Switching from Blackberry to iPhone 7 plus

[LDYNREDD]

So, I have finally decided to give up on my Blackberry Z30 and I ordered an iPhone 7 plus 256gb in Jet Black. Needless to say, I have to wait until Nov 30 to Dec 15 for my new iPhone to arrive and I am very excited!

I am suffering with battery issues and my phone freezing lately so it is time to abandon a dying platform. When I went into the Apple Store to try the 7 plus, I was pleasantly surprised. First of all, it is BEAUTIFUL! I was surprised at how easily I can type with the keyboard, although I will miss the Blackberry word predictions that I can swipe up on to insert them into the text. I hate how the suggestions on the iPad show up in boxes above they keyboard, Blackberry just does this much better. I also adore the camera on the 7 plus, Blackberry cameras are dismal. It is great to have such a vast selection of cases to choose from although I am finding that challenging since there are so many options

I have been happy with Blackberry until recently when I am finding that the apps I need/want are not available on Blackberry or no longer supported.

I have an iPad Air so I am not completely new to iOS but I do have some concerns, number one is how to switch everything from my Blackberry to my iPhone when it eventually arrives. I have been reading up about it but I don't use any cloud based back up at this point so I am not sure how easy this will be.

Should I upload to one drive or can I connect to my computer and transfer pictures etc. that way? If I do use the computer, how do I save pictures in such a way that iTunes can access the files?

My business emails are IMAP accounts so no problem there, personal emails are with Bell and Rogers accounts so that should be easy enough also. Contacts are my biggest concern though.

Is there a way to get the text messages transferred over?

I humbly ask for any advice you can pass along to me to make this transition as seamless as possible. Hopefully this iPhone will come sinner than later. I am getting more and more frustrated daily with my Blackberry.

 

[Just_Me_D]

Welcome to iMore, and congratulations on purchasing a new iPhone 7........I made the transition from Blackberry to iOS years back (I was a die-hard Blackberry fanboy for REAL). It took a little while to get accustomed to iOS because I was ingrained into the Blackberry OS, but I've adjusted quite well, and there is no other platform I'd rather be in than iOS. It just works for me. Now in regard to your initial question, why not do both? I specifically have use Microsoft's OneDrive service to store my photos. I also keep a copy on my old MacBook, and yes, you can save simply drag and drop the pics from the iPhone to your computer. In regard to transferring your text messages over, you may be able to use the directions found via the following link, but I'm not certain.

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.imore.com/how-to-switch-blackberry-10-iphone?client=safari

 

[LDYNREDD]

Welcome to iMore, and congratulations on purchasing a new iPhone 7........I made the transition from Blackberry to iOS years back (I was a die-hard Blackberry fanboy for REAL). It took a little while to get accustomed to iOS because I was ingrained into the Blackberry OS, but I've adjusted quite well, and there is no other platform I'd rather be in than iOS. It just works for me. Now in regard to your initial question, why not do both? I specifically have use Microsoft's OneDrive service to store my photos. I also keep a copy on my old MacBook, and yes, you can save simply drag and drop the pics from the iPhone to your computer. In regard to transferring your text messages over, you may be able to use the directions found via the following link, but I'm not certain.

https://www.google.com/amp/amp.imore.com/how-to-switch-blackberry-10-iphone?client=safari

That's great to hear. I am confident that I will not have a hard time getting used to the iPhone given that I have the iPad Air already.

Thanks for the link, I will see if it works when I get the iPhone.

I appreciate the input from a fellow former die-hard��

 

[BreakingKayfabe]

I humbly ask for any advice you can pass along to me to make this transition as seamless as possible. Hopefully this iPhone will come sinner than later. I am getting more and more frustrated daily with my Blackberry.

All the advice I can give you is to purchase yourself a great pair of Ray-Ban's with some good UV protection for your eyes. You'll need them once that sun is shining all over you when switching from a Blackberry to an iPhone.

 

[LDYNREDD]

You hit the nail on the head! I noticed that in the Apple Store when comparing side by side. Screen is much brighter and pictures are too!

 

[T48]

It may be somewhat of a blessing having to wait until Dec for your order. So long as your Z30 survives until then. It will give you a chance to watch the black Friday sales. What I have read so far is that the best smartphone sales are on Friday, not later in the weekend or the following Monday. Just throwing that out there in case that works for you.

 

[LDYNREDD]

Do you think Apple would really discount the iPhone?

