BlackBerry Apps on S7 Edge

[aha]

I am currently a BlackBerry user but will be getting my S7E in a few days. Any S7E users out there who have succeeded in bringing BlackBerry's Android experience to your S7E?

Cobalt 's thread is here but it's 200 pages long now and growing (please donate to his effort if you find the solution useful):

Working BlackBerry Priv apps for any Android device [no root required] - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

I have read the instructions and pretty sure I can installed all those apps no problem. But I remember there were something I need to do to prevent duplicate accounts (email, calendar, etc.)

Could anyone she'd some lights on what I need to do before I installed BlackBerry apps and what I need to do after? Thanks!

Also for the guys who have used BlackBerry 's app suite (HUB, DTEK, calendar, note, keyboard), as well as Samsung and Google 's counterparts, which one do you prefer?

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[davisgq]

I am currently a BlackBerry user but will be getting my S7E in a few days. Any S7E users out there who have succeeded in bringing BlackBerry's Android experience to your S7E?

Cobalt 's thread is here but it's 200 pages long now and growing (please donate to his effort if you find the solution useful):

Working BlackBerry Priv apps for any Android device [no root required] - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

I have read the instructions and pretty sure I can installed all those apps no problem. But I remember there were something I need to do to prevent duplicate accounts (email, calendar, etc.)

Could anyone she'd some lights on what I need to do before I installed BlackBerry apps and what I need to do after? Thanks!

Also for the guys who have used BlackBerry 's app suite (HUB, DTEK, calendar, note, keyboard), as well as Samsung and Google 's counterparts, which one do you prefer?

Posted via Android Central App

I definitely miss the Hub as well as the physical keyboard at times. And that blinky light. I was a Blackberry user for roughly 7 years. I'm coming from a Blackberry Classic. I decided to go Android because it came to the point where I had to use Google applications for almost everything. I had a Nexus 7 tablet which got me through most of that but in a pinch it was very difficult to access Drive, Docs, etc on the Blackberry. I really liked Blackberry's calendar too.

As much as I will miss Blackberry, I am glad to have gone back to Samsung. I debated whether to get the Priv, but figured it was time to try something new again.

In terms of your first question, sorry I can't be much help. I didn't have too many apps to begin with as I primarily used the company/vendor's mobile sites which worked most of the time on Blackberry's browser. Everything else (like Netflix and some games) I just used my tablet to access Android stuff.

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[FCSC]

I am currently a BlackBerry user but will be getting my S7E in a few days. Any S7E users out there who have succeeded in bringing BlackBerry's Android experience to your S7E?

Cobalt 's thread is here but it's 200 pages long now and growing (please donate to his effort if you find the solution useful):

Working BlackBerry Priv apps for any Android device [no root required] - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

I have read the instructions and pretty sure I can installed all those apps no problem. But I remember there were something I need to do to prevent duplicate accounts (email, calendar, etc.)

Could anyone she'd some lights on what I need to do before I installed BlackBerry apps and what I need to do after? Thanks!

Also for the guys who have used BlackBerry 's app suite (HUB, DTEK, calendar, note, keyboard), as well as Samsung and Google 's counterparts, which one do you prefer?

Posted via Android Central App

I got my S7E after waiting forever for Verizon to release the Priv. I had a Q10 before that I kept on the latest OS's and had patched andriod apps etc.

I originally planned to install the suite of blackberry's apps to the S7E, but when I got it, I decided to try out some of the stock apps first....

I didn't want to mess around with the HUB to make it work correctly, so I never installed it, I do slightly miss it, but I was also one of the BBOS users who liked having email separate from my texts.

DTEK, since the phone came with Marshmellow, I figured i'd start off without it.. haven't felt the need to install it honestly, I can manage app permissions just fine.

Calendar, note, never installed as I found the stock samsung apps worked fine for my use. I especially like having the samsung calendar as full screen widget on the last page of my apps, makes it super handy to glance at. note, i just use memo, and i have a shortcut to it on the edge so I can access it at any time.

