Sprint has now provided a workaround for BlackBerry KEYone users, following reports from earlier this week that some of the company’s customers were having problems with their BlackBerry KEYone smartphones. The problem itself was down to the fact that the Sprint’s Mobile ID software would repeatedly run even after the initial setup of the device. That wouldn’t ordinarily be a problem for most users but the application is generally used to install the carrier-provided stock apps associated with Sprint during device activation. So, what was happening is that users who prefer to remove or disable those applications were having those applications reinstalled or enabled by Mobile ID. Thankfully, the fix for the problem is relatively simple since the issue is caused, according to the carrier, by an unintended conflict between the latest version of BlackBerry’s launcher and Mobile ID itself.
First, users need to access their settings menu and scroll down to the “Apps” option. Tapping that will load up a list of all apps installed on the device, sorted alphabetically. Users should select “BlackBerry Launcher,” followed by the “View Details in Play Store” option – which should load up that applications Google Play Store Page. On the resulting page, users will need to tap the “Uninstall” button. That won’t actually uninstall the application itself but will revert it to an earlier version of the application, which Sprint says should stop the issues from occurring once the device is restarted to clear cache. It goes without saying that if the problem continues, in spite of trying the workaround, customers should probably contact Sprint for further advice and to report the problem since that will help the company provide a real fix the issue faster.
It’s worth mentioning that the above-listed fix is only intended to be a temporary workaround to the problem. Now that Sprint and BlackBerry have narrowed down the bug’s origin, both companies will be working together to find a solution – which will be included in a future update to the device. As is often the case with bugs, there is no timeline given for when a fix will be implemented and Sprint only says a fix is coming “very soon.” Bearing that in mind, affected users will probably want to try out the method outlined above while they wait.