One of the easiest ways to personalize your BlackBerry® smartphone is to change the default Sounds and Alerts Profiles. I’d like to provide an overview of how these profiles work and what options you can modify to suit your needs! This means custom sounds and alerts for anything ranging from phone calls, messages, reminders and browser content in addition to other applications.

This overview will be applicable for any BlackBerry smartphone that is using BlackBerry® 6. If you are using a different version of BlackBerry® Device Software, check out the user guide for information on how to configure the Sounds and Alerts Profiles on the operating system for your BlackBerry smartphone. In case you don’t know which version of BlackBerry Device Software you are using, check out this knowledge base article.

Additionally, to find out if BlackBerry 6 is available for your particular BlackBerry smartphone model, check out this post which provides information on how to perform a web-based BlackBerry software update. Provided your wireless provider supports it, you may be able to upgrade to BlackBerry 6.

Provided you are using BlackBerry 6, let’s get started!

Modifying and changing Sounds and Alerts Profiles while using BlackBerry 6 is very easy. All you need to do is tap the Speaker icon that appears in the top left corner of the home screen, or select the Sounds and Alerts Profiles icon on your home screen.

When it comes to Sounds and Alerts Profiles, BlackBerry Device Software includes a total of seven profiles by default: – Normal, Loud, Medium, Vibrate Only, Silent, Phone Calls Only and All Alerts Off. Within these profiles, you’ll be able to specify any audio file that is stored in memory on your BlackBerry smartphone or on your media card.

By default, some of these profiles are based on settings in the Normal sound profile. This means that if you change the ringtone within the Normal profile, the ringtone you have selected will also be specified in the Loud, Medium & Phone Call Only Sounds and Alerts Profiles. If you do not want to use the ringtone set in the Normal profile, you can manually set the ringtone that’s used in the Loud, Medium or Phone Call Only Sounds and Alerts Profiles.

You also have the ability to create contact alerts that will alert you when particular contacts call or send you a message. Contact alerts are always turned on and do not turn off unless you select the All Alerts Off profile. This means that if you select the Silent or Vibrate Only profile, the contact alert will still occur.

So now that we know how the Sounds and Alerts Profiles work, let’s set them up!

How to change your Ring Tone

1. On your Home screen, select the Sounds and Alerts Profiles icon.
2. Select Change Sounds and Alerts > Sounds for Selected Profile.
• To change your ring tone, click Phone.
• To change notifiers or reminders, click to expand a section and select an option.
3. In the Ring Tone, Notifier Tone, or Reminder Tone field, do one of the following:
• Click a tone.
• To use a song that is on your BlackBerry smartphone or on a media card, click All Music. Find and click a song.
• To use a voice note that you recorded, click All Voice Notes. Find and select a voice note.
• To use a preloaded alert, click All Alerts. Find and select an alert.
4. Press the Menu key and select Save.

How to add a Custom Sounds and Alerts Profile

1. On the Home screen, select the Sounds and Alerts Profiles icon.
2. Select Change Sounds and Alerts > Profile Management > Add Custom Profile.
3. In the Name field, type a name for the new profile.
4. Select the item that you want to change.
5. Change the ring tone, notifier, or reminder information.
6. Press the Menu key and select Save.

To delete a custom profile, highlight it, press the Menu key and select Delete.

How to add a new Contact Alert

1. On the Home screen, select the Sounds and Alerts Profiles icon.
2. Select Change Sounds and Alerts > Sounds for Contacts > Add Contact Alert.
3. In the Name field, type the name of the contact alert.
4. In the Contacts field, type the name of the contact.
5. Select a Contact.
6. Change the ring tone and alert information for calls and messages.
7. Press the Menu and select Save.

To delete a contact alert, highlight it, press the Menu key and select Delete.

As you can see, customizing your Sounds and Alerts Profiles is simple, and it allows you to personalize your BlackBerry smartphone.

What do you like about Sounds and Alerts Profiles? Leave a comment and let me know!