Keyboard..... I used the samsung keyboard at first, but i got pretty frustrated with it (although, its also my first experience with a touch screen keyboard.. well other then the playbook...), so I installed the blackberry keyboard and haven't looked back... i still have some issues, I'm consistently hitting b instead of space for some reason.. looked into swiftkey, but it looks like they're having issues as well, so I hope i just get better at the virtual keyboard.

In terms of what you need to do to install apps, i shortened Colbalts post as much as possible:

2. Download and install Blackberry Manager (grant permission to Storage on Android 6.0)
3. Read the instructions in BlackBerry Manager! (check the 3 dots in top right corner)
4. Install the apps of your choice directly from Blackberry Manager

Blackberry Manager (downloader/updater)
Please read the instructions in Blackberry Manager before installing the apps.
Download BLACKBERRY MANAGER

Features of Blackberry Manager:
* Downloads BlackBerry apps from Play Store and patches them on the fly
* Automatically notifies when updates get available
* Advanced permissions configuration dialog (tap app icon after installing an app)

BlackBerry Manager required a Google Account to be set up on your device (needed to authenticate with Google Play).

Please consider to donate for my efforts if you like my work and if you like to get updates on these apps. Thanks for your support!
Click here to donate


ALWAYS install Blackberry Services as first component, then install the other apps. BlackBerry Services MUST be installed if you want to use Blackberry Hub and other apps (except for Keyboard and Password Keeper, they run without).

The following steps are also described in BLACKBERRY MANAGER's Instructions window.

To use Blackberry Launcher, you'll have to configure the launcher as default launcher:
1. Go to Android Settings > Applications > Default Applications > Home
2. Select Blackberry Launcher and press the home button to save the setting

To get the Spark notifications on incoming messages, you'll have to configure some settings:
1. Go to Android Settings > Device Security > Other Security Settings
2. Go to Device Administrators and enable Blackberry Mail and Blackberry Launcher
3. Go to Notification Settings and enable Blackberry Hub and Blackberry Launcher

It is very important that you grant all permissions to the apps so that they can work correctly. Double check the app permissions (especially for Notifications), if you encounter any problems.

Blackberry Hub will add its own Microsoft Exchange integration. If you want to use the Hub together with Exchange, you should remove the default device exchange account. If you don't do that, you will have double calendar entries in your calendar.

Enjoy!

View attachment 396661

 

[aha]

@FCSC I may go the same route as you did... yesterday I checked out Samsung's calendar app on a friend's phone and it looks pretty good, not sure what I will gain by going BlackBerry's calendar app.

And yes, I will for sure install BlackBerry's virtual keyboard.

About HUB, I do love the HUB on my Passport, but not sure if I would like the HUB on Android. I will probably give it a try though.

What about BlackBerry Contact app, does it still integrate contacts from multiple sources together, i.e. Gmail, Outlook, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc?

One thing I like about DTek is, it tracks app activities, so you may kind of get an idea on if a new apps may be burning too much battery or tracking locations too many times.

 

[ZMc1834]

So glad to see this. I've missed my BlackBerry keyboard.
I tried the Hub, but didn't like thd integration. Anytime I got a group text, it didn't give me any information until I opened it completely. Also, I couldn't figure out how to get it to include BBM.
Also happy about Password Keeper. Now I just have to figure out to transfer my file from my Z10 so I don't have to reenter all of my passwords.

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[aha]

So glad to see this. I've missed my BlackBerry keyboard.
I tried the Hub, but didn't like thd integration. Anytime I got a group text, it didn't give me any information until I opened it completely. Also, I couldn't figure out how to get it to include BBM.
Also happy about Password Keeper. Now I just have to figure out to transfer my file from my Z10 so I don't have to reenter all of my passwords.

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What do you use for message now? Does it support group message well?

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[ZMc1834]

What do you use for message now? Does it support group message well?

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I currently just use regular texting inside the Verizon messaging app. Which is able to do individual texts as well as group texts. Then I also have BBM app downloaded for my BBM contacts.

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[Stwutter]

It's been sometime since I switched from BB (my last phone was the Z30), but this thread has me reminiscing...