I bought direct from Apple because I can't stand being tied into a carrier contract and I have a great plan that I don't want to lose by buying with a subsidy.

I must admit, it would be nice to see the phone go on sale, $1700 CAD is quite a lot of money considering I bought my Z30 two years ago outright, no contract for under $300 all-in.

 

[wilber1]

The one thing different from BlackBerry to iphone is the cost however as a former BlackBerry die hard I believe it is worth it way more updates (that do not have to go through your carrier) to keep your device running good and everything as they say just works .When I changed from my Classic to a 6s I just used itunes to transfer everything over and it worked fine .Good Luck with your purchase .

 

[T48]

Do you think Apple would really discount the iPhone?

I bought direct from Apple because I can't stand being tied into a carrier contract and I have a great plan that I don't want to lose by buying with a subsidy.

I must admit, it would be nice to see the phone go on sale, $1700 CAD is quite a lot of money considering I bought my Z30 two years ago outright, no contract for under $300 all-in.

Have been searching black Friday smartphone sales & most are just hopeful predictions. If I had to guess, Apple will use last years rebooted 32gb 6s as the sale phone at a corporate level. But you never know what retailers will use to lure people in their doors. Costco was just offering a $175 in store cash card with a Samsung S7/S7E. That was something that no one else was really doing. So you may see something along those lines as well. Worth shopping as $1700 would make me say some words not fit for print.

 

[LDYNREDD]

Have been searching black Friday smartphone sales & most are just hopeful predictions. If I had to guess, Apple will use last years rebooted 32gb 6s as the sale phone at a corporate level. But you never know what retailers will use to lure people in their doors. Costco was just offering a $175 in store cash card with a Samsung S7/S7E. That was something that no one else was really doing. So you may see something along those lines as well. Worth shopping as $1700 would make me say some words not fit for print.

$1700 made me do a lot of thinking and soul searching before jumping on the iPhone bandwagon. I have never spent that kind of money on a phone. Even my laptop was less expensive than this phone so I sure hope it surpasses my expectations and all the hype.

I went to Costco here in Canada the week before placing my direct order with Apple and they did not have any 7's and even if they did, I would have to commit to a carrier which I can't bring myself to do. They did have a great accidental damage plan though and Costco cash card offer but, it was not enough to make me commit to a carrier and change my awesome plan.

Since I have to wait an eternity to receive this order, I have lots of time to shop around so I will keep at it. Luckily, we get great sales here in Canada during US Black Friday and the lead up to it.

Do you figure there is any chance this phone would come earlier than the estimated shipping window?

 

[LDYNREDD]

The one thing different from BlackBerry to iphone is the cost however as a former BlackBerry die hard I believe it is worth it way more updates (that do not have to go through your carrier) to keep your device running good and everything as they say just works .When I changed from my Classic to a 6s I just used itunes to transfer everything over and it worked fine .Good Luck with your purchase .

How did you handle switching passwords over? I use password keeper on my Blackberry and I have so many passwords I would like to just be able to import to an equivalent app on the iPhone, is that possible?

With iTunes, what are you able to switch over? Email I will set up as new. Is it easy to switch contacts through iTunes? I may test with my iPad before the iPhone arrives. I am getting crazy excited so I want to have all my ducks in a row to switch over as quickly as possible once the phone arrives.

 

[MarsOlson]

You should have done that earily. Blackberry is not really my type. iPhone is the best!

 

[ritesh]

Is it easy to switch contacts through iTunes? I may test with my iPad before the iPhone arrives. I am getting crazy excited so I want to have all my ducks in a row to switch over as quickly as possible once the phone arrives.

I would suggest you use iCloud to store your contacts ( along with its other offering) .vCard contacts can be imported over at icloud in a jiffy.

 

[LDYNREDD]

I would suggest you use iCloud to store your contacts ( along with its other offering) .vCard contacts can be imported over at icloud in a jiffy.

Great, thanks for the tip.

 

[anon(52425)]

What's a blackberry?

 

[LDYNREDD]

What's a blackberry?

Ha,ha. Although I am done with Blackberry, I am researching how to set up my iPhone to do things like my Blackberry did ie. bedside mode. Seems that nobody has been able to emulate this incredible Blackberry feature which I will sorely miss. Unless I have just not stumbled across the correct app/setting yet.

When my iPhone eventually arrives, I will see if there is some way to approximate this feature.

