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Recovering from BlackBerry error 523

Joe — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 13:30:48 +0000

We’ve been taking some time to go over the more common BlackBerry error messages and what you can do to fix them without too much of a headache. Today we’re going to run down error 523, one that destroyed my BlackBerry Curve 8330 — twice. Unfortunately, this workaround wouldn’t have helped me much. It requires booting in safe mode, which is available only on devices running OS 4.6 and up (I had 4.5 on my 8330). But if you’re using a newer BlackBerry and run into this, you can try to work around the error and get your device back up and running.

Once you see the dreaded white error screen, pop your battery. Once you reinsert it and the device starts booting, hold down the escape key. I’m not sure exactly how long you need to hold it, but keep on holding it, just to be safe, until you see that the device is booting in safe mode. Again, you need OS 4.6 or above to do this.

Here’s the strange part, one that many users wouldn’t think of: disconnect your computer from the Internet. once you’re offline, plug your dying device into the computer and run Desktop Manager. From there you go to Application Loader, Add/Remove Applications, and click Start. The key here is to bump any applications you’ve recently installed — ones that might have caused the near-fatal change. I also recommend removing themes, as this is something I did after messing around with Application Loader for a while.

After this, back up your device. I wholeheartedly recommend a full wipe after fixing this error. This could extend the life of your device. I do recommend, however, that you remain open to picking up a new Berry. After I initially fixed my Error 523, it happened again about a month later. In other words, it might be a chronic problem.

If you’re having trouble with other error messages, send them in: jpawlikowski at the bbgeeks.com address. If you have the workaround to go along with it, all the better.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Recovering from BlackBerry error 523

No more standby mode on your BlackBerry

Joe — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 13:49:29 +0000

I never quite understood the purpose of standby mode. I did use the function regularly, though not intentionally. This actually happens a lot with my Tour, since it’s easy to press the mute button while shoving the device into my pocket. I suppose it saves battery, and it’s not really that big a pain if I do accidentally hit it. I’m sure many of you use the function — or used it, depending on your OS version. As Bla1ze reports, RIM has disabled standby mode in recent OS builds, starting with version 5.0. It appears that this isn’t just the mute key that’s changed, but rather the entire feature being disabled. If anyone has a workaround, leave it in the comments.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

No more standby mode on your BlackBerry

What to do if you encounter JVM Error 102

Joe — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:30:36 +0000

Encountering a BlackBerry error can be the most frustrating experience. Many of us rely on our devices, and to have it down even for a day can be a catastrophe. When you see an error message, you know you’re in for some pain. They don’t just appear for no reason, and oftentimes it’s not something you can fix yourself. Take, for instance, JVM Error 102. The blackberry.com description claims that, “The only recovery method is to wipe the device and restore a new system.” Yikes. That means you have no chance to backup any of your information. Gone are your applications, your emails, your contacts — everything. Thankfully, it appears there is a workaround for this one.

To perform this fix, you’ll need to download JL_Cmder. We discussed this PC application when we went over error code 552. You can find the app at blackberryfreaks.com. Once you have it installed, connect your device to your computer via USB. Now you’re ready to dig in.

Once JL_Cmder is up and running, select option 2, the event log. This should reveal the source of the problem. Once you see JVM Error 201, look at the line above it. That should contain the file name of the offending application (if you need some guidance, it should look something like this). Write down this file name and have it ready for use in just a moment.

On your PC, go to Start and select Run. Type cmd into the field and press Enter. Once you get your command prompt, you’ll have to change to the directory in which you loaded JL_Cmder by typing “cd C:\Program Files\JL_Cmder\” or whatever directory you installed it to. Once you’re there, type in the following string:

javaloader.exe -u erase -f FILENAME

Of course, you’ll replace FILENAME with the name of the file you wrote down earlier. This should take care of the problem. Disconnect from your PC and reboot.

If this works, I strongly advise you to backup everything, wipe the handset, and do a fresh OS install. The last thing you want is to face the same situation again in a few days.

Thanks to BlackBerry Support Forums contributor Shmoo for the tip. It’s an invaluable one.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

What to do if you encounter JVM Error 102

How to insert symbols into your BlackBerry Messenger name

Joe — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:30:26 +0000

We’ve received questions on Twitter relating to BBM symbols for a while now, so I figure I’d take the time to go over the best way to get them for your own device. A big thanks goes to TheOnlyJrod at BBOS, because I only thought of the post because he did up his own guide yesterday. The idea, basically, is to copy and paste characters from a source outside your BlackBerry, email them to yourself, and then copy and paste them to the appropriate spots on your BBM display name. There are a couple of ways you can go about this.

