't occur with my WhatsApp contacts when I set up my PRIV. Another thing I discovered is my BBM contacts are showing up in my Contacts App as well.

Bob

Originally Posted by Bob80220

Thanks... I will check into that later today when I have time. As I mentioned, this issue didn't occur with my WhatsApp contacts when I set up my PRIV. Another thing I discovered is my BBM contacts are showing up in my Contacts App as well.

Bob

Within the contacts app settings you can choose which accounts to display or hide. I think BBM and other apps' contacts display on default, but you can uncheck them in settings.

 Passport (10.3.3.3216) /  KEYᵒⁿᵉ "Black Edition" (8.1.0)

Originally Posted by JG_Agustin

Within the contacts app settings you can choose which accounts to display or hide. I think BBM and other apps' contacts display on default, but you can uncheck them in settings.

 Passport (10.3.3.3216) /  KEYᵒⁿᵉ "Black Edition" (8.1.0)

I just looked but I'm not seeing an option in the Contacts App settings regarding which accounts to display or hide.

Bob

Never mind... found it!!! Thanks for your help with this. Greatly appreciated!!!

Bob

I have had my Black KEY2 for 2 weeks today and I am very happy I transitioned to the KEY2. After having my PRIV for 3 years I was most definitely ready and due for a new device. These past 2 weeks have been thoroughly enjoyable using my new KEY2. I love the size/weight of this device in comparison to the PRIV. Even using the OEM BlackBerry Soft Shell Case the size of the KEY2 in my hand is much more comfortable than the PRIV in the OEM BlackBerry Hard Case. I do miss the screen size the PRIV had, but the functionality of the KEY2 over the PRIV more than makes up for sacrificing some screen size. I don't have any issue with the space bar key or fingerprint scanner/sensor as some have reported, and the PKB is a joy to type on. The camera is adequate for my needs, being that this is a communication device for me, and the pictures I have taken with the KEY2 are quite suitable for my purposes. If I'm going to take pictures that require a higher quality/resolution then I will use my digital camera.

The one issue I do have is the call clarity/quality in comparison to the PRIV which was an AT&T branded device so it had HD Voice Connectivity/VoLTE. Typically the call quality is acceptable with other cell phones except with my children who are all on iPhones. I find this very interesting as the call quality I experience talking with them is without a doubt worse than any others I have had phone conversations with... cellular or landline. They are on AT&T and using VoLTE… I haven't had the opportunity to have them disable VoLTE on their iPhones to see if perhaps it improves the call quality, but it will be something I am going to check out. I had a couple of conversations with AT&T Technical Support regarding this and they pointed out that the BlackBerry KEY2 is not an unlocked device they offer VoLTE/HD Voice Connectivity services. From what they told me the KEYone, although sold by AT&T, it wasn't available for that device either. The AT&T branded PRIV did however have HD Voice Connectivity. In addition to the iPhones, I was told AT&T offers VoLTE for the new Pixel 3 and 3XL which I found somewhat surprising.

So I am very happy to still be with BlackBerry using my Black KEY2 as the options I was considering were the S9 and the Pixel 3. But that would mean typing on glass and even though I checked out the S9 and Pixel devices, I just could not get comfortable typing on glass. Plus, after reading about some of the issues with the S9 and Pixel 3 devices, I would prefer to work through/with issues on a BlackBerry device as I have been with BlackBerry since 2005. The reality is it appears... all new devices certainly have their pluses and minuses. I would prefer to deal with the minuses with my BlackBerry Black KEY2 than an iPhone, Galaxy, or Pixel device. Having a PKB is a major plus for me.

EDIT: One thing I forgot to mention is the battery life with the KEY2... It is freakin amazing!!! That is a major plus!!!


Bob

I just did the same thing. It seems the Key2 has a few unresolved quirks.

I moved on from PRIV you'll be happy.