How does bbm work on blackberry

Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy , which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion. Getty Images. Jason Cipriani. June 2, a. Now playing: Watch this: Deactivating your Facebook account doesn't stop data Discuss: BlackBerry Messenger is dead: Use these apps instead.

Chat or in groups and conduct voice and video calls with your trusted contacts. Take Control of Communications. Edit, retract or set an expiry time on a single message or picture.

Trust Message Sources. Have peace of mind knowing the person sending you a message is who they say they are. Share More. But you can also change your own status and leave a message for contacts.

To change your status, go to the Contact List screen, and click "Available" or "Unavailable. You can use notifications to alert you of an incoming instant message by having your BlackBerry vibrate or emit a tone.

You can set and change notifications in your BlackBerry Messenger profile. Go to the Profiles list, click on a profile, and click "Edit. Beyond your own settings, you can "ping" someone who isn't responding by making their BlackBerry vibrate when you send a message. BlackBerry Messenger can keep you in touch with other BlackBerry users. But what if you want to exchange instant messages with other contacts?

We'll look next at what your options are. BlackBerry Messenger has you in touch with your BlackBerry-using friends and colleagues, but what about everyone else? You can use other options to IM with them from your BlackBerry.

One option is to pick one of the major instant messaging services that provides an application for the Blackberry -- and most of them do. Among these are:. Each application offers different functions. The advantage is that you can extend an IM service that you already use to your BlackBerry, adding mobile availability and possibly accessing your contact list for that service. To use any of these, you'll need to download the application directly to your BlackBerry -- or to your computer and then install it on your BlackBerry.

And you need to check whether the service you want is available through your wireless provider. The disadvantage of these is that you can only chat with others who use that service. To solve that problem, you can go to a service that offers messaging for multiple providers simultaneously. But they're not all free. But switch to a new BlackBerry, and you'll need to get another license. The company also offers -- and charges for -- text messaging and VoIP calling.

While the company offers a monthly or yearly subscription service, WebMessenger Business-Class Service is free. More instant messaging options are becoming available for the BlackBerry as technology evolves and IMing becomes a more widely used business tool. For the latest offerings, be sure to check the BlackBerry Web site.

For lots more information on BlackBerry Messenger and related topics, see the helpful links on the next page. Sign up for our Newsletter! Mobile Newsletter banner close. Mobile Newsletter chat close. Mobile Newsletter chat dots. Mobile Newsletter chat avatar. Mobile Newsletter chat subscribe.

How BlackBerry Messenger Works. Political candidates like Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee rely on BlackBerry Messenger to remain in touch with family and staff members. Create a closed social circle by establishing contact relationships through an invitation request and accept process via email, NFC or PIN. Instead of a phone number, BBMe only requires an email address, and BlackBerry promises it "won't suggest contacts to users or sell user's phone numbers," according to the site.

A one-year free trial of BBMe is currently available in the Apple app store, but BlackBerry could start charging for its services in the future. As an alternative, you can use BBM Enterprise.