Top 10 BlackBerry Troubleshooting Tips 1 of 5

Top 10 BlackBerry Troubleshooting

Tips
Last Updated: May 2005

Introduction
The most commonly encountered problems can be resolved with one of the techniques described, below. Try one
or more of these before calling BlackBerry® technical support.
As of 1 February 2003, customers who purchased a BlackBerry Wireless Handheld™ from Research In Motion®
will be charged a fee to receive technical support. To avoid unnecessary support charges, try these
troubleshooting steps before you contact BlackBerry technical support.

Troubleshooting Tips
1. Check the signal strength
Checking the signal strength of your handheld will verify whether or not your handheld has a strong enough
signal to send and receive wireless information.
1. Turn on your handheld.
2. Click the Options icon. The Options screen appears.
3. Click Status. The Status screen appears.
4. In the Signal field, verify the value is less than 100dBm. A weak signal shows a number higher than
100dBm, such as 111dBm.
Note: For BlackBerry handhelds based on Java™, verify GPRS, 1X or NXTL network status indicators appear
in the status section of the screen.

2. Reset your handheld

Reset your handheld by completing one of the following steps:

• Press the Alt key + the Shift key + the Backspace key simultaneously
• Insert a paper clip into the reset hole, located beneath the battery cover, to perform a hard reset. On
some handhelds the reset hole is located the back of the handheld.

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3. Check Network Settings

Checking the network settings on your handheld will verify that your handheld is properly configured to
send and receive information on the wireless network.

For handhelds based on Java:

1. On your handheld, click the Options icon. The Options screen appears.
2. Click Network. The Network screen appears.
3. Click Scan for Networks and verify the handheld is running on the correct network.

For handhelds based on C++:

1. On your handheld, click the Options icon. The Options screen appears.
2. Click Network Settings. The Network Settings screen appears.
3. In the Radio field, verify the value is set to On.
4. Verify the correct country is displayed for Roaming.
5. Verify the Status is active.
6. Click the track wheel. A menu appears.
7. Click Register Now and verify the handheld registration request has been sent.
Contact your service provider if you are unable to register the handheld, unable to connect to the correct
network, or do not have the correct options displayed in Roaming or Status fields.

4. Confirm the handheld-to-computer connection

Confirm that the handheld connects properly to the desktop computer.
1. Confirm the handheld is properly connected to the computer.
2. Close and re-open the BlackBerry Desktop Manager software on your computer.
3. Verify the handheld is detected.

5. Synchronize your handheld and desktop applications

Synchronizing your handheld with your desktop applications will verify that the information is up to date in
each location.
1. Connect the handheld to the desktop.
2. Open Desktop Manager and double-click the Intellisync icon. The Intellisync window appears.
3. Click Configure PIM. The Handheld Configuration window appears.
4. Select the application check boxes you want to synchronize.
5. Click OK. The Intellisync window appears.
6. Verify the Synchronize PIM option is selected.
7. Click Synchronize Now.

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6. Send a test email message to your handheld

Send a test email message from your desktop email account (on your personal computer) to your handheld.
If you receive the message in your handheld Inbox, this verifies your mail server is able to process internal
messaging.

7. Send an email message and peer-to-peer message from your handheld

Confirm that you can send messages from your handheld to your desktop email account, or to other
handheld users:
1. Send a test email message from your handheld to your desktop email account.
2. Verify the email arrives in your Inbox and on your handheld.
3. Send a peer-to-peer message to another handheld or to your handheld to verify it is sent and received
successfully.

8. Verify messages are being redirected to your handheld

Verify that messages are being redirected to your handheld, based on your email redirection method:
• BlackBerry Enterprise Server: Check with your BlackBerry Server administrator to verify the server is
online and operating as expected.
• BlackBerry Desktop Redirector: Confirm the BlackBerry Desktop Redirector software is running on the
computer and it displays a status of Running.
• BlackBerry Internet Service: Contact your service provider to verify the account is provisioned correctly.

9. Run the Application Loader

Running the application loader will help you verify that your applications are loaded correctly.
Warning: Back up your handheld data with the Backup and Restore utility before you complete the
following steps.
1. Connect the handheld to the desktop.
2. Open Desktop Manager and double-click the Application Loader icon.
3. Click Next.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions.

10. Search the Technical Knowledge Center

To search the Technical Knowledge Center for specific issues and troubleshooting tips, refer to
http://www.blackberry.com/knowledgecenter

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Conclusion
If you are still experiencing issues after troubleshooting, view the available options for BlackBerry technical
support at http://www.blackberry.com/support/options/getting.shtml.
If you are a TSupport subscriber, visit http://www.blackberry.com/support/tsupport/ index.shtml.
If you know that you require Incident-Based Support, visit
http://www.blackberry.com/support/options/index.shtml - ibs.

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Part number: TAE-00081-003

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