A BlackBerry® smartphone comes packed with features that help you keep your data safe and secure, and setting a password for your BlackBerry smartphone is a cornerstone of that security. I’ve spoken with everyone from customers who use a password because they wanted to keep their siblings out of their text messages, to an engineer who designs space satellites who needed a password…well, because he designs space satellites!
Today I’d like to take a look at setting a BlackBerry smartphone password. I’ll explain the options available to you and what you should know before setting a password. If you are looking for BlackBerry® PlayBook™ tablet password information, we have a blog post titled How to password protect and secure BlackBerry PlayBook OS 2.0 which you should check out.
You Need to Know
The most important thing you need to know is you cannot recover a forgotten password. If it’s forgotten, you have a maximum of 10 attempts before the device is security-wiped, after which all personal information, contacts, messages and other information you wouldn’t want falling into the wrong hands is removed from the device.
This might seem a little drastic at first, but think about the personal information you keep on your BlackBerry smartphone and how you wouldn’t want it falling into the wrong hands. I’m not a space robot engineer but I’d like to keep my personal stuff, well, personal.
Perform Regular Backups
If you frequently read the Inside BlackBerry Help Blog, you know I’m a backup advocate, so use BlackBerry® Desktop Software, the BlackBerry® Protect™ app, or any other methods we provide you to enable the recovery of your information. You also have the option of encrypting your backup files using BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC or Mac for extra security. To learn more about these backup options, check out the following list:
- Backup using a PC
- Backup using a Mac
- Backup to your Micro SD card
- Backup wirelessly using BlackBerry Protect
Setting a Password
Setting a password is pretty straightforward, so let’s do that first and then we’ll go over the settings.
BlackBerry Device Software 5.0 and below
- Select “Options” from the Home Screen or from within a folder
- Select “Security” and then “Password”
- Set the Password field to “Enabled” and click “Set Password”
- Type a password
- Press the Menu key and select “Save”.
BlackBerry® 6 and BlackBerry® 7 OS
- Select Options from the Home screen or from within a folder
- Select “Security” and then “Password”
- Select “Set Password”
- Enter a password and then press the trackpad to enter the password a second time
- Press the Menu key and select “Save”.
Password Settings
You can customize how the smartphone password behaves by changing these settings:
- Number of Security Attempts – This sets the number of failed attempts before the device is security wiped.
- Security Time out or Lock After – Choose the length of idle time before the device is locked and the smartphone password is required to use the device.
- Prompt on Application Install – Choose to have the device prompt you for the device password when installing an app or game from the BlackBerry App World™ storefront.
- Allow Outgoing Calls While Locked – Check this to allow anyone to make calls when the device is locked. A use-case scenario would be that during an emergency, someone wouldn’t need your password to call emergency services.
- Lock Handheld Upon Holstering – If you have a BlackBerry-branded holster or case designed for your model of BlackBerry smartphone, enabling this setting will cause the device to lock when placed in the holster.
Note: If you see a lock next to any of these settings, it indicates that you have an IT policy blocking you from disabling the feature. Contact your IT department for more information on your IT policy.
Have a question or comment about setting a password on your BlackBerry smartphone? Leave a message below!