First is the straight copy paste method that TheOnlyJrod describes. It even appears that they’ll show up in color, though I’m sure that won’t be the case for everyone (it never is). If this is easy enough for you, just copy and paste the characters below, send an email to your BlackBerry email address, and then copy and paste into BBM. You might want to save the email for future reference.

(☉ ¿ ☉)
└▶‎ ◀┓ ☂ ☇ ⌣ © ® ™ ¶ ¿ § ø œ Œ Þ ™ ♥ ♣ ♠ ♦ ♢ ♤ ♧ ♡ Σ Λ Γ ✓ ✗ ☐ ☑ ⇆ → ↓ ※ ☀ Æ ✆ ✉ ☀ ♊ ♏ ♓ ‪♍ ♎ ♏ ♐ ♑ ♓ Δ Ψ Φ Θ Ξ Ω ♈ ♉ ♒ ♋ ♌ ♎ Π Σ † τ λ ▲ △ ▼ ▽ № • ◦ ¤ * ℠ ☺ ¶ ± µ ø œ ¿ ¡ ª ¹ ² ³ ¬ ∞ ° • o ‰ ∏ µ Δ Ω √ ¢ ¥ € £ ƒ $ ≤ ≥ ± ≠ ~ ≈ ¼ ½ ¾ (( )) [ < { « ~ = ± “ ^ % ] > } » \ ÷ ` ” | ∫ ∑ † ‡ … ¦ ¤ ± µ ð̀́ Ώ Δ Θ έ ζ** *† ‡ ₣ ¬ ª ¯ ÷ ▲ ► ▼ ◄º ¹ ² ¼ ½ ¾

λ ₪ Ж ‡ § Я ♓Đ я ω ζ β ά Ǽ Ŋ Ö Õ Ñ Ð Ħ Ŧ т й щ Θ ς ώ ξ Є ε Џ Ä È Š Þ ß J Π Σ † τ ¢ П в ю д л ш ц м к Б б ч ф Ǻǻ Ǽ ǽ Ế ế Ề Ẁ ẁ Ẃ ẃ Ẅ ẅ Ế ế Ề ề
ÄªäÅÄÀÁÂåãâÆàæĄąάαâáàÂâÃãΆÆæ ЪЂВβßļЗв Ç¢çςŒœτĎđďÐð ĘęëêÊÈÉ€Ëéè€ξ∑ΣẾỀéèєЄe Эзэ ₣ƒ ĠĜğģĢĞ. ΉŀļĦĥĤħђн ÏĮįΊ¡ïîÍíÌìÎîīıĭΐĬ Ĵĵ ЌКĶķĸк £ĿŁĻĽĹĺļĽľŀł₤. мМ ИийñÑЙŊŋήηňŇ ΦθóòÓÒÔôÖöÕõΌØøσƠơо þÞρ Я®ŖŘяѓŗ §šŠ§ŞşŚśŜŝ †ŦŧŤŢţťтτ ЏŲųΰÚúÙùÛûÜüµυЏƯưцẀẁẂẃẄẅώШЩŴŵωшщ Х× ¥ỲУЧўчЎ¥ÿ¥ΎÿýŹŻżŽŹźžÎÏÐÑÒÓÔÕÖ×ØÙÚÛÜÝÞßàáâãäåæçèéêë ìíîïðñòóôõö

If you’d rather just download a file containing the symbols, you can find it at MyBerryBlog. You can find the text file here, and you can view it using Documents ToGo, or else download BBNotepad. You can then copy and paste the characters from the text file on your Berry, and then store it in a safe, easy to remember place.

Encouraged in the comments: copy/pasting any symbols that don’t appear above. This includes the BlackBerry four-dot logo. I haven’t seen that rendered properly in any of the files.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

How to insert symbols into your BlackBerry Messenger name

Archive your App World downloads to free up memory

Joe — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 13:30:58 +0000

How many apps do you have installed on your BlackBerry? That’s not a question designed to find out how hardcore a user you are. Instead, it’s to gauge how close you are to filling your device memory. While your BlackBerry might tell you that it have multiple gigabytes of free space, that considers the memory card. But you can’t store applications on and run them from an SD card. They have to be present in the device memory, which currently stands at 256MB for the most recent models. What to do, then, if you run out of space? You could use Aerize Card Loader, but if you get most of your apps from BlackBerry App World, you can also take advantage of their free archiving service.

