BlackBerry OS
Since 2G and 3G support have been dropped in the US, SMS messaging is no longer an option for American users. However, if you are using your BlackBerry on a cellular network in another country, SMS should still work. MMS, however, doesn't appear to.
Until recently, if you wanted to message others on your BlackBerry, you'd need to do so in the default browser or Opera Mini. There are still a few options if you want to do this.
One online option is Facebook Messenger. Yes, that Facebook Messenger! Simply navigate to mbasic.facebook.com, sign in, and navigate to the Messenger page. You can talk to all of your friends, right from your BlackBerry!
Another online messaging service is MobiChat. You'll need to host it yourself, but it works great on BlackBerry devices.
However, there is a much better option...
Using DISCORD!!! Yes, DISCORD!!!
To use Discord on BBOS, there are a few easy steps. User gtrxAC on GitHub has developed a Java app that enables a native Discord experience on Java-based phones. We tested it on BBOS 5 and 7. It works great with or without a touchscreen.
- First, grab the app from our archive or the official GitHub repository.
- Load the JAR on your BlackBerry, and install it with the default files app.
- Open the app and remove the :8087 port number on the API URL. If you get the HTTP 502 error, it's because you didn't do this.
- Get your Discord token and enter it in the "Token" field.
- Untick the "send token as JSON" box.
- Log in and profit!
WARNING: Create an alternate account for this app. Not only does Discord sometimes ban users for using third-party clients, but you're also routing all of your Discord messages through someone else's server (not ours or Discord's). Use with caution, and absolutely do not use your main account!
We've uploaded the server-side code to host your own instance of Discord J2ME, too. It's in the archive, linked above.
If you have a lot of patience, you can also send texts to other phones via email. To do this, you'll need to use Yahoo Mail in Opera Mini. From there, you'll have to find the carrier-specific email gateway address ([email protected]/net/org) of your recipient. For example, Verizon is [email protected]. Here is a list of Mobile Gateway addresses.
BlackBerry 10
On BB10, Telegram X was our go-to, but some users have reported that it isn't working great anymore. It's available on the archive if you want to give it a shot.
Thankfully, we found a working version of the official Discord app! 2FA is supported, too. You can download it from the archive.
Whatsapp no longer works, but we were able to use Telegram FOSS, Instagram Lite, and Messenger Lite for messaging. You can also find them on the archive.
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