I’ve written before about Facebook® for BlackBerry® smartphones 1.9 and the cool new feature called Facebook Places. But every now and then I’m unable to update my location, and I get a message telling me that “Your location is temporarily not available”. There are a few reasons why this happens, and I wanted to share this info with you!

When the message appears, this means that your current location – such as an elevator, an underground parking garage, or anywhere else that may have poor cell reception – may not be accessible via Facebook Places at this time. At this point, before you do anything else, try moving to a location with better cell reception. Ideally, you want to be outdoors, as it’s easier to obtain a GPS signal. In most cases, this should address the issue.

However, if the message is still appearing when you try to check in, there are a few possible reasons for this:

1) The attempts to acquire a GPS or cell site location have failed. This may mean a number of things, such as:
- Your wireless provider does not support cell site location service
- Facebook Places may not be able to obtain a GPS signal while indoors
- Your BlackBerry smartphone may not contain GPS functionality and is running BlackBerry Device Software 4.5, 4.6, 4.6.1, 4.7 or 4.7.1, which do not support cell site location (see KB25069)
- Wireless service is not available at your current location
- A temporary issue affecting GPS may be occurring

2) Your BlackBerry smartphone’s Location Services are disabled or have been turned off.
- Check out my previous post to find out how to enable Location Services on your BlackBerry smartphone.
- There may also be some IT policies enabled that affect how Facebook Places functions – see KB24995 for details.

If your device is capable of providing Location Services and they are in fact enabled, you may want to check in with @BlackBerryHelp or visit the BlackBerry Support Community Forums for further assistance. You may also want to review this article from the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center for additional troubleshooting steps.

Let us know if you have any questions!

One of the great new additions to Facebook® for BlackBerry® smartphones 1.9 is the ability to let your friends know where you are using Facebook Places. Want your friends to meet you for sushi? Using this new feature, you can easily check in and tell them where you are!

But before you get started, there are a few simple steps that you’ll need to take to properly allow the application to find your location and check you in to your favorite Places.

By default, the option Share my Location with Facebook is disabled (unchecked) and may also appear as a non-editable/grayed checkbox. This option will remain grayed out until the application is able to determine that you have allowed Facebook to use Places and you have accepted the Places disclaimer.

1. Open Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones.
2. Click the Places (P) icon.
3. Click the Check In button once it appears.
4. Select a location from the list that appears, or select Add a Place and enter a Name and Description, before clicking Create.

The following disclaimer is then displayed with the option to accept or decline:

Once this disclaimer is accepted, the Share my Location with Facebook will work. If you want to turn it off later on, simply press the Menu button, select Options and scroll to the option Share my Location with Facebook – adjust as you please.

(Please note your Facebook profile privacy settings may also require some configuration in order to allow Facebook Places to be shared. Please see the Privacy settings in Facebook for more information.)

To acquire a location using GPS technology, a BlackBerry smartphone with GPS capability must be used and location services must be enabled on the BlackBerry smartphone. If this option is disabled, Places will not function correctly. If the BlackBerry smartphone does not have GPS capability, Places will use cell site location services to determine your approximate location, providing Location Services are set to Location On.

To enable Location Services, complete the following steps:

On a BlackBerry smartphone with BlackBerry® Device Software 5.0:

1. Select Option
2. Select Advanced Options
3. Select GPS
4. Ensure GPS Services is set to Location On

On a BlackBerry smartphone with BlackBerry® 6:

1. From the homescreen, select the Search icon
2. Type Location Services
3. Select Options
4. Select Location Settings
5. Ensure Location Services is set to Location On

Please note that if Location Services is not available, your wireless carrier may not be allowing GPS access. Please contact your wireless provider for more information.

[Updated December 6, 2010]   If you are do not see a Check In option, your BlackBerry smartphone may not meet the minimum requirements to use this feature, or is encountering difficulty obtaining your location. Please review the following Knowledge Base article for additional assistance: http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/KB25069

If you see the message “Your location is temporarily not available” when attempting to use Places in Facebook for BlackBerry smartphones, check out www.blackberry.com/btsc/kb24970.

Now you are ready to use Facebook Places from your BlackBerry smartphone. Where will you check in first?