Command line tools are provided for extracting information such as device event logs and screen shots from BlackBerry® smartphones.
- BlackBerry® Desktop Manager 4.7 to 6.0
- BlackBerry® Desktop Software 1.0 to 2.1
- BlackBerry® smartphones
- Macintosh OS
- Windows®
- Open a command prompt. (Run As Administrator maybe required on some configurations).
- For computers using a 32-bit version of Windows®, type: cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\.
- For computers using a 64-bit version of Windows, type: cd C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\Apploader\.
- Run the loader.exe command as needed to extract the required information from the BlackBerry smartphone.
Available Commands
Syntax
loader.exe /<command>
where <command> is one of:
eventlog [<output filename>]
screenshot [active|primary|auxiliary] [<output filename>]
dir [<output filename>]
deviceinfo [<output filename>]
radio [on|off]
resettofactory
dump [<output filename>]
Note:
- Do not include angled or square brackets when entering the command.
- If the BlackBerry smartphone has a password, there will be a prompt to enter the password within the command prompt.
- If open, close the BlackBerry® Desktop Software on the Mac computer.
- Open the terminal.
- Type: cd /Applications/BlackBerry\ Desktop\ Software.app/Contents/MacOS/
- Once in this directory, the command ./bbdm is used with the appropriate switches.
Available Commands
Syntax
./bbdm [-password <password>] <command>
where <command> is one of:
eventlog [<output filename>]
screenshot [active|primary|auxiliary] [<output filename>]
dir [<output filename>]
deviceinfo [<output filename>]
radio [on|off]
resettofactory
dump [<output filename>]
Parameters
-
-password <password> connects using the password set on the smartphone.
Note
- Do not include angled or square brackets when entering the command.
-
If the BlackBerry smartphone has a password, it must be entered within the command line parameters.
-
If the password is not specified the Terminal window will prompt for the password to be entered.
Example: ./bbdm -password 12345 eventlog ~/Desktop/event.log where 12345 is the smartphone password
Windows Command Examples
Saves the device event log to a specified file.
Example
loader.exe /eventlog event.log
Remarks
For computers using a 32-bit version of Windows®, this would export to:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
For computers using a 64-bit version of Windows®, this would export to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
Capture a screen shot from the BlackBerry smartphone.
Example
loader.exe /screenshot active screenshot.bmp
Remarks
For computers using a 32-bit version of Windows, this would export to:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
For computers using a 64-bit version of Windows, this would export to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
Note that BMP image file sizes are large; to distribute them, compressing to reduce the file size is recommended.
Lists a device directory of all installed modules.
Example
loader.exe /dir dir.log
Remarks
For computers using a 32-bit version of Windows, this would export to:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
For computers using a 64-bit version of Windows, this would export to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
Lists BlackBerry smartphone general information.
Example
loader.exe /deviceinfo info.txt
Remarks
For computers using a 32-bit version of Windows, this would export to:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
For computers using a 64-bit version of Windows, this would export to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
Provides the following information:(examples)
• Hardware Id: (0x84000e07)
• PIN: (0x12A24B56)
• OS Version: (0x0)
• VM Version:(0x40600b9)
• Radio ID: (0x0)
• Vendor ID: (102)
• Active WAFs: (0x0)
• Hardware Id: (0x84000e07)
• PIN: (0x12A24B56)
• OS Version: (0x0)
• VM Version:(0x40600b9)
• Radio ID: (0x0)
• Vendor ID: (102)
• Active WAFs: (0x0)
Turns the device mobile radio on or off.
Example
loader.exe /radio on
loader.exe /radio off
Remarks
The smartphone must be running BlackBerry® Device Software 4.3 to 6.0.
Deletes all user data, including passwords and IT policy, from the smartphone.
Example
loader.exe /resettofactory
Remarks
The smartphone must be running BlackBerry Device Software 4.3 to 6.0.
