End of Blackberry support in Plus (gsm provider)- Poland

Dear All,

I am a BlackBerry die hard user and love CrackBerry for wealth of practical information people are sharing here.

Recently, however, I got important information with absolute no public comment on it anywhere, even CrackBerry. My mobile service provider- Plus (in Poland) send me a text massage that as of 30th June 2018 they are discontinuing BlackBerry service. I suppose they want to free up the bandwidth for other uses.

I am using good old BB 9900 with a BIS plan. I intentionally never upgraded because of BIS coverage (able to send and receive e-mails on the go even if the signal is too small for voice calls, disregarding all the roaming data usage obstackles, etc.).

I was intending to use BIS/ BB 9900 to the very end, ie end of 2019 as declared by BlackBerry as a deadline for functionality of BIS.

Now, 1,5 year before the deadline, I am stuck with no knowledge of what is going to happen next. In Poland all 4 major GSM operateors used to provide BIS/BES service. I do not know if the other three are going to go the same direction as Plus or is there any (which one?) that will continue till the end of 2019.

I see a few options and thank you in advance for commenting on them:

1) Chose a different gsm provider in Poland with BIS support (which one?)
2) Upgrade to BlackBerry classic as a closest substitute to 9900 (would it work without Blackberry service support from operator? some of the data on BB10 were still going through BIS/BEs servers, didn't they?)
3) Buy a BIS plan from an operator outside Poland (eg Germany?, which one?). With now EU flat rates for all mobile usage (phones, data) it should work.
4) Upgrade to KeyOne (con- its too big for me, I like to have it small and discrete)
5) Stay with BB 9900 and relay on substitute e-mail client like LogicMail.

Any guys from Poland or another country with carriers getting out of Blackberry service with similar problems and confusion?

Warm Regards,

Sati1

Originally Posted by Sati1

Dear All,

I am a BlackBerry die hard user and love CrackBerry for wealth of practical information people are sharing here.

Recently, however, I got important information with absolute no public comment on it anywhere, even CrackBerry. My mobile service provider- Plus (in Poland) send me a text massage that as of 30th June 2018 they are discontinuing BlackBerry service. I suppose they want to free up the bandwidth for other uses.

I am using good old BB 9900 with a BIS plan. I intentionally never upgraded because of BIS coverage (able to send and receive e-mails on the go even if the signal is too small for voice calls, disregarding all the roaming data usage obstackles, etc.).

I was intending to use BIS/ BB 9900 to the very end, ie end of 2019 as declared by BlackBerry as a deadline for functionality of BIS.

Now, 1,5 year before the deadline, I am stuck with no knowledge of what is going to happen next. In Poland all 4 major GSM operateors used to provide BIS/BES service. I do not know if the other three are going to go the same direction as Plus or is there any (which one?) that will continue till the end of 2019.

I see a few options and thank you in advance for commenting on them:

1) Chose a different gsm provider in Poland with BIS support (which one?)
2) Upgrade to BlackBerry classic as a closest substitute to 9900 (would it work without Blackberry service support from operator? some of the data on BB10 were still going through BIS/BEs servers, didn't they?)
3) Buy a BIS plan from an operator outside Poland (eg Germany?, which one?). With now EU flat rates for all mobile usage (phones, data) it should work.
4) Upgrade to KeyOne (con- its too big for me, I like to have it small and discrete)
5) Stay with BB 9900 and relay on substitute e-mail client like LogicMail.

Any guys from Poland or another country with carriers getting out of Blackberry service with similar problems and confusion?

Warm Regards,

Sati1

With all uncertainty around BB10 as well in 18 months or so, just get the KEYone. Moving from BIS to BB10 to BBAndroid takes some getting used to. All three are similar yet different at same time. Just skip past BB10 and go to BBAndroid. The KEYone has been out long enoiugh that should feel confident with the phone. Youll get used to size, and youll wonder how you managed on smaller 9900 all this long....

Moving to Android/iOS is the only option that isn't at best a stopgap measure.

I would recommend checking with the other 3 carriers in Poland to see if they offer BIS. Should just be 3 phone calls.

If I was in your position and really attached to that device my options would progress in this order.
1. Call around the other networks and ask about BIS availability including planned termination dates then choose the one with the longest support.
2. If 1st option fails for any reason. Buy a classic as backup and test logicmail after June 1st to make sure you are happy with the functionality.
If logicmail works for you great, sell the classic and you'll not lose any money.
If it doesn't work out, take the classic out and move over to BB10. It's not as dire a situation as some on here will tell you, you can't buy paid apps but everything else is working perfectly and once 2020 rolls around we may lose the app store, but your phone won't just stop working overnight.

