The digital compass on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone works like a regular compass, but also includes additional features. For example, you can choose whether the compass points to true north or magnetic north. The compass also works in any direction or orientation, including upside down (try it!).

Here’s a quick overview of how to use the compass.

True North or Magnetic North?

When you open the compass, you can choose to navigate based on either true north or magnetic north. Magnetic north, which is what a standard compass points to, can be influenced by several factors and is not constant. True north, or geographical north, is what you would see on a paper map and is constant. If you would prefer to navigate based on true north (for example, if you are using your compass to follow a map) you must turn on location based services.

To select a navigation method while using the compass app, do one the following:

• To navigate using true north, towards the bottom of the screen, set the switch to On.
• To navigate using magnetic north, towards the bottom of the screen, set the switch to Off.

Troubleshooting & Interference

• If the compass doesn’t point north, ensure your smartphone isn’t near any metal objects such as magnets or electronics.
• If you are shown a button that says Interference, as per the following screenshot, move your smartphone away from metal objects and proceed to flip and tilt the smartphone until the interference screen disappears.

• In order to navigate using true north, location-based services must be enabled on your smartphone. To enable location-based services if this option has been turned off previously, tap Settings on your Home screen followed by Location Based Services, and set the Location Services switch to On.

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles, Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

Looking for some help with a Wi-Fi connection issue on your BlackBerry 10 device? Follow the troubleshooting tips below, and if you need more assistance, there are several great options for additional help that can be found at the end of this post.

1. Verify that you’re in a Wi-Fi coverage area. If you’re connecting to a home network, check and see if other wireless devices are able to connect. If other devices can’t connect, you might need to reset your router (if you do not run the Wi-Fi network, contact the owner before resetting the wireless router). If you’re connecting to a work Wi-Fi network or a hotspot, talk to your administrator or an employee at the hotspot to ensure you are using correct login details.
2. Verify that your smartphones Wi-Fi connection is turned on, and review the wireless connection status bar icons to determine your current connection. To learn more about the various icons, check out the Wireless Connections icons section found within the BlackBerry Z10 user guide.
3. If the Wi-Fi network that you want to connect to doesn’t appear on the Wi-Fi settings screen, it might be hidden. If you know the network name, try connecting to the Wi-Fi network manually. For assistance connecting to a Wi-Fi network manually, check out our blog post on how to connect Wi-Fi networks while using a BlackBerry 10 smartphone.
4. Verify that Mobile Hotspot mode is turned off. If Mobile Hotspot mode is on, your smartphone can’t connect to a Wi-Fi network. To check, tap Settings on your home screen followed by Network Connections
5. Your connection might have timed out so try connecting to the Wi-Fi network again.

If none of the suggestions above help solve the connection issue you are encountering, here are two more things you should check:

1. Verify that the time on your BlackBerry smartphone is synchronized with the network time. If the times are different, it could prevent your smartphone from connecting (for example, if connecting to the network requires you to have a certificate on your smartphone, and the certificate has an expiration date). To review time settings on your smartphone, tap Settings on your home screen followed by Date and Time
2. If your email account is a work account, your smartphone might prevent connections to certain wireless access points. For more information, contact your administrator.

Still not connected? Here are a few more things you can try:

1. Verify that the settings for the Wi-Fi network are correct. To find out which settings to use, for a home network, refer to the information that came with your router; for a work Wi-Fi network, talk to your administrator; for a public hotspot, refer to any information provided for the hotspot or talk to an employee at the hotspot who might have details about how to connect.
2. If you use the Press WPS Button on Router setting in Wi-Fi Protected Setup, check that the Wi-Fi router uses Wi-Fi Protected Setup, and that it is set to send its profile. Verify that another device is not also attempting to connect at the same time, and that not more than one Wi-Fi router within range is set to send its profile. For more information, review the information that came with your router or contact the person who runs the Wi-Fi network
3. If you use PEAP, EAP-TLS, EAP-FAST, or EAP-TTLS to connect to a Wi-Fi network, verify that you installed the root certificate for the certificate authority server that created the certificate for the authentication server. The root certificate must be installed on your smartphone before you can connect to the network. For more information, talk to your administrator.
4. If you use EAP-TLS to connect to a Wi-Fi network, verify that you installed your authentication certificate on the smartphone. The authentication certificate must be installed on your smartphone before you can connect to the network. For more information, talk to your administrator.
5. If you need to contact a support representative, you can access diagnostic information by tapping Advanced on the Wi-Fi settings screen. To copy the log information to send to your support representative, in the Diagnostic Information drop-down list, tap Logs followed by tapping Copy Logs.

