Skip to main content

BlackBerry outages spread to the United States and Canada

BlackBerry-India
Image used with permission by copyright holder

For several days, millions of users in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, India and other regions of the world lost their core BB services like BlackBerry Messenger, email, and Web browsing. Now, it appears that reports of problems are continuing to spread, with outages now hitting users in the United States and Canada. Reuters reports. The extent of the North American problem is unknown, but many users have reported delayed or missing email and messages. 

“The messaging and browsing delays … were caused by a core switch failure within RIM’s infrastructure,” said RIM on Tuesday night. “As a result, a large backlog of data was generated and we are now working to clear that backlog and restore normal service.”

Recommended Videos

RIM has not yet commented on the problems in North America. Yesterday, we reported that services were starting to come back online in other areas of the world. For some, service has been off since Oct. 9. 

With all the problems its been having attracting and retaining users in an increasingly iPhone and Android dominated market, the last thing RIM needs is for its core strength–its network–to go down. Though an outage could happen to any company, this could be viewed as a wake up call by some businesses, which rely heavily on RIM’s services. Hopefully, the company can get things back on track.

BB users, let us know if your service is working. 

Jeffrey Van Camp
As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…
Topics
Cost-cutting strips Pixel 9a of the best Gemini AI features in Pixel 9
Person holds Pixel 9a in hand while sitting in a car.

The Pixel 9a has been officially revealed, and while it's an eye candy, there are some visible cutbacks over the more premium Pixel 9 and 9 Pro series phones. The other cutbacks we don't see include lower RAM than the Pixel 9 phones, which can limit the new mid-ranger's ability to run AI applications, despite running the same Tensor G4 chipset.

Google's decision to limit the RAM to 8GB, compared to the 12GB on the more premium Pixel 9 phones, sacrifices its ability to run certain AI tasks locally. ArsTechnica has reported that as a result of the cost-cutting, Pixel 9a runs an "extra extra small" or XXS variant -- instead of the "extra small" variant on Pixel 9 -- of the Gemini Nano 1.0 model that drives on-device AI functions.

Read more
Does the Google Pixel 9a come with a charger? Here’s what’s in the box
A woman holding a purple Google Pixel 9a.

After much speculation in recent months, the Google Pixel 9a has finally been announced. Google's Pixel A series is an excellent choice for those seeking a reliable Android smartphone at a lower price point, and the latest model follows this trend. While it is undeniably part of the Google Pixel 9 series, it has fewer features than its higher-end counterparts.

One question you might have when considering the Pixel 9a is whether it comes with a charger. We’ve got the answer
The Pixel 9a does not come with a charger.
The short answer is that the Pixel 9a does not have a charger. This has become common practice for most smartphones today, including other models in the Pixel 9 series, like the Pixel 9 Pro. While this may be disappointing, it's not surprising.

Read more
Google Pixel 9a vs. Pixel 8a: should you upgrade?
Google Pixel 9a vs Pixel 8a.

Google has released a new budget phone, the Pixel 9a. How does it compare to its predecessor, the Pixel 8a? We've got the answers, and the changes are significant in some ways. In others, not so much. If you have a Pixel 8a and are considering upgrading, read this first.
Google Pixel 9a: vs. Google Pixel 8a: specs

Google Pixel 9a
Google Pixel 8a

Read more