Reset a BlackBerry smartphone

• BlackBerry® smartphones

A reset of a BlackBerry® smartphone is a troubleshooting method that completely turns off and restarts the BlackBerry smartphone's operating system software and applications. It is a useful first step if a BlackBerry smartphone is experiencing hardware, software, or wireless network problems.

Note: A reset of a BlackBerry smartphone does not delete any settings or data.

There are two options for performing a reset: a hard reset and a soft reset.

A hard reset involves physically removing the battery from the BlackBerry smartphone and then reinserting it. To perform a hard reset, complete the following steps:

1. Remove the battery cover from the back of the BlackBerry smartphone.
2. Remove the battery, and then reinsert it after a few seconds.
3. Replace the battery cover.

A soft reset is a three-key combination that resets the BlackBerry smartphone without removing the battery. It is only available on BlackBerry smartphone models with a QWERTY keyboard.

To perform a soft reset, complete the following steps:

1. Press and hold the Alt key on the BlackBerry smartphone.

2. While holding down the Alt key, press and hold the Right Shift key.

3. With both of those buttons still pressed, press the Backspace/Delete key. The display on the BlackBerry smartphone turns off to indicate that the reset has started, and the keys can now be released.

Note: Do not attempt to perform a soft reset on BlackBerry smartphones that are equipped with SureType® technology or the SurePress™ touch screen, such as the BlackBerry® Pearl™ Series, BlackBerry® Pearl™ Flip Series, and BlackBerry® Storm™ smartphone.

Note: Some BlackBerry smartphones do not display the Alt, Right Shift, and Backspace/Delete keys in the same manner. However, the location of the keys does not change. 

It is normal behavior for a BlackBerry smartphone to take several minutes to completely start up following a reset.

Some wireless service providers and third-party device manufacturers have processes called master reset, factory reset, or master clear, which erases all user data and settings for non-BlackBerry carrier devices, restoring them to a factory or out of box state. The wipe handheld command performs this same function on a BlackBerry smartphone. For further information on the wipe handheld command, see KB14058 .

The terms above should not be confused with performing a reset to factory, which removes an IT policy from a BlackBerry smartphone but will NOT remove third party applications. For more information on how to perform a reset to factory see KB21918 .

To reset a legacy BlackBerry device (Research In Motion® (RIM®) 850, 857, 950, 957 devices), insert the end of a paper clip into the small hole on the back of the device.