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit http://www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

Need to restart, or reset a BlackBerry Z10 smartphone? Here’s how!

To restart a BlackBerry Z10 smartphone

• Press and hold the Power/Lock key following by tapping Restart

Tip: Are you missing the Lock when you press and hold the Power/Lock key on your smartphone? If so, this is because your BlackBerry Z10 does not have password protection enabled. To learn more and find out how to set up a device password (which is the easiest way to protect your personal information), check out our post on how to enable Password Protection on a BlackBerry 10 smartphone.

To reset a BlackBerry Z10 smartphone

If you find things running slower than usual or not responding, consider resetting your smartphone.

• Press and hold the Power/Lock key for ten seconds

Note: Performing a reset using the step below will not remove any data from your smartphone.

For information on how to ‘reset’, or ‘restore’ a BlackBerry Z10 back to factory default values which will remove your personal data, check out our post on how to perform a security wipe of a BlackBerry Z10 smartphone.

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 device or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit http://www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

Running into trouble connecting to a Bluetooth device or Bluetooth-enabled car kit while using a BlackBerry 10 smartphone? Here are a few tips that might help you out!

• If you have set a password on your smartphone, in order to set your smartphone to Discoverable you will need to enter your device password when prompted.
• If your Bluetooth-enabled device requires a passkey and you don’t know what the passkey is, check the documentation that came with your device. Sometimes the passkey is set to 0000 until you change it, so if you don’t know what the passkey is, try 0000 first.
• If the Bluetooth device doesn’t appear in the Devices list on your BlackBerry smartphone, and you can’t connect by making it discoverable, you may need to initiate the pairing procedure from the Bluetooth device. To make your BlackBerry smartphone discoverable, swipe down from the top of the home screen, tap Bluetooth and in the Discoverable drop-down list, tap On or 2 Minutes. After doing this, follow the pairing process according to the documentation that came with the Bluetooth device.
  • Note: If you have set a device password on your smartphone, if you toggle Discoverable to On or 2 Minutes you will need to enter your device password
• If the Bluetooth-enabled device uses a battery, connect the device to a power source and then try again. Depending on the device, if the battery power level is too low, the device might still operate but be unable to pair.
• If Mobile Hotspot mode is turned on while using the BlackBerry 10 smartphone, verify that you’re trying to connect to a Bluetooth-enabled device that uses the Hands free, Headset, Serial Port, or Dial-Up Networking profiles. For more information on profiles, review the documentation came with the device.
• Verify that your BlackBerry smartphone is compatible with the Bluetooth-enabled device. For more information, review the documentation that came with the device.

For those that are using a Bluetooth-enabled car kit and need assistance, here are a few troubleshooting tips:

• Verify that your car kit is using the latest software version that is available. For more information about your car kit’s software version, check out the documentation that came with your car kit.
• Move your BlackBerry device to another location in your vehicle or turn your device to face another direction. The location of your device’s antenna in relation to your car kit’s Bluetooth antenna may affect the Bluetooth connection.

To learn about a feature on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone or troubleshoot an issue, there are several great options available to help. Visit http://www.blackberry.com/support for access to product manuals, how-to demos, tips and tricks, YouTube videos, support forums, knowledge base articles Twitter support, and contact information for your region.

A BlackBerry® product website I always recommend to people – besides the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog, of course – is the Knowledge Base. In the Knowledge Base, you’ll find solutions for technical questions or problems you may be experiencing in a straightforward “get it done” format. Today I’d like to provide an overview of how to search for and use a knowledge base article.

Something to keep in mind before we begin is that some knowledge base articles are created for specific BlackBerry devices or software. This means that knowing some key information about your BlackBerry product is really important. To help you collect this information, I’d recommend reviewing a post I previously published – Finding Answers: Help Us Help You.

Searching the Knowledge Base

You can perform a simple search by typing in the search bar and clicking “Go”. However, narrowing down your search criteria is a good idea. For example, typing “transfer a file using Bluetooth” and hitting search produces 167 articles. If I click “More Options,” however, I can refine my search to the device or devices I own.

