[thurask]

Obviously, we are not asking for continued support or anything, but we should be able to continue to use the device that we have paid in full. At least push out one final update to allow customers to bypass this step or something. That would be the right thing to do. It's simply wrong to leave your customers out in the cold like this.

Contradicting your first sentence with your second sentence notwithstanding, unless your job title is "chief information officer", you're not BlackBerry's customer anymore. That it took them until 2018-2020 to mothball the PlayBook is impressive given that they washed their hands of it in 2014.

It would be nice if they cleanly divorced devices from the mothership servers (activation, etc.), but that would require developers and money that they don't have anymore to retrofit the system intended to be shackled to BlackBerry servers to work independently. Moreover, just how much of the PlayBook is dependent on phoning home is unknown; for example, in their infinite wisdom, BB10 proximity sensors are server-bound. Activation aside, the more stuff in the OS that is counter-intuitively online, the more work it would need to make some abandonware platform from 2011 work in 2020.

And, if they really wanted to allow their users to use their devices in full, they would have facilitated superuser access ala OnePlus/Google/etc, but treating the OS as anything other than a black box and the user as anyone other than an adversary is not BlackBerry's style.

[Jason Page]

I would feel better about a device that does not need to "call home" in order to function.

Why PlayBook for me, which I forgot to emphasize? There are apps on there that have no Android equivalent. ie HarmonySketch.

[Jason Page]

Makes me wonder if all this non removable battery, having to always dial home as well as data leaching apps have something more to do with deep state data collecting musings masquerade in planned obsolescent market demands.

That's not a fight however that BB or any company for that matter can win.

Thinking with my tinfoil cap on....

[PantherBlitz]

Obviously, we are not asking for continued support or anything, but we should be able to continue to use the device that we have paid in full. At least push out one final update to allow customers to bypass this step or something.

That step is part of the "special sauce" that you signed up for when you bought BlackBerry. The downside, of course, is what you are experiencing now. I think that we are all resigned to the fact that no more activations are just part of the declining functionality of these devices.

[conite]

Am I the only one who likes to decide on his own, whether to buy a new device or continue using the one I already bought?

Yes.

[johnny_bravo72]

One of us! One of us! 😀

[Adrian Grant1]

Am I the only one who likes to decide on his own, whether to buy a new device or continue using the one I already bought?

AGREED. We are supposed to be here supporting Blackberry not switching from it??

[conite]

AGREED. We are supposed to be here supporting Blackberry not switching from it??

How are you supporting BlackBerry at all by hanging on to a 2011 PlayBook?

As a matter of fact, your enquiry is just costing them money.

If you want to support BlackBerry, start a company and invest in a UEM solution. Or manufacture cars, and incorporate QNX-auto. Or buy a trucking company and institute BlackBerry Radar.

[Adrian Grant1]

How are you supporting BlackBerry at all by hanging on to a 2011 PlayBook?

As a matter of fact, your enquiry is just costing them money.

If you want to support BlackBerry, start a company and invest in a UEM solution. Or manufacture cars, and incorporate QNX-auto. Or by a trucking company and institute BlackBerry Radar.

Umm what? I have the latest tablet from them and thats what I need at the moment. They havent even have manufactured cars up for sale yet and everything else you listed I have no need for? Im needing my tablet and as I said I have the latest version so your post makes absolute no sense .

[joeldf]

How are you supporting BlackBerry at all by hanging on to a 2011 PlayBook?

As a matter of fact, your enquiry is just costing them money.

If you want to support BlackBerry, start a company and invest in a UEM solution. Or manufacture cars, and incorporate QNX-auto. Or by a trucking company and institute BlackBerry Radar.

Emotional support is all BlackBerry needs to keep going...

That's all I've given them after I bought my Z10 in 2013. Even then, it was an AT&T refurb, so maybe BlackBerry never got anything from me then.

[conite]

Umm what? I have the latest tablet from them and thats what I need at the moment. They havent even have manufactured cars up for sale yet and everything else you listed I have no need for? Im needing my tablet and as I said I have the latest version so your post makes absolute no sense .

BlackBerry is a software company. They don't build hardware.

Again, in what way do you support BlackBerry by owning a 2011 EOL PlayBook? Buying a Fire tablet would actually SAVE them money rather than having to deal with your request.

[Adrian Grant1]

BlackBerry is a software company. They don't build hardware.

Again, in what way do you support BlackBerry by owning a 2011 EOL PlayBook? Buying a Fire tablet would actually SAVE them money rather than having to deal with your request.

First of all "MY" Blackberry Tablet didnt come out in 2011 thats when the tablet was first released. Lmao.. And 2nd done discussing this with you we will see what happens.

[thurask]

First of all "MY" Blackberry Tablet didnt come out in 2011 thats when the tablet was first released. Lmao.. And 2nd done discussing this with you we will see what happens.

First of all "MY" IBM PC didn't come out in 1981 that's when the computer was first released, that's why IBM should still produce software for it...

[barry_vancouver]

If the playbook still "works", why force the product to "phone home" for activation when one wants a factory reset to clear out the bugs? The product is still useful as a reader and media player. The problem is that the activation process is seemingly killing off the device earlier than needed.

[Computer Souq]

Oky lets make hashtag open playbook server

[Adrian Grant1]

oky lets make hashtag open playbook server

#openplaybookserver

[Chuck Finley69]

#openplaybookserver

How much are you willing to pay?

[johnny_bravo72]

I smell a petition brewing. 😉

[Chuck Finley69]

With a Kickstarter or gofundme page. I’m soooo excited... why didn’t anyone else think of this first?

[co4nd]

Am I the only one who likes to decide on his own, whether to buy a new device or continue using the one I already bought?

No but the actual number is so insignificant to the market that you might as well be.

[TrumpetTiger]

If you are still using a BB PlayBook device, do not perform a security wipe if you plan to continue using it. BlackBerry activation servers have been down past couple months, and without any press release or notification about it from BlackBerry.

I have written this letter of plea to BlackBerry in response.

Hey Jason,

Are you getting the 404 error referenced in other Internet locations? I'm a fan of reaching out to keep BB10 and the Playbook alive by the way, so props on the letter. As you may have noticed there are many on CB who are somewhat, shall we say, less than supportive of Blackberry devices running Blackberry-designed operating systems these days. Feel free to PM if you're interested in other ways to keep going with BB10 and the Playbook and please let me know on the error--I recently activated a Playbook with no problem so there may be something that can be done without requiring the intervention of the Blackberry Limited BOD. (Blackberry Limited being the company most think of when they use the term Blackberry and Blackberry Mobile being the brand name that is owned by TCL, who are actually making the GooBerrys under the Blackberry name.)

[JohnAtBlackBerry]

Howdy!

If you were experiencing the PlayBook activation error in the Setup Wizard, could you please try again now? The team here fixed a connection issue that should solve the problem.

Cheers!

John

[quaint]

Hi John,

Thank you so much for your post. I've had the same issues, but now it indeed worked for me.

[jamescarruthers]

Howdy!

If you were experiencing the PlayBook activation error in the Setup Wizard, could you please try again now? The team here fixed a connection issue that should solve the problem.

Cheers!

John

Wow! I didn't see this coming, at all. I've never seen so much action in the Playbook forums for years.

Thank you.

Are you lot going to play nice now?


Posted via CB10

[conite]

Wow! I didn't see this coming, at all. I've never seen so much action in the Playbook forums for years.

Thank you.

Are you lot going to play nice now?


Posted via CB10

Lol.

I don't actually think I didn't play nice. I was just stating that beyond rebooting something, or plugging something back in, no development would ever take place to fix an issue. Case in point.