By now, you might have read my previous post about updating your BlackBerry® Device Software wirelessly and are wondering how to update your software using BlackBerry® Desktop Software. Well, you’re in luck, because that’s what we’ll be going through today!

The first step, if you don’t already have it installed (or if you don’t have the most up-to-date version), is to download BlackBerry Desktop Software 6.0, which is available here. Once the file has been downloaded, double-click it to start the installation. Simply follow the prompts to install it and allow it to run once it has finished installing.

Now that BlackBerry Desktop Software has been installed and is running on your computer, you’ll need to plug in your BlackBerry smartphone. If you have a password set on your device, then BlackBerry Desktop Software will ask you to enter it before proceeding. It will then check what software version you have installed on your smartphone and check online to see if there are any updates. If there is an update, a message box similar to the screenshot above will be presented asking if you want to perform the update; click ‘Get Update’ to start the update process.

The next step is to confirm that you want to backup your device data and restore it after the update. Make sure the ‘Back up device data’ check box is selected if you want to make sure your email, contacts, calendar, and so on are backed up and restored after the update is complete. If you’d like to be notified by email when new updates are available, make sure to check the ‘Email me when new versions are available’ box.

Clicking ‘Install Update’ will start the update process. Please note that, depending on if you choose to backup/restore your device and how many files are on your device, this can take up to an hour to complete, and your BlackBerry smartphone will not be usable during this time. When you receive a confirmation message that the update is complete, then you can disconnect your BlackBerry smartphone.

Please leave me a comment and let me know how it goes!

One of the questions I get asked frequently is: “How can I wirelessly synchronize my Gmail Calendar and Contacts with my BlackBerry® smartphone?” With a BlackBerry smartphone data plan and BlackBerry® Device Software 5.0 or higher, this simple to do!

The first thing you want to do is make sure you have the right software on your BlackBerry smartphone. To do this, navigate to Options and click About. On the third line down, there will be a number like 5.0 Bundle 1602. This tells you are running BlackBerry Device Software 5.0. If you are using 4.7.1 or lower, you should check to see if there is an upgrade available for your device. Please see my previous post here for instructions on how to perform the upgrade wirelessly.

The next step is to confirm you have a data plan. If you are already receiving your Gmail messages to the Messages application, then you are all set! If not, go to Setup and then Email Settings to see if you can setup your Gmail account. If you can’t, then you should talk to your wireless provider to ask about adding a data plan to your BlackBerry smartphone.

Now that you’ve confirmed you have a data plan and that you’re running BlackBerry Device Software 5.0 or higher, the next step is to setup the synchronization. This is the easy part! Go to the Setup folder and click Email Settings.

If you do not have your Gmail account set up, then you can add it by pressing the Set up another email account button. If you already have it set up, then highlight it, press the Menu button and select Edit.

Scroll down and expand Synchronization Options. With Synchronization Settings open, you will see checkboxes for Calendar and Contacts. Select one or both of them and press the Save button. You will then be prompted to confirm your password, and the activation process will start. Contacts will synchronize about every four hours, and Calendar appointments will synchronize about every thirty minutes.

Please leave me a comment and let me know how it goes!

In order to get the most out of your BlackBerry® smartphone experience, I highly recommend making sure your device software is up-to-date. In this post, I’ll be specifically talking about how to update the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9800 smartphone, but the steps below can be used to upgrade other BlackBerry smartphones as well. Let’s get started!

The first step is to check for updates. If your carrier or BlackBerry® Enterprise Server administrator has sent you a request to update, you will see a Software Update icon on your Home Screen, which you can simply click on to launch the update. (Use caution if updating while roaming as additional roaming data charges may apply. Contact your wireless provider for more information.)

If you don’t have this icon on your Home Screen, you can easily launch the Universal Search application on the Home Screen of the BlackBerry Torch smartphone by clicking on the magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner. In the search box that appears, type update. Tap Options and you should then see the Software Updates option. The latest device software for the BlackBerry Torch is 6.0 Bundle 695, so tap that option and you’ll be brought to the download page. Click the Download button and you’ll be asked to Continue or to Customize.

Selecting Customize will allow you to select which components you want to download and will allow you to select different languages or applications to load on your smartphone. After downloading the software, you will be prompted for when you want to install the software. Please note if you chose to update the software wirelessly, it could take some time and you won’t be able to use your device during this time.

Some good things to know are that this process will back up and restore all your device information including calendar, contacts, wallpaper, and any other settings made on the device.

One small caveat is that users who are activated on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server will only be able to complete a wireless update if their IT administrators have allowed access to this function, but this is allowed by default.

For information on how to perform a wireless BlackBerry Device Software update on other BlackBerry smartphones, please see: http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/KB15633

If you would prefer to update your BlackBerry smartphone using BlackBerry Desktop Manger you can visit www.blackberry.com/updates and download the latest software update available for your device.

I also recommend checking out this great support page, which has lots of great reference materials for questions that may come up while you are updating your device software.

And that’s it! Please leave me a comment and let me know how the update goes.

Hello world! My name is Alex M. and I’m a Security Product Manager at Research In Motion (RIM). My job is to make sure that folks like you and me are safe when we use a BlackBerry® smartphone. What do I mean by “safe”? Security is about letting the good guys in and keeping the bad guys out. Sounds simple, right? Just don’t tell that to my boss.

BlackBerry smartphones come with a huge set of built-in security features, but how do we use them and what do they really do? Those are the questions I’ll be trying to answer with every post. Let’s start from the beginning: protecting your personal information.

Many of us (and I’m no exception) keep important information on our BlackBerry smartphones. The last thing we all want is this information getting into the wrong hands if our BlackBerry smartphone is lost or we replace it with a newer model. The good news is that BlackBerry smartphones are very tough nuts to crack, especially if you take the right steps to protect your information.

Wipe It!

Replacing your BlackBerry smartphone is like selling a used car – you need to make sure you clear it out first! Here are three easy ways to do that:

1. Wipe your BlackBerry smartphone data. (Check out Ty’s helpful post for more!)
2. If you have a BlackBerry® Internet Service account, contact your carrier and ask them to remove it. If you don’t, your emails will keep being sent to your old smartphone even after you wipe it.
3. If you have a corporate BlackBerry smartphone, ask your IT admins to remove the IT policies. The new owner will thank you!

Protect It!

Of course, smartphones are also easy to lose, and many are stolen each day. To protect your personal information in case your BlackBerry smartphone is lost or stolen:

1. Make sure you set a password. By default, an attacker only has 10 tries to get it right, so making it hard to guess is very important. Here some useful tips on choosing a strong password.
2. Use content protection to encrypt all of your personal data. You can enable this by selecting Options -> Security Options -> General Settings on most BlackBerry smartphones.

If you do lose your smartphone, you will also want to contact your carrier right away to disable your SIM card (or equivalent). If you have a corporate smartphone, make sure you contact your IT staff first. They will usually be able to remotely enable security features and/or wipe your smartphone.

So there you have it, a few simple and practical ideas. Any tips you want to share? Anything you want to hear about next time? Let me know in the comments. Till next time, stay alert, stay safe.