To archive your App World downloads you’ll need an SD card, obviously with enough free space to store the applications. You’ll also need to identify applications you don’t frequently use. Once you archive the application you can no longer run it. If you need it again, you can go back into App World and restore it.

Once you open App World, navigate to My World, where you’ll see a list of the applications you’ve downloaded. Scroll to the target app, click the Menu button, and select Archive. Once you confirm, App World will move the device from your internal memory to the SD card, and will place a green arrow with the word “Archived” next to the app icon. It will also prompt you to reboot. I recommend denying this until you’ve archived all of your applications, opting to reboot after the final one, lest you reboot with each app archive.

To restore an application you can go to the inactive application icon and click on it. You do need a wireless connection in order to restore an application. You can use this process as much as the situation dictates, so in theory you could do it even with frequently used applications. However, the time to archive and restore is not trivial, so you probably don’t want to waste all that time.

With a tip of the hat to Al Sacco.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Archive your App World downloads to free up memory

Cleaning your Tour 9630 trackball

Joe — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:09:55 +0000

In the past we’ve explained how to clean your BlackBerry trackball if it’s starting to stick or otherwise malfunction. Problem is, you can’t use the same method for the Tour 9630. The housing is a bit different, and it doesn’t allow you to remove the ball. Thankfully, CrackBerry forums user kingzee made a video showing you how to clean the trackball using just a strip of paper. If you’re having problems with yours, or just want to keep yours in good repair so you don’t face issues in the future, check out this video.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Cleaning your Tour 9630 trackball

What to do if your BlackBerry says Reload Software: 552

Joe — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 13:30:28 +0000

The following is a lesson in why you should back up your BlackBerry as frequently as possible. At some point you’re going to run into a problem — and I’ve run into my share — where the only feasible option is to wipe the device and start over. If that happens you want to have a recent backup so that you don’t have to start over and send out text messages asking for people’s numbers and new BBM requests. Now that I’ve gotten the idea of backing up your Berry into your head, onto today’s issue. A reader wrote in yesterday to ask about an error message, Reload Software: 552.” This is a serious issue, one that could cost you all of your BlackBerry data. Hopefully you never see it, but if you do, here’s the recovery process.

Most likely, you’ll have to completely wipe your device using JL_Cmder. Yes, it’s sad, but if you backed up your BlackBerry recently it shouldn’t be a huge issue. You’ll just have to restore it once you’re done. If you haven’t backed it up, well, it’s a teachable moment. I had mine when my BlackBerry completely fried back in October. Hopefully you can learn from my mistake.

On your PC — and yes, you’ll need a PC — you’ll need the latest version of BlackBerry Desktop Manager and, for good measure, the latest operating system for your device, which you can find at this link. Plus, of course, JL_Cmder.

But, before you go wipe your BlackBerry, you might want to try a basic USB connection first. Plug in your Berry and instead of running Desktop Manager, run App Loader. There’s a chance the device will connect, and at that point you can root around in the device’s files. I’d recommend deleting any recently installed applications, plus any unused theme files — even your current theme, just to be sure. For some reason, third party themes can cause problems. Also, if you can upgrade your OS through App Loader, try that too. Once you do that, disconnect the device and see what’s up. If it still doesn’t work, onto the device wipe.

To do the full wipe, you can follow the written instructions here, or you can watch the following video.

Again, I hope it doesn’t come to this. But if you’re dealing with an error like 552, which completely cripples your device. Anyone with any first-hand war stories with this error? Did you find an easier way to fix it?

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

What to do if your BlackBerry says Reload Software: 552

Getting more out of Google Reader on BlackBerry

Joe — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 13:34:58 +0000

One internet feature I’m surprised hasn’t caught on more widely is RSS. It’s a wonderful tool which brings you the stuff you want to read, without you ever going to fetch it. It allows for quick scanning of headlines to determine reading worthiness. It’s basically your own personal magazine. I know that some BlackBerry users use Viigo for their RSS feeds on the go, and, if you wish, you can import your Google Reader feeds into Viigo. For those that want the true Google Reader experience, though, we’re stuck with a simple web interface. Recently, however, Ronen at BerryReview demonstrated how to use the Android and iPhone optimized WebApp from your OS 4.6 and higher browser.

