How to get BlackBerry Priv apps on any Android device without root

BlackBerry's first Android powered smartphone Priv can enjoy all the apps from Google's vast Android ecosystem. But if you want to get the apps from Priv, you don't have to take a roundabout way to root your Android phone and then install the BlackBerry apps. All you need is a device running Android Marshmallow and with the help of BlackBerry Manager you can install your favourite apps from Priv.

The new method has been shared by folks at CrackBerry forum. But note that this method does not support Android Lollipop and when you try to install apps on devices lower than Android 6.0, you will be greeted with a parsing error message during installation.

What is BlackBerry Manager

To download and install BlackBerry apps on your Android device you will need BlackBerry Manager. You can enjoy BlackBerry Hub, keyboard and several other BlackBerry apps on your phone via BlackBerry Manager. But your phone must be running on Android 6.0 Marshmallow. Following are the key features of BlackBerry Manager:

• Download and install pre-patched BlackBerry apps
• Automatic notifications when updates get available
• Easy to use permissions configuration dialog (tap app icon after installing an app)

Apps working on Android 6.0 Marshmallow

• BlackBerry Calendar
• BlackBerry Contacts
• Blackberry Hub
• BlackBerry Notes
• BlackBerry Tasks
• Blackberry Services
• Blackberry Device Search

Apps working on Android Lollipop

• BlackBerry Launcher: SDKmin 21 Lollipop
• BlackBerry Keyboard: SDKmin 21 Lollipop
• BlackBerry Password Keeper: SDKmin 21 Lollipop
• BlackBerry BBM: SDKmin: 15 Ice Cream Sandwich

How to install BlackBerry Priv apps on Android devices

• Uninstall the BlackBerry apps that you have on your Android device that have been installed through root
• Reboot your phone
• Download and install BlackBerry Manager. You need to grant permission to Storage on Android 6.0
• Go through the instructions in BlackBerry Manager
• Finally install the apps that you want from BlackBerry Manager

It is recommended to install BlackBerry Services, which is necessary if you want to use BlackBerry Hub and other apps, except keyboard and password keeper.

You need to configure the BlackBerry Launcher as a default launcher. For this go to Android Settings>> Applications>> Default Applications>> Home. Now select Blackberry Launcher and press the home button to save the changes.

If you want Spark notifications for incoming messages, just go to Settings>> Device Security>> Other Security Settings. From there go to Device Administrator and enable BlackBerry Mail and BlackBerry Launcher. Now navigate to Settings and enable BlackBerry Hub and Launcher. Do not forget to grant all permissions to the apps for them to function correctly. Head over to CrackBerry forum to know more about the working of BlackBerry Priv apps.