After performing this action it will show a wiping screen. But after the wipe is done it will boot to the Home screen as if the build was freshly loaded onto a clean smartphone. No modules, including third-party applications, are deleted by this operation.
Exports a file system dump of the BlackBerry device.
Example
loader.exe /dump device.dmp
Remarks
For computers using a 32-bit version of Windows®, this would export to:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
For computers using a 64-bit version of Windows®, this would export to:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research in Motion\Apploader\
The smartphone must be running BlackBerry Device Software 4.3 to 6.0.
If the file has to be uploaded to Research In Motion the following URL could be used to upload the file system dump.
URL: www.blackberry.com/go/nalogs
URL: www.blackberry.com/go/nalogs
This action will result in the smartphone screen turning off and the smartphone restarting upon completion. The file system dump can take several minutes to complete due to the amount of data being transferred. An on screen progress indicator will be displayed within the command prompt.
Mac Command Examples
Saves the device event log to a specified file.
Example
./bbdm eventlog ~/Desktop/event.log
Remarks
This will export the event log to the users Desktop.
Capture a screen shot from the BlackBerry smartphone.
Example
./bbdm screenshot active ~/Desktop/screenshot.png
Remarks
This will export the screen shot to the users Desktop.
Lists a device directory of all installed modules.
Example
./bbdm dir ~/Desktop/dir.log
Remarks
This will export a the directory listing to the users Desktop.
Lists BlackBerry smartphone general information.
Example
./bbdm deviceinfo ~/Desktop/info.txt
Remarks
This will export the device info to the users Desktop.
Provides the following information:(examples)
• Hardware Id: (0x84000e07)
• PIN: (0x12A24B56)
• OS Version: (0x0)
• VM Version:(0x40600b9)
• Radio ID: (0x0)
• Vendor ID: (102)
• Active WAFs: (0x0)
• Hardware Id: (0x84000e07)
• PIN: (0x12A24B56)
• OS Version: (0x0)
• VM Version:(0x40600b9)
• Radio ID: (0x0)
• Vendor ID: (102)
• Active WAFs: (0x0)
Turns the device mobile radio on or off.
Example
./bbdm radio on
./bbdm radio off
Remarks
The smartphone must be running BlackBerry Device Software 4.3 to 6.0.
Deletes all user data, including passwords and IT policy, from the smartphone.
Example
./bbdm resettofactory
Remarks
The smartphone must be running BlackBerry Device Software 4.3 to 6.0.
After performing this action it will show a wiping screen. But after the wipe is done it will boot to the Home screen as if the build was freshly loaded onto a clean smartphone. No modules, including third-party applications, are deleted by this operation.
Exports a file system dump of the BlackBerry device.
Example
./bbdm dump ~/Desktop/device.dump
Remarks
This will export a the file system dump to the users Desktop.
The smartphone must be running BlackBerry Device Software 4.3 to 6.0.
If the file has to be uploaded to Research In Motion the following URL could be used to upload the file system dump.
URL: www.blackberry.com/go/nalogs
URL: www.blackberry.com/go/nalogs
This action will result in the smartphone screen turning off and the smartphone restarting upon completion. The file system dump can take several minutes to complete due to the amount of data being transferred. An on screen progress indicator will NOT be displayed within the Terminal window.
The BlackBerry Desktop Software versions that are designed for use with Windows can be downloaded from http://na.blackberry.com/eng/services/desktop.
The BlackBerry Desktop Software that is designed for use with a Mac computer can be downloaded from http://www.blackberry.com/mac.
Web-based BlackBerry Device Software updates are located at http://www.blackberry.com/upgrades.
To extract information from a BlackBerry smartphone using BlackBerry Desktop Software Support Tools, see KB27243.
Disclaimer
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(a) that the terms of use for the documents found at www.blackberry.com/legal/knowledgebase apply to your use or reference to these documents; and
(b) not to copy, distribute, disclose or reproduce, in full or in part any of the documents without the express written consent of RIM.
Visit the BlackBerry Technical Solution Center at www.blackberry.com/btsc.