Let’s perform a refined search:

1. Click “More Options” below the search text bar
2. Click “Select” next to Products & Services and a new window or browser tab will appear
3. Select a product and then click “Add” to the right of the pop up window — add more products if necessary
4. When finished click “Ok”.

I’ve now added the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone to my products & services and searched for “transfer a file using Bluetooth” again, this time finding 22 articles.

The search results are displayed below the search bar. Continuing with the example of transferring a file using Bluetooth®, I can now start to review the articles my search provided. In this particular case, the first article found is KB05409 “How to transfer a file using Bluetooth technology between two BlackBerry smartphone”.

Section by Section Breakdown

Environment

Earlier when I said it will be important to know some key information about your BlackBerry device, I was preparing you for this section. The environment refers to the hardware and software the knowledge base article covers; if you don’t see your BlackBerry device, BlackBerry software or other 3rd party product listed, then it is likely the article won’t be applicable to your inquiry.

Overview

Depending on the subject of the article you may find three possible items here: a statement about the issue or topic, detailed instructions, or a description of how a feature, behavior, product or function works.

Cause

If the article addresses a problem, then any/all root causes that have been identified will be listed here. It will be accompanied by one of the two following sections: resolution or workaround.

Resolution

If presented, this section will provide information on how a problem can be resolved. If you viewed the article I’ve been using as an example, KB05409, you’ll notice that it doesn’t have a cause or resolution field. This is because the article isn’t about a problem, but rather provides technical steps to complete a task.

Workaround

There are times when a resolution might not be available, but we know how to stop the issue form happening until a resolution is available. The workaround field will contain the steps you need to take to avoid encountering the same issue again.

Additional Information

You won’t always see this field, but when you do, take note because the information provided will be useful when competing any steps or resolution provided in the article.

Have a question about using the Knowledge Base? Leave a comment below!

One of my favorite accessories that I use at home, in the car or while on vacation is the BlackBerry® Music Gateway. This handy little device allows me to enjoy music from my BlackBerry® smartphone or BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet pretty much anywhere I go! (It’ll be especially useful in the family boat out on the lake this summer.)

To help you get the most of the BlackBerry Music Gateway, here are a few useful troubleshooting steps.

I can’t pair my BlackBerry Music Gateway with my smartphone or tablet

In the event you are unable to pair your device successfully with the BlackBerry Music Gateway, here are a few things you should check:

• Verify the BlackBerry Music Gateway is plugged into an outlet and turned on, as the device will turn off automatically if left idle for longer than two minutes.
• On your smartphone or tablet, verify that your Bluetooth® connection is turned on, as well as NFC if you plan on using it to help pair your devices.

If you are still unable to pair, you may need to clear the BlackBerry Music Gateway pairing list. To do this, press and hold the button on the top of the gateway roughly three to six seconds to clear the pairing list, at which point you can pair up to six devices again.

I can’t hear my music when paired with the BlackBerry Music Gateway

After pairing successfully with the gateway, if you run into difficulty playing music, there are a few things you should double-check:

1. Verify that the audio cables between the gateway and your speaker system is securely connected
2. Review the volume level on your speaker system
3. Verify your speaker system is set to detect auxiliary input
4. Ensure the BlackBerry Music Gateway is plugged into a power source and turned on

What do the LEDs on the BlackBerry Music Gateway represent?

After turning on the gateway by pressing the button on top of it, the LED in the bottom-right corner helps you identify the pairing status as well if it’s being used to play back audio. Check out the chart below to see what the various LEDs indicate.

For more information about your BlackBerry Music Gateway, visit www.blackberry.com/accessories and click BlackBerry Music Gateway.

Got a question about the BlackBerry Music Gateway? Leave a comment and let me know!

The newly-released BlackBerry® Music Gateway helps you experience your music, your way. Using the BlackBerry Music Gateway, you can wirelessly play the music on your BlackBerry® smartphone, BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet or computer through your home stereo or car stereo. Just plug the BlackBerry Music Gateway into your stereo system, and pair it with your BlackBerry device using Bluetooth® connectivity or NFC technology, then fill any room with your music! You’ve got full control over playback, change tracks, volume, and play or pause because your BlackBerry device is your remote control.