Although Blackberry is dying a very slow and painful death, there are still some valuable lessons that Apple should take away from it.

 

[mogelijk]

What's a blackberry?

I believe a blackberry is an edible soft fruit, consisting of a cluster of soft purple-black drupelets.

 

[jwarman]

How did you handle switching passwords over? I use password keeper on my Blackberry and I have so many passwords I would like to just be able to import to an equivalent app on the iPhone, is that possible?

With iTunes, what are you able to switch over? Email I will set up as new. Is it easy to switch contacts through iTunes? I may test with my iPad before the iPhone arrives. I am getting crazy excited so I want to have all my ducks in a row to switch over as quickly as possible once the phone arrives.

So I recently made the move to the darkside, 7+ 128 GB, as well leaving behind my Z30. What my wife and I have done for a password keeper option is EnPass. It is an expensive option at $9.99 but it is one of the few password programs that keeps the file locally and you can choose to sync to the cloud which we both prefer. Also the desktop app comes in handy and you can sync back and forth with out the cloud by way of back up and restore.

I keep all my contacts and calendars in email accounts and I accepted loosing text and BBM messages. So I really only used iTunes to move music and photos over.

Ha,ha. Although I am done with Blackberry, I am researching how to set up my iPhone to do things like my Blackberry did ie. bedside mode. Seems that nobody has been able to emulate this incredible Blackberry feature which I will sorely miss. Unless I have just not stumbled across the correct app/setting yet.

When my iPhone eventually arrives, I will see if there is some way to approximate this feature.

Although Blackberry is dying a very slow and painful death, there are still some valuable lessons that Apple should take away from it.

I have not been able to fully replicate bed side mode but here is what I do. I have "Do Not Disturb" come on and go off at set times. It is also set up to just allow calls from contacts and if someone calls twice. I then use an app called Nite Time that is a clock app that can be set to red and dimmed a fair amount. So far it has worked okay.

I am still working on finding way to approximate the things I miss from BB10.

 

[LDYNREDD]

So I recently made the move to the darkside, 7+ 128 GB, as well leaving behind my Z30. What my wife and I have done for a password keeper option is EnPass. It is an expensive option at $9.99 but it is one of the few password programs that keeps the file locally and you can choose to sync to the cloud which we both prefer. Also the desktop app comes in handy and you can sync back and forth with out the cloud by way of back up and restore.

I keep all my contacts and calendars in email accounts and I accepted loosing text and BBM messages. So I really only used iTunes to move music and photos over.



I have not been able to fully replicate bed side mode but here is what I do. I have "Do Not Disturb" come on and go off at set times. It is also set up to just allow calls from contacts and if someone calls twice. I then use an app called Nite Time that is a clock app that can be set to red and dimmed a fair amount. So far it has worked okay.

I am still working on finding way to approximate the things I miss from BB10.

Thanks for these awesome tips. I will definetely try them when my phone is eventually delivered. With EnPass, can you export to an excel file? My husband has no idea what any of our passwords are and I worry that if something ever happens to me (or my phone) he will have a lot of trouble accessing important business accounts so, I print a copy and keep in a safe place for him.

As you figure out ways to approximate BB10 functions, you should create a thread here to help people out. I'm sure in the very near future, the few remaining BB die-hards will be switching platforms and this type of thread could be a huge help. It could also help people decide whether to go Apple or android depending on tips from the thread.

Thanks again for your help. Enjoy your 7+:yes:

 

[jwarman]

Thanks for these awesome tips. I will definetely try them when my phone is eventually delivered. With EnPass, can you export to an excel file? My husband has no idea what any of our passwords are and I worry that if something ever happens to me (or my phone) he will have a lot of trouble accessing important business accounts so, I print a copy and keep in a safe place for him.

As you figure out ways to approximate BB10 functions, you should create a thread here to help people out. I'm sure in the very near future, the few remaining BB die-hards will be switching platforms and this type of thread could be a huge help. It could also help people decide whether to go Apple or android depending on tips from the thread.

Thanks again for your help. Enjoy your 7+:yes:

Sorry for the slow reply, for some reason I did not receive a notification you replied to my post.

For EnPass you can export from the desktop app to a text file so you can still make your copy to keep in a safe.

If I gather enough ways to recreate BB10 on the iPhone maybe I will start a thread but right now I am not sure there is enough to make it worthwhile. I will give it some thought.

Hope you got your phone sooner than later.