How Do I Perform a Hard Reset of My BlackBerry Curve?

As of February 2010, the BlackBerry Curve is the top-selling mobile phone in America, according to Business Week. Because it is in such high demand, some users may wish to buy or sell used Curves, and if you do, you'll want to know how to do a "hard reset" or a "system wipe," which reverts the phone back to original factory settings.

Things You'll Need

• BlackBerry Curve

Instructions

1. Pull up the BlackBerry Applications menu. You can do this by pressing the "Menu" button to the immediate left of the trackball. It is the button with the BlackBerry logo on it.

2. Select the "Options" menu. This is represented by an icon of a wrench.

3. Select "Security Options."

4. Select "General Settings" at the top of the Security Options Menu. This will pull up a menu that allows editing of password options, as well as phone lock and content compression options.

5. Press the "Menu" button again. This will pull up a gray sub-menu.

6. Select "Wipe Handheld." This will begin the wipe process, which may take a couple of minutes. The phone will restart in original factory mode, with all of the data gone.

Tips & Warnings

• Some people use the term "hard reset" to refer to the process of manually shutting down a frozen or malfunctioning phone. To do this, simply remove the battery from the back of the phone for 30 seconds and then press the power button to restart. This will not wipe the memory.

• This will permanently delete any customized settings or data (i.e., pictures, videos, sounds, contacts), so be absolutely sure that this is what you want before you go through with it.

References

• Business Week: Blackberry Curve number one selling phone