Which Blackberry Models Support Linux? A Simple Guide for Tech Enthusiasts!

So, I’ve been messing around with old phones lately, trying to see what I can do with them. You know, give them a second life instead of just throwing them away. I got this idea to try and install Linux on a Blackberry, ’cause why not? I’ve heard some people talking about it online, and it sounded like a fun little project. It was pretty tough, let me tell you.

First off, I had to figure out which Blackberry to even use. I mean, there are tons of different models, and they all run different operating systems. Some of them use Blackberry’s own OS, some run on Android, and they all have locked bootloaders. I dug through my old phone drawer and found a few different ones to try. It turned out that most of them were a no-go from the start. You can’t just slap Linux on any phone. The manufacturer has the OEM locked down for business reasons.

Here’s what I found out:

• Blackberry Priv: This one runs Android, so I thought it might have a chance. But nah, it was locked down. No dice.
• Blackberry Passport: This was the most promising one. People have been trying to get Linux on this thing for years. And guess what? There was some information indicating that it was simply impossible to install any other OS on this device.
• Blackberry Bold: I also found this old guy. Some folks wished they could get Linux or BSD on it, but I couldn’t find anything solid.

The Real Deal

After a bunch of research and trying different things, I realized that getting Linux on a Blackberry isn’t really a thing, at least not in the way I was hoping. Blackberry 10 OS is Unix-like, but it’s not the same as running a full Linux distro. It’s just a dream. And installing linux on any android phone is just impossible if the manucacturer locked the oem.

There’s this project called postmarketOS that’s trying to make a mobile Linux OS, but it’s not really ready for prime time yet. It’s more of a hobbyist thing right now, but that was my initial thought. I just wanted to do something cool with these old phones.

So, yeah, I didn’t really succeed in putting Linux on a Blackberry in the way I wanted. But I learned a lot, and it was a fun experiment anyway. Maybe one day it’ll be easier, but for now, it’s still pretty much a pipe dream. It’s not like you can just download an app and install it. The companies lock these things down tight.