To help you get started, here’s a quick overview of how to pair your smartphone or tablet with the BlackBerry Music Gateway as well as some frequently asked questions.

After hooking up the BlackBerry Music Gateway using your desired connections, complete the steps below to pair your smartphone or tablet.

Pair with your smartphone using NFC

If you use a smartphone that supports NFC technology, you can easily pair and unpair devices by tapping your smartphone against the BlackBerry Music Gateway. Also, you can share a song from your playlist with friends and then tap your smartphone against the BlackBerry Music Gateway again to let others share their music. If you use a third-party device, make sure that NFC technology is turned on before attempting to pair with your BlackBerry Music Gateway.

1. Make sure that your BlackBerry Music Gateway is plugged in to an outlet.
2. Press the button on the top of the BlackBerry Music Gateway device until the LED flashes red and blue to indicate that the device is in pairing mode.
3. On your BlackBerry smartphone, select the NFC checkbox in the connections area at the top of the Home screen.
4. Tap the back of your smartphone against the top of BlackBerry Music Gateway on the logo. If prompted, on your smartphone, click Pair with Bluetooth. Your smartphone vibrates and the LED on your BlackBerry Music Gateway flashes blue when you have successfully paired.
5. Start listening to some music!

To unpair, tap the back of your smartphone against the top of the BlackBerry Music Gateway again.

Pair with your smartphone or tablet

The BlackBerry Music Gateway lets you wirelessly stream music to your stereo or speaker system from your BlackBerry smartphone. You can also stream music from other devices that support A2DP and AVRCP Bluetooth profiles.

1. Make sure that your BlackBerry Music Gateway is plugged in to an outlet.
2. Press the button on the top of the BlackBerry Music Gateway device until the LED flashes red and blue to indicate that the device is in pairing mode.
3. On your BlackBerry smartphone, on the home screen, click the “Manage Connections” icon.
4. Select “Bluetooth” followed by “Set Up Bluetooth” and search for new devices.
5. After selecting the BlackBerry Music Gateway, if you are prompted for a passkey, enter “0000”
6. The LED flashes blue when pairing is successful.
7. Start listening to some music!

Frequently Asked Questions

Q. Will this work with BlackBerry PlayBook tablet?
A. Yes, the BlackBerry Music Gateway will work with BlackBerry PlayBook tablet; however, it will only work with BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 or later.

Q. Will my smartphone device work with BlackBerry Music Gateway if it does not have NFC?
A. Yes, the BlackBerry Music Gateway will work with any Bluetooth device that supports the A2DP Bluetooth profile to stream music (almost every smartphone today supports this profile). NFC makes setup and connecting easier, but is not required.

Q. After I pair the BlackBerry Music Gateway with my BlackBerry smartphone, will it automatically connect again next time?
A. Yes, the BlackBerry Music Gateway will automatically connect to the last connected device. To avoid being prompted every time it attempts to connect, set the BlackBerry Music Gateway as a trusted source under Bluetooth Connections.

Q. Can I stream music directly from my laptop or desktop?
A. Yes, as long as your laptop is Bluetooth-enabled and supports the A2DP profile for streaming audio.

Q. How many devices can be connected to the BlackBerry Music Gateway at one time?
A. Six devices can be saved in the pairing list of the BlackBerry Music Gateway; however, only one device can be connected to it and streaming music at a time. To clear the pairing list, review the BlackBerry Music Gateway documentation.

Q. Can another device pair to the BlackBerry Music Gateway while I am streaming music?
A. The BlackBerry Music Gateway will not go into pairing mode while connected to any device. You must disconnect and then press the top button on the BlackBerry Music Gateway to enable pairing mode.

When using an NFC enabled device, it is easy to switch device connections. Tap the paired device to disconnect, and then tap the new device to connect.

Q. What audio content will play on the BlackBerry Music Gateway?
A. Think of the BlackBerry Music Gateway as your new device speakers. Music, movie soundtracks, and audio from video games will all stream through the BlackBerry Music Gateway.

Got a question about the BlackBerry Music Gateway? Leave a comment and let me know!

#TeamBlackBerry, I’ve got a question for you: When was the last time you backed up your BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet? Performing a backup on your tablet is something I encourage all of my friends and family to do, because one day you might be glad you did.

