Sprint says bloatware issue on the BlackBerry KEYone requires an update to fix

by Alan Friedman / Aug 17, 2017, 12:20 PM

Sprint says bloatware issue on the BlackBerry KEYone requires an update to fix

Just a few days ago, we told you how the Sprint branded version of the BlackBerry KEYone was suffering from an issue involving the bloatware that the carrier added to the Android OS flavored handset. Nothing sinister there; most carriers in the states will add some of their own branded applications to a new handset. The problem with the KEYone was that the SprintID system app would go through the bloatware listings like clockwork, and re-install some of the bloatware that was just removed by the phone's owner. It also enabled bloatware that was disabled.

In our original article, we said that either SprintID had a bug, or the carrier was being nasty by continuously replacing and re-enabling bloatware that owners of the phone were trying to remove. Today, Sprint reached out to us to let us know that it does have a issue with its Mobile ID on the KEYone, which prevents it from working as designed.

While Sprint is working with BlackBerry to deliver a software update that will eliminate the problem, the carrier did provide us with a workaround for KEYone users to follow. This will uninstall updates to the BlackBerry Launcher and prevent the issue from taking place:

Select Settings
Select Apps
Select Blackberry Launcher
Select View Details in Play Store
Uninstall
Restart Device

"To clarify, Sprint Mobile ID is used to deliver 3rd party applications without the need to pre-load the applications on the device. This process uses less memory compared to pre-loaded applications and allows our customers the choice to download applications, or to easily remove them. Sprint Mobile ID is designed to engage only at the time of device activation, and once the process is complete Sprint Mobile ID is not intended to run again."-Sprint

If you have a Sprint branded BlackBerry KEYone, hold on. Hopefully, the aforementioned software update will arrive soon enough to remove this constant re-cycling of removed and disabled bloatware.

source: Sprint

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11 Comments

1. meanestgenius

Posts: 20999; Member since: May 28, 2014

Well, props to Sprint for acknowledging the issue and working on a fix with BlackBerry, but this shouldn't have been an issue to begin with, IMO. So happy my KEYone isn't affected by this since it's GSM unlocked.

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 12:25 PM 4

3. Flash

Posts: 1972; Member since: May 19, 2017

"So happy my KEYone isn't affected by this since it's GSM unlocked." Yes because blackberry couldn't be bothered to go the all carrier bands route.

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 5:46 PM 0

5. meanestgenius

Your tears of pain are duly noted.

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 5:55 PM 2

6. aegislash

Posts: 1425; Member since: Jan 27, 2015

Mxy...just genuinely curious, are you at all embarrassed by the fact that 99.9% of us think you've got the serious hots for Meanest? I have literally never seen someone with such an obsession...surely it isn't healthy. I mean, you trolled the hell out of Meanest back when you were Mxy...got banned, deleted, whatever, and then immediately went back to harassing him once you remade (and denied being Mxy for the longest time lmao?) We all knew it was you...the raging hard on for Meanest tied with your unquenchable thirst for trolling BlackBerry articles from the get-go made it very obvious. You keep doing you...if bothering Meanest is what gets you through your days, than keep it up. But a therapy session or two might do you some good.

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 6:04 PM 3

7. meanestgenius

Lmao! Dude, I thought it was just me that realized this. You are a million percent correct. This dude has stalked me and trolled BlackBerry with his mxyzptlk account, and has continued to do it to this day through his Flash account. And the most hilarious part is, he still thinks that he's fooling people when he says that he's not mxyzptlk, even though, like you said, everyone knows it's really him. It's amazing just how much space I take up in that pea brain of his. It's also no wonder why he constantly stalks me. I've taken up too much space in his head.

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 6:43 PM 1

8. darkkjedii

Posts: 30481; Member since: Feb 05, 2011

Battywillnowflasfyoubothwithhiswinkymiteandshownomxymercy.

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 7:16 PM 3

9. meanestgenius

Lmao!

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 7:24 PM 1

10. darkkjedii

Notice he disappeared lol?

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 7:33 PM 2

11. meanestgenius

Yup. He always runs when you speak the truth about him.

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 9:15 PM 1

2. Nine1Sickness

Posts: 883; Member since: Jan 30, 2011

An update to a different carrier.

posted on Aug 17, 2017, 4:26 PM 0

4. Greenmule

Posts: 128; Member since: Apr 24, 2017

Hopefully, Andy Rubin and Essential got this issue corrected prior to that phone getting released on Sprint and into consumers hands. Wow, bloatware on the initial release, if that wouldn't be a turd in the punch bowl!