I STILL miss BBOS, but I can't think of one app. I miss - that was the point to me - so many apps I had to side-load, or find alternatives to. Eventually, despite my ego saying otherwise, I had to jump ship. But the BB ecosystem... I still miss that to this day. Loved the hub, and BB Travel was invaluable for me for a long time. TBH, I can't quite figure what I miss exactly though.

I didn't like that BB handsets appeared on Android. It's a bit like ABBA. Great memories, of a time, but don't come back - far too wrinkly.

 

[jkuyp]

I also came from a Z30, and have had Samsung phones since then. I've used Colbalt's app, and only use the Blackberry Keyboard but it's the best keyboard that i've found. I've had to uninstall and re-install cobalt's app a couple times - had some problems when it would try to update, but other than that it is great.

 

[aha]

All BlackBerry stuff has been loaded and working pretty well. But it looks like we cannot load DTEK yet. Too bad.

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[aha]

Any good music App to recommend? Google music?

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[louzer]

So glad to see this. I've missed my BlackBerry keyboard.
I tried the Hub, but didn't like thd integration. Anytime I got a group text, it didn't give me any information until I opened it completely. Also, I couldn't figure out how to get it to include BBM.
Also happy about Password Keeper. Now I just have to figure out to transfer my file from my Z10 so I don't have to reenter all of my passwords.

Posted via the Android Central App

Export from BB10 Password Keeper non-encrypted then import into Priv Password Keeper.

Posted via the Android Central App on the edge

 

[louzer]

For a new phone, set it up with your Google ID for Play services and not email.


Then download the BlackBerry Manager . Use that to install Services first and then whatever apps you want.

If you want to use mostly Samsung apps, use Samsung's Device Switch app to port your BB10 data to your phone. If you want to use mostly BlackBerry apps, download the BlackBerry device switch app via BlackBerry Manager.

Open Hub and set up your email account(s) from in there. This will help eliminate duplicate notifications.

I used Samsung's device switch app which populated my Samsung Calendar with both events and Tasks. BlackBerry Tasks don't integrate into their Calendar, so I use the Samsung one mostly. My contacts also imported into Samsung Contacts. But since they're all cloud-synced, they show up in BlackBerry Contacts as well.

I use Textra for messaging because it integrates into the Hub better than Samsung's messages app and because you can set notification sounds per contact with in the app. But sometimes, I switch to the Samsung Messages app because it handles attaching files better. Since messaging data is kept in a single repository used by both message apps, switching back and forth is a breeze.

I love having the BlackBerry keyboard and Password Keeper as well!

It's a great setup and I keep forgetting I'm not on a BlackBerry! I refer to it as a PrivlEdge! Lol!

Posted via the Android Central App on the edge

 

[aha]

Also, I couldn't figure out how to get it to include BBM.

To integrate BBM with HUB, you need to download the patched version of BBM from Cobalt. The link is in the first post of his thread.

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[yohannrjm]

Any good music App to recommend? Google music?

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That depends on what you want from your music app. Play Music is the usually recommended app for purchasing/playing music or podcasts, etc.

I use VLC to play my music. I like it and it plays the multiple codecs that I use for my music files.

 

[Allen Brandt]

I'm only using the BB keyboard, after having tried both the calendar and the contacts, I don't see any advantage over the stock Samsung apps (and my LG before that). I have a BB Classic for work and I'm not a fan of the Hub, so I have no interest in using that on my device.

I use Signal for messaging, and it handles group messaging and T Mobile MMS just fine, and for any contact who also use that app, the messages are encrypted. For others, it works just like any other messaging app.

 

[aha]

That depends on what you want from your music app. Play Music is the usually recommended app for purchasing/playing music or podcasts, etc.

I use VLC to play my music. I like it and it plays the multiple codecs that I use for my music files.

I just need to compile play lists and play over my car audio.

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[yohannrjm]

I just need to compile play lists and play over my car audio.

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In that case most players will work. I'll admit that VLC is not the most intuitive player, but it will do the job.

Samsung Music should be on your phone, and it may be easier to use.