Tips for Battling a Sluggish BlackBerry

Posted April 25, 2009
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We have all been there before. The hour glass on your BlackBerry continually shows up, making it nearly impossible for you to do anything. Below are a couple tips to help overcome sluggish performance.

1) When in Doubt, Pull It Out (the battery)

Performing a hard reset on the BlackBerry is the fastest way to cure sluggish performance. The hard reset ensures that any running programs or processes are closed out. The caveat is that you have to wait for your device to reboot. To perform a hard reset:

  1. Remove the battery cover from the back of your BlackBerry.
  2. Remove the battery from the BlackBerry WHILE the device is still powered on.
  3. Leave the battery out for 30 seconds.
  4. Reinsert the battery and put the battery cover back on.

2) Close Unused Programs

I have seem many users of BlackBerry devices simply press the red End Call key thinking that they are closing out of a program. This is typically NOT the case. The End Call key simply takes one back to the Home Screen and leaves the program running in the background. To properly close out of a program you must press the BlackBerry menu key (for older devices click the scroll wheel) and then select Exit or Close. Properly closing out of programs when not using them will allow the BlackBerry to perform at its best.

3) Optimize BlackBerry for Maximum Memory

Check out the 5 tips below to maximize the internal memory on your BlackBerry. This will also help out with issues like deleted call logs and messages:

Move media files to memory cards

If you have a current-generation BlackBerry device (Pearl series, 88xx series, Curve series) it is recommend you purchase and install a microSD memory card. This will allow you to save any media files to the memory card, thus freeing up the BlackBerry’s main memory. To store pictures on the media card perform the following steps (for Pearl and Curve series):

  1. Go to the Camera icon on the Home Screen
  2. Once the Camera module opens press the BlackBerry menu key (the one immediately to the left of the track ball), and then select Options.
  3. Set the Store Pictures option to On Media Card
  4. Press the BlackBerry menu key again and save the changes.

Remove unused languages and the sample video

The BlackBerry device may come with extra languages you don’t need, and a sample video, which are unnecessarily taking up precious space. Perform the following steps to remove them:

  1. Go to Options > Advanced Options > Applications. You will see a list of your applications.
  2. Scroll down in the list and highlight a language you don’t need.
  3. Press the BlackBerry menu key, then select delete.
  4. If it asks you to reboot, select No.
  5. Continue steps 2-4 for any other languages.
  6. Scroll and highlight the BlackBerry Sample Video.
  7. Press the BlackBerry menu key, then select Delete.
  8. If prompted to restart, select Yes. If not prompted, simply remove the battery from the BlackBerry (while it is still powered on) for 30 seconds, then reinsert. This is called a hard reset.

Reduce amount of memory allocated for pictures and media

  1. Go to Media > Pictures.
  2. Press the BlackBerry menu key, then select Options.
  3. Set the Device Memory Limit option to the lowest available amount of memory.
  4. Also, set the reserved Pictures Memory setting to 0MB. Note: this will require you to have a media card as there will be no allocated memory available for saving pictures.
  5. Save the changes, then perform a hard reset.

Reduce calendar and message storage days

  1. Go to the Calendar icon, press the BlackBerry menu key, then select Options > General Options.
  2. Scroll to the Keep Appointments option and set it to 15 or 30 days.
  3. Save the changes.
  4. Open the Messages icon, press the BlackBerry menu key, then select Options > General Options.
  5. Scroll to the Keep Messages option and set it for 15 or 30 days.
  6. Save the changes

Clear the browser cache and history

  1. Open the Browser icon.
  2. Press the BlackBerry menu key, then select Options > Cache Operations.
  3. Clear all of the options.
  4. Press the Escape key. A Cleaning memory dialog box will display. Once it is finished the dialog box will disappear.

Clear the system log

  1. On the home screen hold down the ALT key, and then type LGLG.
  2. Press the menu key, then select Clear Log.
  3. Select Delete when asked to verify if you want to delete the log.

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