FAQ: Possible Solution For Dreaded BlackBerry Error 523

I have dealt with Error 523 quite a few times on my BlackBerry though it is not as common as Error 507. Kevin sent in a great tip for our monthly tip contest with his solution for the BlackBerry Error 523 on this Tour 9630. I did a quick search for BlackBerry Error on Google and found that it is the number 2 searched BlackBerry Error so I thought it was worth posting for future reference. Normally I would just totally wipe my BlackBerry with BBMCP or JL_Cmdr but Kevin decided to try out Safe Mode. I have never really gotten safe mode to help but let us know if it works for you!

How to Save Your BlackBerry Tour from the Dreaded Error 523

I recently had a harrowing experience that made me incredibly anxious and fraught with fear and anger for several days. I got the dreaded “Error 523”. Numerous battery pulls and attempts to sync up with the desktop manager led to many days of frustration. I trolled the internet and the general consensuses were that my BlackBerry Tour was bricked and that I should give up and get a replacement. I really didn’t want to go with this option given that when I replaced my Tour previously (due to Error 552!) I was without a Tour for over a week. After spending countless hours after work, I was able to combine some of the best elements of the various solutions I read online and successfully revived my Tour!

Here are the steps that I took:

1. Reboot in “safe mode”. Hold down the “escape” key for a minute or two
2. Even though you’ve seen the “Error 523 white screen of death”, a sigh of relief will overcome you as you see the Tour boot in safe mode
3. Unplug the internet from your computer for the entire process. This was key for me as I couldn’t find a way to have the Tour connect with the desktop manager (DM)
4. Plug in your Tour and connect with the DM
5. Once connected go to the DM’s “Main Menu”
6. Go to “Application Loader”
7. Go to “Add/Remove Applications” and click “Start”
8. After syncing, your DM will show you a list of apps from your last sync-up
9. Remove any apps you recently installed or updated. While you’re there, you may as well do some Spring Cleaning by removing latent apps that have fallen into disuse
10. (I can’t remember if I was asked to choose an OS during this process, but if you are prompted, pick the safest choice…the lowest version available. However, I haven’t tried to install the latest version, either, so it’s your call).
11. Voila!!! All of your apps should be synced up as if nothing ever happened!
12. Wipe away tears of joy…

There you go! You didn’t brick your Tour and you don’t have to go through the hassle of replacing your unit! Hopefully, you’ll never have to use this tip!!

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