Not all BlackBerry Priv handsets have wireless charging

Will your Priv come with wireless charging? Photo: BlackBerry

Will your Priv come with wireless charging? Photo: BlackBerry

Wouldn’t it be annoying if you bought a smartphone with wireless charging, only to find out it didn’t have wireless charging?

That’s what some BlackBerry Priv owners are experiencing in certain markets, because it turns out that for some inexplicable reason, not all models have wireless charging capabilities.

When BlackBerry made the Priv official last month, the handset’s specifications sheet promised “dual mode Wireless Charging capable for Powermat (PMA) and Qi” — similar to that you get with Samsung’s latest Galaxy devices.

However, Priv buyers in Canada, BlackBerry’s home country, are discovering that their new handset doesn’t have wireless charging capabilities at all if it was purchased from a carrier. Strangely, unlocked models purchased directly from BlackBerry do.

MobileSyrup explains that there are two different versions of the Priv — STV100-1, which comes with dual-mode wireless charging, and STV100-3, which does not have wireless charging. Fortunately, the former appears to be the more popular of the two.

Regardless of how you buy your Priv in the U.S. — carrier or retailer — you’ll get the STV100-1, so you don’t have to worry about double-checking for wireless charging compatibility. It’s unclear at this point which model will be available in other markets, but wireless charging isn’t listed on the Priv’s specifications sheet for the U.K.

If you live in Canada, then, you’ll want to avoid getting your Priv from a carrier if you can.

Wireless charging may not be important to some, but it’s one of those things you don’t want to have to live without once you’ve had it. And it’s baffling that BlackBerry would make two Priv variants with and without this feature — seemingly for no apparent reason. It’s only going to cause confusion.