We may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Learn more.

A while back, we showed you some images of the BlackBerry 10 developer OS up and kind of running on the BlackBerry PlayBook. While understandably somewhat broken, Kyle27 was working on a few things make it somewhat suitable for others to install and explore.

At this point, it's still not something you'll want to install if you use your BlackBerry PlayBook every day but if you're feeling a little adventurous and want to hack around with your BlackBerry PlayBook, Kyle27 has now posted a tutorial to get the BlackBerry 10 developer OS installed onto your BlackBerry PlayBook.

There are a ton of warnings that could be included here but realistically, I know no one will read them so just remember, doing this to your BlackBerry PlayBook is at your own risk and CrackBerry in no way is responsible for any damage you may cause. You can read the full tutorial below or head on into the CrackBerry Forums for more information and what to expect when installing this.

This will work for both Windows & Mac - just ensure you have the tools that run for your machine

  • Install DingleBerry & DDPB/Some form of sideloading BAR software
  • Download the 10.0.9.44 Dev Alpha OS from here
  • Change your PC and PlayBook date to September 24 2012 - Also turn off your Playbook's WiFi
  • Enable Dev Mode on your PlayBook
  • Extract the Winchester SDK coreOS BAR file from the 10.0.9.44 folder and place it in the Dingleberry/Firmware/custom folder
  • Connect your PlayBook to your PC 7. Open Dingleberry and enter your Dev Mode password into the field in top left
  • On Dingleberry, select Firmware and Make sure the Buttons say Custom & Core OS
  • Check that your PlayBook is detected by Dingleberry (top right corner)
  • Click update at the bottom
  • The device should have an update screen - if not make sure it is connected and try again. If it fails to install, simply disconnect, reconnect and try flashing again.
  • If successful, the Playbook will reboot itself - When it comes alive, enable dev mode again and sideload (using DDPB or similar) the Settings app, BBM, Browser, Camera, AppWorld
  • Reboot your device
  • When it comes back on - go to the NEW Settings app and change your date and time to be correct
  • Enable WiFi
  • Go to Settings>BB ID and check that it retrieves info/allows you to sign in - if so, you're good to go - if not, reflash back to 2.1 (using Dektop Manager) and repeat
  • Enjoy BBM and AppWorld - Browser and Camera will work whether your BB ID works or not

Known issues: DO NOT allow your battery to die while running this OS. The device will not know to turn itself off before the battery completely drains. If it does drain, you will have to perform a stacked charge. It will be difficult to revive your PlayBook if this happens. AppWorld currently only pulls PlayBook apps. It does not pull BB10 apps. The icons in the top right corner of the home screen are inaccessible. Rotation Lock, Bluetooth, WiFi, and Battery indicator icons do not work, though oddly enough, the Settings icon does work. The backlight appears to timeout much quicker than the length of time defined in the settings. And finally, DO NOT power off your PlayBook with the current date and time. If you need to turn your PlayBook off, roll the date back to September 24 2012.

As we noted before, this isn't the first time we saw a developer version running of BlackBerry 10 running on the BlackBerry PlayBook, Kyle did base some of his work off of the stuff xsacha and @GShaneChad been working on so, kudos goes out to all of them for making it happen.

Discuss more in the CrackBerry Forums

Read more