To use this Java-based app, head to http://www.google.com/reader/i/ from your BlackBerry browser. The page will load, but your feeds won’t. Click Menu, select Add Bookmark, and on that screen scroll to the bottom and set JavaScript to Enabled. Then close down your browser and start it back up. Go to the bookmark, and you’ll see a list of your latest items. Click on the headline, and it will drop down and give you the article’s full content, without having to load a new page.

As Ronen notes, this isn’t a perfect solution. The read/unread status does not travel back and forth between the device and your account, so it’s only good for reading your latest items. Images sometimes do not load properly either. But if you can handle these inconveniences, the Java-enabled Google Reader WebApp does provide a better reading experience than its WAP counterpart, which is what Google suggests you use.

Does anyone else remember Google once having a Reader app for BlackBerry? I could have sworn I had it on my 8830 at some point.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Getting more out of Google Reader on BlackBerry

Send your BlackBerry contact information easily with vCards

Joe — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 13:30:31 +0000

Take a look at our blogroll. Do a Google search for “BlackBerry blog.” You’ll notice tons and tons of them. Why so many blogs, then, devoted to one topic? Because we all approach it from different angles. This is nice for readers, who can pick the one that best fits their BlackBerry needs. Plus, since we tend to interlink, you can keep up with most others as well. It’s great for the bloggers, too. No one person can think of everything. I love reading the stable of BlackBerry blogs because it gives me ideas for BBGeeks posts, both directly and indirectly. Today’s is a direct influence, from Robb at RIMarkable, one of the good guys in the blogosphere. He has an excellent tip for quickly and easily sending contact information to any email address or BlackBerry user.

The procedure to send is pretty simple. Go to your address book and scroll to the contact whose information you wish to send. Click the menu button, then select Send As Attachment. You then enter the email address of the person to whom you want to send the contact information, and your BlackBerry will send it as a .vcf file. This is a pretty universal file type. On a PC, Outlook can open it, and on a Mac the Address Book application will open it. Check here for a list of applications which will open .vcf files.

Sending to another BlackBerry user is even easier. Once the party receives the email with the .vcf attachment, he or she can open the attachment to view the contact information. Adding it takes just a few more clicks. Hit the menu button, then select Add to Contacts. Simple as that.

You can also send contact information to one of your BBM contacts. Instead of selecting Send As Attachment in the first step above, select Send To Messenger Contact. You can then select from your contact list.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Send your BlackBerry contact information easily with vCards

Managing folders on your BlackBerry

Joe — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 13:30:43 +0000

At one point, months ago in history, I didn’t use folders on my BlackBerry. After downloading an application, the icon would sit at the bottom of my app menu — or, if it were important it would move to the home screen. This continued on, with me deleting unused application to keep the clutter to a minimum. Then I got my BlackBerry Tour in November. At first I didn’t like the folders. They were just one more layer between me and my applications. But, after getting used to them, I don’t know how I managed without them. No longer do folders represent a layer between me and my stuff. Now they represent storage bins, in which I carefully place my icons so I can easily find them next time. I feel as accomplished as a kid who puts away his toys when he’s done.

Back when we started focusing more on tips, I asked my Verizon dealer about her most frequently asked BlackBerry question. To my surprise, she said that people most often asked how to move icons around the applications menu. So we wrote a quick tip about it. Managing folders is just as easy, so let’s take a second to tackle it.

To create a new folder, click the menu button and scroll down to Add Folder. Name the folder in the dialog box, and it will appear on your desktop. Most new BlackBerry devices come with a few folders pre-made: Applications, Games, Setup, Instant Messaging, and Downloads.

To move an icon from the applications menu to a folder, scroll over the icon and press the menu button, then select Move to Folder. That brings up a list of your current folders. Select the appropriate one and the icon will move there. To move an icon from a folder back to the home screen, click into the folder and scroll over the icon. Press the menu key, select Move to Folder, and from the list select Home.

You can move icons to a specific spot in the folder just as you move any of your BlackBerry icons. You can also move icons from one folder to another using the same method as above.

This post originated at BBGeeks.com - home to all things Blackberry! Also a great source of info about AT&T BlackBerry.

Managing folders on your BlackBerry