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Originally Posted by banana-man666

If I was in your position and really attached to that device my options would progress in this order.
1. Call around the other networks and ask about BIS availability including planned termination dates then choose the one with the longest support.
2. If 1st option fails for any reason. Buy a classic as backup and test logicmail after June 1st to make sure you are happy with the functionality.
If logicmail works for you great, sell the classic and you'll not lose any money.
If it doesn't work out, take the classic out and move over to BB10. It's not as dire a situation as some on here will tell you, you can't buy paid apps but everything else is working perfectly and once 2020 rolls around we may lose the app store, but your phone won't just stop working overnight.

Powered by BB10

Don't buy any Classics. You won't sell it for a good price and will lose some money. Market is actually overflooded with second hand BB10 phones, which noone wants.

Stay with 9900 or upgrade to iOS/Android, which are by far the best and only options now.

Originally Posted by banana-man666

If I was in your position and really attached to that device my options would progress in this order.
1. Call around the other networks and ask about BIS availability including planned termination dates then choose the one with the longest support.
2. If 1st option fails for any reason. Buy a classic as backup and test logicmail after June 1st to make sure you are happy with the functionality.
If logicmail works for you great, sell the classic and you'll not lose any money.
If it doesn't work out, take the classic out and move over to BB10. It's not as dire a situation as some on here will tell you, you can't buy paid apps but everything else is working perfectly and once 2020 rolls around we may lose the app store, but your phone won't just stop working overnight.

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"Everything else is working perfectly..."

Stop misleading the OP and making him regret his purchase.

Originally Posted by johnny_bravo72

"Everything else is working perfectly..."

Stop misleading the OP and making him regret his purchase.

I don't see how I'm misleading anyone.
I've had zero issues with anything I have attempted using my Classic on a daily basis.
Emails? Works fine
Calls? Like I'm in the same room
Text? Perfectly
General browsing? Not an issue
Updating my websites? Better than using my android tablet
Even social media hasn't caused me an issue. Face10 is pushing notifications, as is igrann and twitter.

If the OP is using a 9900 as a daily driver then the upgrade to a Classic will be a lot easier than going to Android and the fact they are willing to stay on 9900 means their usage doesn't NEED an Android phone, plus they have pretty much ruled out a keyone in the OP too.


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Originally Posted by banana-man666

I don't see how I'm misleading anyone.
I've had zero issues with anything I have attempted using my Classic on a daily basis.
Emails? Works fine
Calls? Like I'm in the same room
Text? Perfectly
General browsing? Not an issue
Updating my websites? Better than using my android tablet
Even social media hasn't caused me an issue. Face10 is pushing notifications, as is igrann and twitter.

If the OP is using a 9900 as a daily driver then the upgrade to a Classic will be a lot easier than going to Android and the fact they are willing to stay on 9900 means their usage doesn't NEED an Android phone, plus they have pretty much ruled out a keyone in the OP too.


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Because learning BB10 is like having to learn Android when moving from BBOS. Let the OP know truth about the situation as theyre possibly not understanding full problem. No one here knows how bad things will get with BB10 and its already getting worse now for some people. Let the OP decide whether or not they need Android/IOS phone. No one here knows their future possible needs better...

Hi,
Thanks for a lot of merit comments. Obviously I am considering moving to KeyOne (easily available in Poland via internet) but this device assumes different philosophy of using things than Bold/Classic. I already have other phone with larger screen for all that android/lte stuff. What I am using my BlackBerry is calls/ conference calls/ e-mail/ sms/ and music. I often use it in a car (one hand), taxi/uber, train, plane, on a couch (answering serious business e-mails ;) ) and during this loong conferences/ meetings when you can discretely check up e-mail in the meantime. For all of this smaller size is advantage. I also use BB Bridge when playing with the playbook at home (bought it just recenty seeking for mobile presentation tablet [HDMI output- no available android tablet had it] and found out it has much more to offer in terms of entertainment). I also have lots of Bold dedicated accessories which work just fine.

Best option would than be to stay with Bold until some clever guy makes new "android-Bold" that I am preordering instantly.

As of gsm providers all major in Poland have still BIS in offer but I have no idea for how much longer. Don't suppose any standard service assistant would tell it me.

Anyone here from Poland still using BIS/BES? Anyone having insider info of other providers intentions (Orange, T-Mobile, Play)?

Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Sati1