|
Guide to Improving BlackBerry Memory Usage and Deleting Waste
If you're running an older BlackBerry, or you download a ton of apps, managing memory on your BlackBerry is pretty important. The first thing you're going to want to do is check your memory status and see where you're at. Go to:
Options > Status and check "File Free". This is how much space you have on your device. There are other ways to check which we'll go into later, but you're going to want a good amount of breathing room here, at least 10000000 bytes (10 MB).
If you notice memory fluctuating a lot, there are many things you can do to help conserve and free up memory. Lets go down a list of To Do items, that should be performed on a semi-regular basis, just like you would clean your bedroom.
Enable Content Compression
Options > Security > Content Compression (select Enable)
Delete Unused Applications
Options > Applications > Menu > Delete
Delete all unused applications, especially those such as the Help file. If you can, delete any unused language packs as well. After deleting an app, you'll be prompted to restart. I generally wait until all the unused apps have been deleted and then I restart to save time.
Lower Appointment Log Values
Calendar > Menu > Options > General Options
By lowering the amount of time that appointments are kept in your calendar, you can free up a little memory.
Lower Call Log Values
Call App > Menu > Options > Call Logging > Missed Calls
By only logging those calls that you missed in your messages folder, you save a bit of needed space.
Lower Message Log Values
Messages > Menu > Options > General Options > Keep Messages > 15 Days
It’s up to you how long messages are kept on your device but lowering this value will help free up some space.
Clear the Browser Cache and Cookies
Browser > Menu > Options > Cache Operations > