How To Wirelessly Sync BlackBerry 10 & Outlook Using Outlook.com (Free)

Account Setup - How To Demo - BlackBerry Z10-000160

We have had quite a few readers bring up the lack of USB Outlook synchronization capabilities in BlackBerry Link for BlackBerry 10. Many users still do not use Gmail, Yahoo, or other services that offer wireless sync. For a bit now I have been suggesting that users start using Outlook.com as a great way to sync their BlackBerry Z10 with Outlook wirelessly and was in the process of having a guide written up.

It turns out that the BlackBerry Help blog had the same idea and beat me to the punch. They have created a great tutorial on how to synchronize your BlackBerry Z10 contacts and calendar with Outlook using Outlook.com that is very useful. Check it out below:

Before we begin, a very important note! Please ensure you perform a backup of your Outlook data using Microsoft Outlook and your BlackBerry Z10 smartphone using BlackBerry Link before proceeding.

Do you have a Microsoft account?

If you already have an account with Outlook.com, Hotmail or Windows Live, skip to the next step or optionally create a new account.

For those that don’t have a Microsoft account and use a different email provider in Outlook on your computer that does not support wireless synchronization of your contacts and calendar, register for a new Outlook.com account (or Hotmail or Windows Live if desired).

Tip: Within this post you’ll see me use the term PIM which represents your contacts and calendar

Download and install the Microsoft Outlook Connector

Provided you have a Microsoft account and Outlook installed on your computer, the next step is installing the Microsoft Outlook Hotmail Connector (this tool supports Outlook.com and Live accounts as well). Depending on which version of Microsoft Office you are using, the 32-bit or 64-bit edition, click one of the following links and follow the instructions to download and install the Outlook Hotmail Connector on your computer. If you aren’t sure which version of Microsoft Outlook you are using, try the 32-bit version first.

Add your account to Outlook

After installing the connector software, follow the steps below to add your account to Outlook 2010. If you are using Outlook 2007 or 2003, the steps are similar but if you need additional assistance on adding a new account, search the Outlook help file.

  1. Open Outlook 2010
  2. If a dialog appears stating “Would you like to add a Hotmail account” click Yes. If not, skip to next step.
    • Enter your name, email address and password
    • Optionally name the account by clicking Advanced and entering a name
    • Click Ok
  3. If you do not get prompted to add a new account, click File followed by +Add Account
  4. Ensure E-mail Account is selected and enter your name, email address and password
  5. Click Next followed by Finish

Setting up Outlook for wireless synchronization

Since you have added the new account to Outlook, you’ll notice that two accounts appear now when viewing your email, contacts and calendar. Since Outlook makes it easy to manage multiple accounts, the next step is copying your existing contacts and calendar data that is stored in Outlook on your computer, to the new account equivalents that appear within Outlook.

After doing this, your contacts and calendar will synchronize automatically with your Microsoft account and the only change you need you to make is use these new equivalents in Outlook going forward when you are on your computer.

If you need help copying your contacts or calendar data, review the Outlook Help file (press F1 on your keyboard to access it) as well as some of the tips I’ve listed below.

  • Contacts – Switch your local Contacts view to List and use the Select All option (Keyboard shortcut: CTRL + A) followed by copying and pasting the Contacts entry to your new Outlook.com, Hotmail or Live account
  • Calendar – Repeat the same steps using the List view

Add your Outlook account to your BlackBerry Z10

After copying your contacts and calendar data from your local account to your new Microsoft account within Outlook, all that’s left to do is use the Add Account option on your BlackBerry Z10 and you’ll be able to wirelessly synchronize your contacts and calendar between Outlook and your smartphone.

To add the new account, follow the steps below or watch the BlackBerry Account Setup How To Demo for more information.

  1. Swipe down from the top of the Home screen on your BlackBerry Z10
  2. Tap Accounts
    • If you have not setup any accounts yet, tap Email, Calendar and Contacts
    • If you have already setup other accounts, tap Add Account
  3. Follow the instructions and enter your Outlook.com, Hotmail or Live login details
  4. When prompted, verify that Sync Contacts & Sync Calendar are set to On
  5. You contacts and calendar will now synchronize over the air wirelessly
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