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FAQ: Remove The ANNOYING Voice Activated Dialing From Your BlackBerry

by Ronen Halevy on Jan 26th, 2010
24 Comments »
 

maxmem1 Over the years we have covered this topic a few times. That does not stop new users from asking me on a regular basis how to kill Voice Activated Dialing on their BlackBerrys. There are quite a few ways to go about this but the simplest is by using a free application called MaxMem from BerryCoder. In no time you will be able to kill that super annoying and utterly useless “Say a Command!” voice dialing application.

MaxMem was released back in July 2008 and still works like a charm. You just install the tiny application on your BlackBerry and click the button that says “Remove VAD.” The program will then prompt you on every installation file it has to delete to remove Voice Activated Dialing. There are 3 files for each language supported on your device so expect a few popups.

NOTE: It is HIGHLY recommended that you backup your BlackBerry to your PC before removing Voice Activated Dialing.

You can download MaxMem onto your BlackBerry by going to www.berrycoder.com from your BlackBerry browser.

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 26th, 2010 at 4:00pm EST and is filed under BlackBerry FAQ.
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24 Comments to “FAQ: Remove The ANNOYING Voice Activated Dialing From Your BlackBerry”

  1. Comment by: Renee
    Not Registered
    January 26, 2010 at 4:04 pm EST

    Does this work on the 9700? I tried removing things and it didn’t work.

  2. Comment by: CadillacCowboy
    Not Registered | Posted from my BlackBerry 9000
    January 26, 2010 at 4:09 pm EST

    Won’t this screw-up one’s device?

    I though voice-activated dialing (VAD) was hard-wired into BlackBerry OS?

  3. Comment by: Heatley Fan
    Not Registered | Posted from my BlackBerry 9000
    January 26, 2010 at 4:13 pm EST

    I’ve had this installed on everyone of my BBs. It works great. Even tho I trim all the extras that I don’t need from the OS I still run it to make sure I haven’t forgoten

  4. Comment by: Ronen Halevy (View Profile)
    Senior admin - Posts: 4125 | Posted from my BlackBerry 9700
    January 26, 2010 at 4:18 pm EST

    Works like a charm on my 9700. VAD is built into the os but this app removes it safely.

    Private Message Ronen Halevy
  5. Comment by: artie
    Not Registered
    January 26, 2010 at 4:49 pm EST

    Will it affect Sprint Navigation?

  6. Comment by: jdy808
    Not Registered
    January 26, 2010 at 4:54 pm EST

    This works great … thanks Ronen.

  7. Comment by: kimaguresan
    Not Registered
    January 26, 2010 at 4:55 pm EST

    So…what do you use for handsfree dialing if you have a bluetooth earpiece?

  8. Comment by: blackberry_junkie
    Not Registered | Posted from my BlackBerry 8900
    January 26, 2010 at 5:36 pm EST

    Can’t believe people are hating on the VAD. If you’ve got a bluetooth and aren’t near your phone it makes dialing numbers and people (as long as they don’t have crazy names) a cinch.

  9. Comment by: Crystal
    Not Registered
    January 26, 2010 at 5:36 pm EST

    What’s annoying about the VAD app? I love being able to dial a contact without looking at my phone… especially now that so many areas are making cell phone use while driving illegal without handsfree.

    • Comment by: oakie (View Profile)
      Newcomer - Posts: 22
      January 27, 2010 at 5:26 am EST

      some of us dont use VAD. with a way to remove it being available, it ends up saving device memory.

      as for talking on a cellphone with or without a hands-free device while driving, that’s a whole different can of worms, imo.

      Private Message oakie
  10. Comment by: CadillacCowboy
    Not Registered | Posted from my BlackBerry 9000
    January 26, 2010 at 5:48 pm EST

    The problem with VAD is that often they don’t understand commands, plus one usually has to remember a long list of specific commands… I have found that it is usually easier and faster to just type a name in on the Home screen.

  11. Comment by: Ronen Halevy (View Profile)
    Senior admin - Posts: 4125
    January 26, 2010 at 5:48 pm EST

    The most annoying part is that it turns on every time you hold down the left convenience key on accident or accidentally hit the end button twice on your bluetooth headset after a phone call. Yesterday it got even worse and would not close so I had to reboot my 9700 before it would let me play any audio.

    It also sucks at voice recognition which makes using it as a voice recognition app useless. Unless the persons name is David or Mark you are out of luck. That makes last names almost impossible. Vlingo is much better at this if you really need voice dialing.

    Private Message Ronen Halevy
  12. Comment by: gRider
    Not Registered
    January 26, 2010 at 6:06 pm EST

    Is there any way to just turn it off?

  13. Comment by: Parabola
    Not Registered
    January 26, 2010 at 8:30 pm EST

    I love the VAD, perfect when driving and my BB is linked to my Garmin GPS. I totally didn’t realize there was hate for it … and I’ve never turned it on by accident. I don’t know if I imagine it, but I find that the voice recognition learns after initial uses (like suretype?).

    • Comment by: oakie (View Profile)
      Newcomer - Posts: 22
      January 27, 2010 at 5:40 am EST

      yes, the VAD app is capable of learning, and you can also train it individually under options > voice dialing > adapt voice

      it’s actually quite good. it’s built by Nuance, the guys behind dragon naturally speaking. i just never use it as waiting on voice prompts is often slower for me than just using a shortcut. plus, most people i know dont have anglican surnames, which usually confuses the crap out of it.

      Private Message oakie
  14. Comment by: scott
    Not Registered
    January 27, 2010 at 12:48 am EST

    you can always just change it so that your side keys do something else..
    like someone mentioned it is quite important to have with handsfree laws..

  15. Comment by: Carnitos
    Not Registered | Posted from my BlackBerry 9700
    January 27, 2010 at 5:40 am EST

    I love VAD. It works better than any other phone’s VAD that I’ve used. Do the number training wizard in Blackberry Options and it makes it probably 95% accurate.

  16. Comment by: oakie (View Profile)
    Newcomer - Posts: 22
    January 27, 2010 at 5:45 am EST

    i cant believe how many commenters are so concerned with others who may not like or use VAD and would want to remove it.

    it’s as if ronen accused your mothers of being whores or something.

    Private Message oakie
  17. Comment by: Chris
    Not Registered
    February 18, 2010 at 9:33 am EST

    Good tip, VAD can become very annoying!!!

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