I know I was relieved when I was able to recover videos of my niece’s ice skating show that I recorded a few weeks ago. What happened is that I had recorded several videos using my BlackBerry PlayBook tablet and moved them onto my USB thumb drive. Several hours later I ended up knocking my keychain with my USB thumb drive attached to it into a sink full of water. After a few minutes trying to figure out how to save my USB thumb drive (ultimately it was lost), I realized I had a backup of my tablet thanks to BlackBerry® Desktop Software, which meant my videos were safe. All I had to do was restore the backup file to my tablet and presto – the videos were back, so we could always remember her first skating show!

Learn how to start backing up your tablet automatically (or on a schedule, if desired) after the break.

Before we begin, you’ll need to download BlackBerry Desktop Software, which allows you to back up and restore your tablet. To download and install it, click on one of the links below depending on which operating system you are currently using:

• BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC
• BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac

An important note about restoring backup files

When you restore a backup file to your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, files that are currently stored on your tablet will be deleted when a backup file is restored. In other words, if you have files stored on your tablet that have been added to your tablet since your last backup, considering using USB or Wi-Fi® file sharing to copy them off the tablet before restoring a backup file.

Something else to keep in mind is that backup files can only be restored provided that the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet you are using was set up using the same BlackBerry® ID. Attempting to restore a backup file made using one BlackBerry ID on to a tablet that was set up using a different BlackBerry ID will result in the following error (depending on which version of BlackBerry Desktop Software you are using):

• BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC – “There was an error restoring”
• BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac – “BlackBerry Desktop Software failed to restore your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet”

If this error occurs, to restore the backup file you’ll need to perform a security wipe of the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet followed by setting it up again using the same BlackBerry ID that was used when the backup file was created.

Backing up and restoring your tablet

Provided you have installed BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC or Mac, follow the steps below depending on which version you are using:

BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC

How to configure and perform a manual tablet backup

1. Click on the Start Menu, select “All Programs” followed by “BlackBerry Desktop Software”
2. Connect your tablet, click “Device” followed by “Back up” and select one of the following options:

• To back up all of your tablet data, click “Full”.
• To back up all of your tablet data except for your media files, click “Quick”.
• To selectively choose what information on your tablet you’d like to back up, click “Custom” followed by selecting the desired data.

3. After specifying what information will backed up, customize the backup file using any of the following options

• To change the default name for the backup file, in the “File name” field, type a new name.
• To encrypt the back up the file, select the “Encrypt backup file” check box and type a password.
• To save the settings so that there is no prompt to set these options again when backing the tablet in the future, select “Don’t ask for these settings again” check box.

4. To start a backup, click on “Back up”.

Enabling Automatic Backups of your tablet

After determining what information will be backed up and how the backup file will be created, to enable automatic backups of your tablet, open BlackBerry Desktop Manager, connect your tablet and click on the “Device Options”. In the following screen, check “Back up my device” and specify your desired schedule – daily, weekly or monthly. After doing this, click “Ok” and automatic backups will be performed based on the frequency you set.

Restoring a tablet backup file

In the event you need to restore a backup file, complete the steps below. Keep in mind, doing this will remove files stored on the tablet before the backup is restored.

1. Open BlackBerry Desktop Software, click “Device” followed by “Restore”
2. Select a backup file that contains the data you want to restore and do one of the following:

• To restore all of your tablet data, click “All device data and settings”.
• To select which tablet data you want to restore, click “Select device data and settings” followed by selecting what data you would like to restore.

3. A warning will appear that all data will be replaced with the back up file, click “Yes”
4. If the backup file is encrypted, type the password that you set to encrypt
5. Click “Restore”.

You may encounter an error that reads as the following: “There was error restoring – There could have been a problem with the device or connection during the restore. Verify that the device is turned on and connected.” This is a result of restoring a backup file on to a tablet that using a different BlackBerry ID than the one used when the backup was created.

To learn more about this error, check out the following knowledge base article KB31317 – Unable to restore a BlackBerry PlayBook backup file taken from a different BlackBerry ID.

BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac

How to configure and perform a manual tablet backup

1. On your computer, in the Applications folder, click the BlackBerry Desktop Software icon
2. Click “Back Up” in the upper right corner and do one of the following:

• To back up all of your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet data, click “All Data”.
• To selectively choose what information on your tablet you’d like to back up, click “Custom” followed by selecting the desired data.

