Just last week I had a friend contact me asking for help because he was unable to get a connection between his BlackBerry smartphone and his computer to work. The device would charge when connected to the computer, but he could not get the BlackBerry® Desktop Software or his computer’s file system to recognize the device. This was stopping him from performing his weekly backup.

I quickly learned that he had lost the USB cable that came with his BlackBerry smartphone and he was using a replacement USB cable from his local electronics shop. He had been trying to figure out why it wouldn’t connect, even trying a second computer but ending up with the same result: it would charge but he could not transfer any data.

I then had to let him know that he had bought a charging cable, not a data cable. His first question was, “What’s the difference?”

When you buy a BlackBerry smartphone from an authorized dealer, in the packaging you will find a USB Datasync cable. A USB Datasync cable does two things: it allows you to charge your BlackBerry smartphone by plugging it into a USB port, but it also allows you to transfer data, such as pictures and music, between a computer and your BlackBerry smartphone.

What my friend had bought was a cable, but it was only a charging cable. This is why his computer was not recognizing his device as a BlackBerry smartphone. He went and dug the packaging for the USB cable out of the garbage and sure enough, it was a charging cable only.

Tip: Did you know that in addition to a USB Datasync cable, you can also connect your BlackBerry smartphone to a computer via Bluetooth®? To learn more, check out Ty’s post on Bluetooth Pairing your BlackBerry smartphone to your computer and BlackBerry Desktop Manager.

Once we had figured out why he could not backup his BlackBerry smartphone, his next question for me was, “How do I ensure I’m buying a Datasync cable?”

ShopBlackBerry.com

The best way to ensure you are getting the correct cable is to buy it from ShopBlackBerry.com. You can order a Micro USB BlackBerry Datasync & Charging Cable or a Mini USB BlackBerry Datasync & Charging Cable, depending on which USB connection type your BlackBerry smartphone has. A BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet requires a micro USB cable as do most BlackBerry smartphones, but not all, so check out the Getting Started Guide for your BlackBerry smartphone if you are not sure.

If you would like to buy one from a store, make sure you check the labeling on the package or speak to a staff member to ensure you are getting the correct item. Besides being called “Datasync” I’ve seen these called “Datalink” and “Data” cables.

Have a question or comment about using a Datasync USB cable? Leave a message below!

When I received my first BlackBerry® smartphone, I thought ‘wireless everything!’ – then I learned that there was a bit of configuring needed to get this all set up! However, it didn’t take a long time to get my device up and running without being tethered.

From the home screen on the BlackBerry smartphone, navigate to ‘Manage Connections’ and ensure there is a check beside ‘Bluetooth®’. The next step is making sure your device is ‘Discoverable’. Navigate to ‘Options/Networks and Connections/Bluetooth Connections’. Make sure ‘Discoverable’ is set to ‘Yes’.

Pairing with the computer

There are a few things to consider when you pair the BlackBerry smartphone with your computer. There are a couple of system requirements that need to be met. Although there are a number of third-party Bluetooth driver stacks that will work with your BlackBerry smartphone, the default Windows driver stack is supported.

1. From the Start menu, select ‘All Programs’ and ‘My Bluetooth Places’.

2. Click Add a Bluetooth Device from the top left.

This will start the Welcome to the Bluetooth Setup Wizard, as seen here:

3. Click Next, and the Bluetooth software will search for any detectable Bluetooth devices in the area.

4. When the BlackBerry smartphone is detected, select it and click OK.

Note: If the BlackBerry smartphone cannot be detected, verify that all the system requirements to set up a Bluetooth connection are met.

5. A randomly generated passkey number will then be presented on the computer.

You will be prompted on the BlackBerry smartphone and presented with the same passkey to confirm.

6. Select ‘Yes’ on the device, and ‘Next’ on the computer.

7. This will bring you to the finish screen on the computer and the connect screen on your BlackBerry smartphone.

Depending on the Bluetooth device in your computer, the options available might be different. For BlackBerry® Desktop Manager connectivity, you should not need to select anything here.

From here you can select the ‘Don’t ask this again’ checkbox so you will not be prompted when you move within range of the computer.

8. Once you have selected ‘Connect’, you should receive a request for a connection on the computer itself:

Note: Depending on the default service it connects to, this message may vary.

Connecting to Desktop Manager

After getting connected to the computer, you can open BlackBerry Desktop Manager and it will prompt you to connect via Bluetooth.

Select ‘Yes’, and you’re done! Now you can synchronize, backup, and restore your BlackBerry smartphone wirelessly once in range of your computer!

After spending just a few minutes, you can now sync up your calendars and contacts – also, you can back up and restore when you need to! There are a few resources that are additionally at your disposal if you need to check on system requirements or to ensure the computer is using the correct drivers.

Did you find this article helpful? Let us know what you thought and if you’d like to see more!

How often are we in front of the computer organizing our lives in our desktop Calendar program or Address Book, then pick up our BlackBerry® smartphone to enter in this same information? Wouldn’t it be easier if we could transfer this information with the click of a button? Good news: The BlackBerry® Desktop Manager has a synchronization feature that will allow this data to be transferred quickly and easily! All you need is the USB cord, a supported desktop program and your BlackBerry smartphone.

* Note: Wireless Calendar and Contact synchronization may be available for select email accounts using supported device software. For more information, see How to Enable Gmail Calendar, How to enable Gmail Contacts, and How to enable Yahoo Contacts.

To get started, you need to make sure your desktop organizer program is compatible with the version of BlackBerry Desktop Manager you are using. You can find the list of supported applications in the following Knowledge Base article – Applications supported by BlackBerry Desktop Software for Windows® for synchronization.

Once you have verified your desktop application is supported, it is time to configure your settings.

Verify that your BlackBerry smartphone is showing as connected – you should see an image like the one at the top of this post. Once connected, select Organizer on the left menu.

Next, you want to select Configure Settings. This will bring up the Intellisync window where the next step is to configure each application you want to synchronize.

Let’s start with the Calendar. When you place a check mark in the Calendar box, you will see the list of installed applications which are compatible:

Select the desktop application you want to use, then select Next.

You will then have three options for the sync. You can do two way sync, or one directional from either the BlackBerry smartphone only or the desktop program only. If you plan to put entries in both your BlackBerry smartphone and your desktop application, two way sync is what you want to select.

When you have made the desired selection, select Next.

If this is the first synchronization made between the BlackBerry smartphone and the desktop program, you can select the option to transfer all scheduled items if you want the entire desktop Calendar to be on the BlackBerry smartphone and vice versa.

* Note: After the first sync, it is recommended to change the option to future sync or date range. Your BlackBerry smartphone has a setting to delete old appointments after a certain number of days, and leaving the option to transfer all scheduled items can delete old entries from your desktop Calendar as well.

Also, it’s important to make sure you have the correct user profile selected. Once you have made the desired choice, hit Next.

When you have completed the settings, you will see the finish screen.

When you have all your applications configured, you will see a screen similar to this:

Make sure you have the check marks in the applications and hit OK.

Now that you have all the applications configured, you are ready to hit the Sync in the bottom corner and transfer all your data to and from your BlackBerry smartphone and your computer!

If you have any additional questions, please leave them in the comments for us to answer.