BBM went live on Android and iOS a few hours ago. However, it is not what many expected: there’s a virtual queue. A waiting line. Now I know how that one feels, having to wait all along while others are busy sharing their new BBM PINs and you can’t join the party. For those who pre-registered on BBM.com before yesterday’s gradual roll-out, then they are lucky they are part of the BBM community at the moment. For those who are in Africa and have Samsung Galaxy devices, they are in luck too since they are entitled to do a “in your face…”, jump the queue and get their PINs right away. What if you don’t fall in those two categories i.e. you never pre-registered and you don’t live in Africa and if you do, you don’t own a Samsung Galaxy device? Will you queue and wait? Yes you can do that. But what if there was a way? Read on to find what way.
I’ll focus on the Android devices hack since I am more at home with Android and should be able to chime in if you get stuck.
Do this:
- Download BBM for Android. From the Google Play Store or if you’re on a Samsung Galaxy device, download it from Samsung Apps. Just search for BBM, you should see it. In case BBM is not yet available on the Play Store in your country (like in most African countries at the moment) and you happen not to be in Africa or don’t have a Samsung device, try out this. That’s the BBM app for Android that I skinned from my device. It is version 1.0.0.69. I’m aware there’s a 1.0.0.70 app which is the latest update, but till I get an update through Samsung Apps, that’s the latest.
- After downloading the app, install it.
- Launch it and when you get to this screen…
- … enter your email adress and click Next
- Immediately you click Next, cause the app to force close. How do you do this? Easy. Just press the home button to exit from the BBM app then go to the Settings app and go to your Application Manager. Click on BBM and click on Force Stop. The app will be force closed. See this gallery
- Now go to your App Drawer and launch BBM again. You’ll now be presented with something like this:
- Create your new Blackberry account and get chatting!
Did this simple hack work for you?
Share what you encountered in the comments below.
Note: Blackberry could fix this loophole soon so, if you manage, count yourself lucky.