I got a kick out of reading a recent RIM knowledgebase entry about the top 10 troubleshooting steps for BlackBerrys. The kicker is step 2 which is a hard reset. It kind of reminds me of Windows where the first troubleshooting step is rebooting. The only difference is that the 10th troubleshooting step for Windows is kicking your computer… 🙂 Oh and step 11 on AT&T is using a payphone. (kidding)
Check out the list at this link or below:
Use this article to try to resolve a problem involving or relating to the BlackBerry smartphone, before engaging the help of your wireless service provider’s technical support services.
Troubleshooting steps
- Check the signal strength
- Perform a hard reset
- Check the network settings
- Register the BlackBerry smartphone on the wireless network
- Check the BlackBerry smartphone’s connection to the computer
- Confirm that the BlackBerry Smartphone can receive email messages
- Confirm that the BlackBerry smartphone can send email messages
- Check for service books
- Access the BlackBerry Help application
- Search the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center
Tip 1 – Check the signal strength
A sufficient signal strength is required to send and receive wireless information.
- Turn on the BlackBerry smartphone.
- On the BlackBerry smartphone Home screen, click the Options icon and then click Status.
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In the Signal field, verify that the value is between -40 and -100 DBMS. For instructions on changing the signal strength indicator, see KB02142.
Tip 2 – Perform a hard reset
For instructions, see KB02141.
Tip 3 – Check the network settings
Appropriate network settings are required to send and receive information from the BlackBerry smartphone to the wireless network.
- On the Home screen, click the Manage Connections icon and then click Mobile Network Options.
- If the Network Selection Mode field is set to Manual, perform a manual scan for available networks. For instructions, see KB02516.
Tip 4 – Register the BlackBerry smartphone on the wireless network
For instructions, see KB00510.
If the registration was successful, you will receive an email message on your BlackBerry smartphone stating that your BlackBerry smartphone has been registered with the wireless network.
Tip 5 – Check the BlackBerry smartphone’s connection to the computer
Check the BlackBerry smartphone’s connection to the computer to confirm that the BlackBerry smartphone is detected by the BlackBerry Desktop Manager application.
- Connect the BlackBerry smartphone to the computer using a USB port.
- If the BlackBerry smartphone is not detected, close and then re-open the BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
- In the BlackBerry Desktop Manager, click the Options menu and then click Connection Settings. The personal identification number (PIN) for your BlackBerry smartphone should appear in the connection field.
- Click Detect. If the BlackBerry smartphone is connected properly, you will receive a message indicating that a USB device was found.
If the BlackBerry smartphone is not detected, see KB11439.
Tip 6 – Confirm that the BlackBerry smartphone can receive email messages
To confirm that the BlackBerry smartphone can receive email messages, send a test email message using an external email client or web interface, such as Microsoft® Outlook®, IBM® Lotus Notes®, or Windows Live™ Hotmail®.
Send a test email message to the email address for the account that is associated with the BlackBerry smartphone. If the email message is successfully received by the BlackBerry smartphone, you will see a new email message in the BlackBerry smartphone message list. This indicates that the messaging and collaboration server* is able to process incoming email messages and forward them to your BlackBerry smartphone.
*Depending on the environment and BlackBerry services you are using on your BlackBerry smartphone, the messaging and collaboration servers may be different. For example
- Work environment: Your BlackBerry smartphone might be integrated with Microsoft® Exchange (messaging server) and a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server (collaboration server).
- Prosumer environment: Your BlackBerry smartphone might be integrated with Windows Live Hotmail (messaging server) and a BlackBerry® Internet Service account (collaboration server).
Tip 7 – Confirm that the BlackBerry smartphone can send email messages
To confirm that the BlackBerry smartphone can send email messages and PIN messages, send an email message from the BlackBerry smartphone back to the BlackBerry smartphone, and a PIN message from the BlackBerry smartphone back to the BlackBerry smartphone. For instructions, see KB02913.
A PIN message that is sent successfully from the BlackBerry smartphone to the BlackBerry smartphone should show the sent PIN message in the BlackBerry smartphone message list with a check mark and a D beside it and the received PIN message in the BlackBerry smartphone message list with a check mark and a D beside it. A D indicates that the PIN message was delivered to the specified PIN number.
An email message that is sent successfully from the BlackBerry smartphone back to your BlackBerry smartphone, should be received in your email application such as Microsoft Outlook, IBM Lotus Notes, or Windows Live Hotmail. The collaboration server will then attempt to send the new email message to your Blackberry smartphone. The received email message should appear in the BlackBerry smartphone message list.
Tip 8 – Check for service books
A service book contains information that configures how your BlackBerry smartphone interacts with the BlackBerry® Infrastructure. Service books turn on specific services for your BlackBerry smartphone. The types of service books that are on your BlackBerry smartphone depends on the features provided by your wireless service provider along with the types of email accounts integrated with your BlackBerry smartphone. When sending email messages from the BlackBerry smartphone, you must have a service book responsible for the integrated email address type that you are using to attempt to send email messages with.
To see what service books are present on the BlackBerry smartphone, click the Options icon, then click Advanced Options, and select Service Book. For more information about service books, see KB03151
For instructions on sending service books, see KB02830.
Tip 9 – Access the BlackBerry Help application
To access general information about using your BlackBerry smartphone and troubleshooting certain events, use the BlackBerry smartphone Help application.
The BlackBerry smartphone Help application can be accessed in the following ways:
- On the BlackBerry smartphone Home screen, click the Help (?) icon. Then, click Troubleshooting and select the topic you want more information on.
- In an application on the BlackBerry smartphone, display the menu and click Help. Select the Help topic that you want more information on.
Tip 10 – Search the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center
For specific issues and troubleshooting tips, search the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center.
Additional Information
If you are still experiencing issues after attempting these troubleshooting tips, contact your wireless service provider.
