Blackberry Keyone Software Update

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Marketta Filipovich

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Aug 5, 2024, 4:44:51 AM8/5/24

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Ihave tried all the options described in the fitbit website and support messages sent to me. I have been told that it is my Blackberry Key one that is the issue and I am SO disappointed. I bought the Fitbit 2 in May 2018. I never had sync issues until December 27, 2018. Since that day, the Fitbit Charge 2 has stopped synchronizing. Is there anybody else having sync issues with the Blackberry keyone?

I have the same problem with my BlackBerry KEYone. It was working just fine when I got a charge 2 as a gift in September. My last sync dates back to January 26 2019 and since then I can no longer pair my devices. I have tried EVERYTHING. I even deleted my device off my profile and cannot get it back. I hope one day this gets resolved. It's quite frustrating.

My wife has a Charge 3 and is having the same issues with the Keyone, she too loves the phone it's a great product, and will drop your product unless you fix the issues with the fitbit, it's obviously an issue with how your product works, since we have zero issues with other Bluetooth products. Please test the Keyone with the fitbit and while your at it test the Key two, there are more phones out there than iPhone and Samsung

I have the same problem. Since BlackBerry brought out a new software release in 2019 I now struggle with both car and FitBit. I also have issues with sound on things like Messenger. Grey product absolute rubbish software support

The KEYone got me out of CrackBerry retirement and using a BlackBerry Smartphone again (and loving it!). I have no shortage of phones at my disposal and can reach for an iPhone or Google Pixel or Samsung Galaxy whenever I want. Since picking up the KEYone, I've never felt that urge. What more can be said than that? With battery life that will last you all day and night (and well into the next day) and a smart physical keyboard that makes typing on buttons feel new school again, it's a communication-centric phone that power users will love.

Confused? That's ok. You can read this article to clear up the confusion and listen to this podcast if you really want the full explanation. The long story short is that the company known as BlackBerry, who patented push email and helped pioneer the smartphone industry over 15 years ago is now a software company.

The BlackBerry brand to most of us on planet earth, more than software is better known for hardware, specifically BlackBerry Smartphones. So to ensure BlackBerry Smartphones continue for the long haul, BlackBerry has entered into licensing agreements with select manufacturing partners to design, build, market and support BlackBerry Smartphones. The biggest licensee is TCL Communication, and under the brand BlackBerry Mobile the KEYone is the first BlackBerry Smartphone they are bringing to market.

While BlackBerry supports BlackBerry Mobile in the software and security hardening of the KEYone, it's important to know that this really is a BlackBerry Smartphone being brought to market by another company altogether. Their website is www.blackberrymobile.com (not blackberry.com), you can find them on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube under the handles @blackberrymobile or @bbmobile.

BlackBerry Mobile is really being built up as a new team and organization and beyond the KEYone they are committed to bringing more Android-powered BlackBerry Smartphones to market (sorry BlackBerry 10 fans, but that ship has sailed). The KEYone is exciting first phone, and it'll be exciting to see what they offer next.

I (CrackBerry Kevin) have been super lucky to have been using the KEYone for over two months now, since it was first announced at Mobile World Congress. I first went hands-on with the KEYone in January in Las Vegas at CES, and liked the pre-production unit so much that I came out of BlackBerry retirement in February to celebrate CrackBerry's 10th Anniversary.

As part of the celebrations, I even had the honor to get up on stage and help officially unveil the BlackBerry KEYone to the world as MC for the launch event. The KEYone units I've had in my possession to date, including my official review unit, are considered pre-production and have still been receiving software updates - that said, my experiences with the KEYone have been super solid throughout - the one you buy should be even better.

Disclosure: In case you didn't figure it out from the BlackBerry KEYone ads on the CrackBerry, BlackBerry Mobile is an advertising partner with CrackBerry (we often see manufacturers buy advertising for their phones across Mobile Nations sites). You can read here for more info on that if you like.

Why read when you can watch a video? In 13 Minutes I highlight what I love and what can be improved on the KEYone. I think the video does a good job of laying out the real value proposition for the KEYone - this is a phone for power communicators who like a physical keyboard (and those people are going to LOVE it).

