Can You Still Use A BlackBerry Classic In 2024?

Marketed as a more advanced version of the best-selling BlackBerry Bold, the BlackBerry Classic hit the market in December 2014. It featured the company's iconic QWERTY physical keyboard and trackpad, had a 3.5 inch touchscreen, and an 8-megapixel camera.

By that time, the vast majority of smartphone manufacturers had dropped the traditional keyboard, so it was a bold move to release a phone that relied heavily on what already seemed like outdated technology. Ultimately, it proved to be too bold, as sales figures fell short of expectations. Since then, BlackBerry has shifted its focus away from smartphones to cybersecurity and enterprise software, but some fans never moved on and still consider the BlackBerry Classic to be one of the most iconic BlackBerry phones of all time. 

No matter how you feel about smartphones with physical keyboards, though, wouldn't it be cool to get your hands on a BlackBerry Classic and experience what owning one felt like back in the day? Can you really use a BlackBerry Classic in 2024? How would that even work? Here's what you need to be aware of. 

BlackBerry officially killed the Classic in 2016. That was eight years ago, and eight years is an eternity when it comes to smartphones and consumer technology in general. The truth is that if you pulled an old Classic from a drawer today, it would feel like reaching deep into ancient smartphone history in more than one way.

Take the camera, for example. Again, the BlackBerry Classic had an 8-megapixel camera. In 2024, budget-friendly smartphones like the Motorola Moto G Play have 50-megapixel cameras. Granted, a higher number of megapixels does not necessarily mean better image quality, but the difference between photos snapped by your current phone and those snapped by the BlackBerry Classic would be quite striking. 

Here's another good example. The BlackBerry Classic had 16 GB of internal storage and 2 GB of RAM. In comparison, the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6 comes with 12 GB of RAM and offers a minimum internal storage option of 512 GB. 

Nearly every smartphone in existence today runs on either Android or iOS. The BlackBerry Classic, meanwhile, ran on the company's own BlackBerry 10 operating system (10.3.1, upgradable to 10.3.2), which is now obsolete. This means that BlackBerry Classic owners can no longer upgrade their smartphone's operating system, which in and of itself guarantees a myriad of serious issues.

Setting aside the very important fact that using outdated operating systems exposes you to serious security risks, apps for BlackBerry's OS likely haven't been updated in many years. Even if you are lucky enough to get an app to run, you can't expect it to perform how it should. What you can expect are frequent crashes, bugs, and other performance issues. 

If you take a look at the BlackBerry forum on Reddit, you'll notice users complaining about not being able to run popular applications like WhatsApp, Spotify, and Telegram, let alone more demanding apps. 

Technology evolves quickly and so do cellular standards, which are protocols that determine how mobile networks operate and interact with devices. Carriers update them from time to time, for reasons related to efficiency, security, and support for new technologies.

If you look at online communities of BlackBerry Classic users, you'll find that it can be a real struggle to find a compatible carrier. With that said, if you own a BlackBerry Classic and aren't sure which carrier is compatible with it, you can head over to Will My Phone Work? and enter your device details to check for compatibility with various carriers.

With a modern smartphone, you just want a carrier that offers fast service at a low price. With an old smartphone like the BlackBerry Classic, it's different. You need to make a real effort to find a compatible carrier. Even if you do manage to find one, you would most likely still face serious limitations. And what would be the point of using a smartphone that can't make phone calls, send text messages, or connect to the internet?