Love the KEYone but sadly have to go back to my S8 Plus

Purchased the unlocked GSM KeyONE from Amazon. Ive been a blackberry user for years and when they announced the KeyONE i was very hopeful that this was the modern day Blackberry we all wanted. I even looked past their extremely poor rollout which they only have themselves to blame. So i get the phone and switch everything over and just like everyone else I'm blown away by the keyboard. Phone is solid feels good seems to be well built. Screen is smaller but entirely adequate. Phone moves fast, real fast. Battery life is amazing! Then the little issues start popping up. Every few hours it doesn't recognize a SIM card is present, so I have to take the card out, reboot, and then its fine. Having to remove and reinstall the SIM card maybe every day or so isn't the worst thing in the world but I can't lie its a pain in the a$$! I attach it via bluetooth to my car and its initially fine. Next time I go in my car its disconnected and has to find it all over again. This happens every day. Once again a pain but totally workable. Then we get to notifications. Dont even get me started on notifications! That one to me is totally unacceptable. Phone signal is poor at best and thats saying it nicely. I can barely get a signal in my house (where iPhone's and my Galaxy S8 Plus were able to get a signal just fine). So when you break it down, I can't make or receive calls in my home because of the signal issue that I've read on the forums is wide spread. I can't get notifications from basic apps like CNN and ESPN. I can't drive in my car without having to attach my phone through the bad bluetooth each day. I love the phone, I love the way it feels, and i absolutely love the keyboard BUT after a couple weeks its time to change back. I need the phone to be, well, a phone! If they (blaming both Blackberry and TCL) can't even get signal strength worked out in a couple months then I'm guessing its a hardware issue. Notifications should have been an easy and quick fix but as of the Aug update its still not fixes. Sorry Blackberry I was loyal for years and was very open to coming back but I can't wait any longer for you to catch up with everyone else.

I did the same thing after returning two defective devices I don't believe the keyone is ready for prime time yet.

Same here. I really love the physical aspects of the phone, but when it won't operate as a phone, it is a big problem. I wish BlackBerry Mobile would release a statement so we know what is going on and whether the poor reception is fixable.

I totally agree with that. I was hoping after reading post after post on the forums about the poor reception that Blackberry would comment, or at least even just acknowledge that a problem exists and that theyre looking into it but their silence concerns me even more.

I had issues with my SIM card as well and thought I might have to send it back. Took the KEYᵒⁿᵉ to a T-Mobile store and they replaced the SIM card as defective.

Not one issue with my SIM card since.

Also, not having signal or Bluetooth issues. Way better than the DTEK60 it replaced.

The notification issue is some serious BS. I'm not sure BBMobile has even addressed it at this point.

Thats awesome I wish mine worked that flawlessly.

This post sums up exactly how I'm feeling. I've posted several times on the non-stop bluetooth issues, etc. Luckily for me I use the hub for all things email and no notifcation issues but this is simply an incredible customer service flop. If I ran my business like TCL or Blackberry Mobile or whomever it is these days run thier business, I'd simply be out of business. I'm pissed...and now going to have to go buy another phone after dropping $550 for this. Simply disgusted.

what's the fanboy take on this?
Is this just a microscopic minority of BB haters being negative about the phone, or are there issues that TCL ought to try and address?

are the signal issues general or related to carrier?

If it's O2 in Southend then generally the signal is diabolical particularly in westcliff where the mast still has not been replaced after a fire five years ago.

Well in my case I am absolutely not a "blackberry hater" as I've had many blackberry's over the years and I actually didnt think what i wrote was negative as it was an accurate accounting of my experiences with this phone. And if you read these forums you will see its not just me who are experiencing these issues. Lastly, what do you think the "fanboy" take is going to be? Thats a loaded question if I've ever heard one lol

Nor am I a "Blackberry hater". In fact, anyone that has bought a KeyOne clearly loves the product and brand. Why else at this point in time? I have issues with this phone that are software related from 2 updates ago and they simply won't fix them. Tons of folks have complained about the notifications issue, yet still no fix there either. I have owned every Blackberry since 2003 but this is ridiculous and needs to be addressed.

Lets be honest about this whole thing. This was Blackberry's final effort to gain some "mainstream" users to go back plus get hard core Blackberry users to move forward with them. And they screwed this up from go. Way before I decided to send this phone back yesterday, the release of this phone was handled horribly. They unveil the KeyONE and get great publicity and what happens next... They have to delay the release 3 months. They couldn't even capitalize on the great media exposure and publicity. Then when its finally released, the only 2 outlets to purchase the phone in the USA (Best Buy and Amazon) were sold out the morning of release day. Does Blackberry (or TCL) comment on the lack of inventory.... NO. Then when you finally get the phone its ridden with these annoying but easily fixed issues. OK maybe the signal issue is a hardware problem but don't for one minute tell me bluetooth connections and app notifications couldn't have been fixes immediately with an update. Does Blackberry fix anything... NO. And not only do they not fix any of this with the latest update but they also once again go mute and don't comment on any of it. Wheres Crackberry Kevin now? A post shows the screen pops out and he is on a video immediately showing how false that is. These forums are full of issues (some easily fixed, admittedly some harder to fix, and absolutely some non-issues that blackberry haters are just tossing in) and where's a comment from Blackberry now... NO WHERE. Where is Crackberry Kevin commenting on these problems... NO WHERE. And still with all that I wanted desperately to be able to use the KeyONE but with so many problems, no solutions in sight, and being totally ignored by Blackberry I had enough.

Sorry to hear. I haven't experienced any of those issues in my area in terms of cell service. The you can't go wrong with an S8/S8+ though. Two fantastic devices without a doubt.

It's really unfortunate that our experiences with the K1 differ so much. Having been a Samsung fan for many years, this time round I when it was time for a change I saw a K1 on display in CWH and bought it. After a month no issues at all - reception exactly the same or better than my S6 - calls are much clearer - battery life more than twice as good - I haven't noticed any issues with notifications - screen crystal clear even outside in sunlight - no lag and the camera as good as I'm used to and very good in low light. Video at 1080p with digital stabilisation is extremely good. Love the Hub - ditched the productivity tab - and play the odd game. Hopefully my experience continues as so far very happy with my jump to BlackBerry. The number of times people have asked me what phone it is when out in public places, is well into double figures. It's different......

I do wish I had the same experience as you are having. Trust me I was really loving the keyboard again.

I can't believe the notification issue is still NOT fixed. that is some serious BS.

Originally Posted by Neville A Daniels

If it's O2 in Southend then generally the signal is diabolical particularly invest Cliff weather mast still has not been replaced after a fire five years ago

Southend in essex?

But it's not really a blackberry anymore, is it? Non-proprietary software and some other company built the hardware. And I'm sorry but RIM would never allow a device to be rolled out with this many issues. They had better standards than this.

no problems at all after 3 month. Love my KEYone and it's better everyday: new update on the keyboard : don't have to toggle better tipping language. Sorry to hear about other people problems

Originally Posted by Mercuryuser

Southend in essex?

Yes and the Westcliff-on-Sea area

Originally Posted by Neville A Daniels

Yes and the Westcliff-on-Sea area

How about that. Another keyone owner in my town.

I feel the same way. Eager to switch because of the problems but a bit slow to react because I really love the K1. For me the notification issue is not acceptable. Hope for a fix very soon otherwise...

I love my KEYone. No issues here. I had one bug with an error message popping up but, a factory reset squashed it. Service is fine too for me.