With a name like KEYone, the physical keyboard is clearly the primary story of this phone. When as a phone manufacturer, or as customer, you choose to sacrifice the amount of real estate dedicated to the display to instead have a keyboard there that's always present, you're making a distinct choice to build a phone that's more communication-centric vs. media-centric.

The design of the KEYone is such that you don't feel like you're making a compromise at all. Compared to older QWERTY BlackBerry designs of the past, like the BlackBerry Bold 9900 or even the newer BlackBerry Classic, the KEYone's 4.5" display with 3:2 aspect ratio in portrait orientation feels positively huge. Compared to other popular devices like the standard-sized iPhone 7, Galaxy S7/S8 or Google Pixel, they KEYone's display feels relatively on par. And even compared to large screen devices like the iPhone 7 Plus or Google Pixel XL, which were the two phones I was actively using before upgrading to the KEYone, moving over to the KEYone was easy - I've never yet felt in all my time with the KEYone that the display feels small.

It's a surprising form factor to look at when you first see it -- and photos don't do it justice -- you really need to see the KEYone in person and hold it in your hand to truly appreciate it, but the "form factor" truly works. That the KEYone looks and feels so incredibly premium makes the overall design work that much more. I could see this general device ID working for years to come - I wouldn't be surprised if the KEYtwo (if and when released) would feature a similar hardware design. When you get it right, you get it right.

If you were concerned that not BlackBerry making a BlackBerry Smartphone could result in a phone that feels unBlackBerry-like, those fears are eliminated the moment you pick up the KEYone. Clearly, the KEYone looks like a BlackBerry. From the front, the back, the sides, the device is unmistakably a BlackBerry. More importantly though, is the feel of the phone. At 180 grams, the KEYone is a dense phone, in a good way. Picking it up, it has that heft you'd associate with something like an expensive mechanical watch strapped on your wrist. The sizeable battery and BlackBerry's choice of metal frame contribute to the weight and the soft touch rubber backside make it a phone that's comfortable to hold and is easy to grip. The KEYone belongs in your hand.

I find it magical how BlackBerry continues to pack more and more technology into the physical keyboard. It used to be that programmable shortcuts were the one smart feature of a QWERTY phone like the KEYone. Being able to map dialing contacts or opening apps to the push of a button was the additional benefit beyond the accuracy provided by pressing buttons vs. tapping on glass. And the KEYone does offer plenty of shortcuts - up to 52 to thanks to the ability to distinguish between short press and long press actions, where one button can now serve as two shortcuts. The shortcuts are getting smarter too. For example, pressing H (for home) can open up the maps app with your home location already programmed in. How cool is that?!

The KEYone's keyboard is touch capacitive. Beyond pressing buttons you can actually flick auto-suggested words up onto the display while typing. You can also use the keyboard as trackpad, thumb scrolling your way through your inbox, feeds or webpages. This is an innovation that was first introduced on the BlackBerry Passport and also featured on the BlackBerry Priv and I'm happy to see it on the KEYone. We now live in a smartphone world where far more people have experienced a touchscreen smartphone than a phone with physical buttons and most people don't know a keyboard can work this way - whenever I give a demo of the KEYone to someone who is unfamiliar, swiping on the keyboard blows them away. If typing on buttons could be considered old school in 2017, the ability to swipe on the keyboard makes it it feel new school again.

The newest innovation to the keyboard which is unique to the KEYone, is the implementation of a fingerprint sensor in the space bar of the keyboard. This feature allows you to unlock your phone with your fingerprint. It works incredibly well. There's even the surprise flourish of a tiny LED light on either side of the spacebar that will light up to prompt you to use your fingerprint. It's magical.

I've been really happy overall with the typing experience on the KEYone. I've mainly been on touchscreen smartphones the past few years, so it took me a couple days to get used to typing with buttons again and a couple more days to fall in love with it, but I've been rocking the buttons hard ever since and loving it. There are many areas where typing with buttons trumps typing on glass - be sure to check out this video where I dive into the details.