BlackBerry pulls the plug on its pioneering mobile phone

Service on BlackBerry cellphones — once the preferred mobile device for Wall Street, Capitol Hill and the media — shut down for good on Tuesday, closing the door on a piece of technology that helped usher in a revolution in communications. 

BlackBerry announced in September 2020 that it would stop updating operating systems and software for its devices on January 4, 2022. The move impacts devices running BlackBerry's 7.1 OS as well as earlier platforms, BlackBerry 10 software and BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.1. Other related services, including BlackBerry messenger and BlackBerry hosted emails, also are ending. 

"As of this date, devices running these legacy services and software through either carrier or Wi-Fi connections will no longer reliably function, including for data, phone calls, SMS and 9-1-1 (emergency) functionality," BlackBerry said on its website.