3. After specifying what information will backed up, customize you backup using any of the following options:

• To change the default name for the backup file, in the “File name” field, type a new name.
• To encrypt the back up the file, select the “Encrypt backup file” check box.

4. Click “Back Up”
5. If you selected to encrypt the backup you will be prompted for a password. After typing the password, click “Encrypt”.

Enabling automatic backups of your tablet

To specify a schedule that will automatically back up your tablet, complete the following steps:

1. On your computer, in the Applications folder, click the BlackBerry Desktop Software icon
2. Click “Device Options” and on the Backup tab, select the “Automatically back up when device is connected” checkbox and select a interval
3. To back up all of the media files on your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet, select the “Include media in automatic backup” checkbox.
4. To encrypt the backup file, select the “Encrypt automatic backup file” checkbox
5. Click “OK”.

Restoring a tablet backup file

In the event you need to restore a backup file, complete the steps below. As mentioned earlier, doing this will remove files stored on the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet before the backup is restored.

1. Open BlackBerry Desktop Software and click “Restore”
2. Select a backup file that contains the data you want to restore and do one of the following:

• To restore all your device data, click “Restore all data”.
• To select which data you want to restore, click “Restore selected data” followed by selecting what data you would like to restore.

3. A warning will appear that all data will be replaced with the back up file, click “Yes”
4. If the backup file is encrypted, type the password that you set to encrypt
5. Click “Restore”.

If you encounter the following error “BlackBerry Desktop Software failed to restore your BlackBerry PlayBook tablet”, this is a result of restoring a backup file on to a tablet that using a different BlackBerry ID than the one used when the backup was created.

To learn more about this error, check out the following knowledge base article KB31317 – Unable to restore a BlackBerry PlayBook backup file taken from a different BlackBerry ID.

If you have questions or feedback, make sure you leave a comment!

1. Do you have a data capable mobile network connection?

The first thing you should check is whether or not you have a connection to the mobile network as well as the ability to send and receive data. To verify the mobile network connection status on your BlackBerry smartphone, tap on the Manage Connections icon that appears on your Home screen and verify if your mobile network connection is enabled. Provided it is enabled, complete the following steps to see if you are able to successfully send a PIN to PIN Message. This test will confirm if you have bi-directional data communication on your smartphone, which is required to send and receive email.

1. Open the Messages app
2. Press the Menu key, select “Compose Other”, then “Compose PIN”
3. Enter your PIN in the “To:” field
4. Press the Menu key and select “Send”

Tip: If you don’t know your smartphone’s PIN, scroll to the body of the PIN message you are about to send and type “mypin” (no spaces). After typing this and hitting the space key, the PIN of your BlackBerry smartphone is displayed.

If this test fails, you might also have issues using BlackBerry® Messenger (BBM™) or the BlackBerry® Browser in addition to sending and receiving email. At this point, I would suggest contacting your service provider for further investigation with this issue.

2. Check your Signal Strength

In order to send and receive data, you should have a signal strength greater than -95dBm (ideal signal is -70dBm to -95dBm). If you have a signal strength that is less than -95dBm, you are in a poor coverage area and may have trouble sending and receiving data. To view your signal strength, complete the following steps.

Tip: The dBm number is a negative integer, so “greater” would mean a signal strength closer to -0 dBm.

BlackBerry® 6 to BlackBerry® 7.1 OS

1. From the Home screen, select “Options”
2. Select “Device” followed by “Device Status and Information”.

BlackBerry® Device Software version 5 and earlier

1. From the Home screen, select “Options”
2. Select “Status”.

3. What type of email account do you have?

There are two types of email accounts you might have on your BlackBerry smartphone. The first type of email account is the BlackBerry® Internet Service, which allows you to integrate up to 10 different supported email accounts. To see if you have any email accounts integrated with BlackBerry Internet Service, complete the following steps.

1. On the Home screen, select “Setup”
2. Select Email Accounts followed by “Internet Mail Account”.

If the email account you are having troubles with is listed here, complete the steps below to resend your BlackBerry Internet Service books which may help restore functionality. If you don’t see the option of “Internet Mail Account”, your wireless service plan might not support BlackBerry Internet Service. Contact your wireless service provider for more information.

Resend BlackBerry Internet Service Books

1. On the Home screen, select “Setup”
2. Select “Email Accounts” followed by “Internet Mail Account”
3. Select an email account
4. Press the Menu key and select “Service Books” followed by “Send Service Books”
5. A message will appear stating Service Books were sent successfully.

If Service Books cannot be sent successfully, we would recommend you contact your service provider to ensure your data plan is enabled correctly – or you can tweet @BlackBerryHelp for more help!

The second type of email account you may have on your smartphone is for corporate email that’s connected through BlackBerry® Enterprise Server. To find out if this is how your email is set up, check out the following article: How to check if a BlackBerry smartphone can be used with a BlackBerry Enterprise Server or BlackBerry Enterprise Server Express

If you determine that you are using a BlackBerry Enterprise Server and are having issues sending or receiving email using your BlackBerry Enterprise Server email account, we suggest checking if any of your colleagues are encountering a similar issue. If not, contact your BlackBerry administrator for further assistance. On top of contacting your BlackBerry administrator, check out the following section which contains some knowledge base articles that might help out.

4. Additional Troubleshooting Information

After verifying you can send and receive PIN messages as well ensuring you have good signal strength, if you still have trouble sending and receiving email, a few useful articles from the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center are listed below.

• KB04422 A Red X appears in the message list after attempting to send an email message
• KB25936 Unable to send email messages from the BlackBerry smartphone when a file has been attached
• KB12116 Unable to send email messages from the BlackBerry smartphone using an integrated Yahoo!® or Gmail® Account

Don’t forget you can also search the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center for more support content, or you can tweet @BlackBerryHelp for one-on-one help.

Have a question about sending or receiving email on your BlackBerry smartphone? Leave a comment and let me know!

Some useful information every savvy BlackBerry® smartphone owner should know is how to reset their device. A reset of a BlackBerry smartphone is a troubleshooting method that completely turns off and restarts the operating system software and applications of a BlackBerry smartphone. In terms of troubleshooting, it is a useful first step if a BlackBerry smartphone is experiencing hardware, software, or wireless network issues.

There are two options when performing a reset: a hard reset or a soft reset. The difference between the two is that performing a hard reset involves removing the battery temporarily, whereas when performing a soft reset, a key combination is used to reset the BlackBerry smartphone.

Both options accomplish the same goal – restarting the BlackBerry smartphone – but an important thing to know is that a soft reset can only be performed on BlackBerry smartphones with a QWERTY keyboard, such as the BlackBerry® Bold™ 9900 smartphone or BlackBerry® Torch™ 9810 smartphone.

Note: Before performing either reset method listed below, ensure any open documents, emails or files are closed.

Performing a Hard Reset

As mentioned earlier, if you are using a BlackBerry smartphone that does not contain a QWERTY keyboard such as the BlackBerry® Torch™ 9850 smartphone, you can only perform a hard reset as a soft reset isn’t possible. The Hard Reset method of resetting a BlackBerry smartphone applies to every BlackBerry smartphone.

To perform a hard reset, complete the following steps.

1. Remove the battery cover from the back of the BlackBerry smartphone
2. Remove the battery, and then reinsert it after a few seconds
3. Replace the battery cover.

Performing a Soft Reset

A soft reset is a three-key combination that resets the BlackBerry smartphone without removing the battery. As mentioned previously, it is only available on BlackBerry smartphone models with a QWERTY keyboard, such as the BlackBerry Bold 9900 smartphone or BlackBerry Torch 9810 smartphone.

To perform a soft reset, complete the following steps.

1. Press and hold the Alt key (1)
2. While holding down the Alt key, press and hold the Right Shift key (2)
3. With both of those buttons still pressed, press the Backspace/Delete key (3)
4. When the screen turns off to indicate that the BlackBerry smartphone is restarting, you can then release the keys you have been holding.

A few more things you should know about the reset process:

• Performing a reset does not remove any data
• To fully remove data from a BlackBerry smartphone, you will need to perform a security wipe. To learn more, check out our post on What is a Security Wipe and when should I use it?
• Performing a reset does not remove an IT Policy if one exists. To learn how to do so, check out KB14202 – How to remove an IT policy from a BlackBerry smartphone which can be found in the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center.

Got a question about resetting a BlackBerry smartphone? Leave a comment and let me know!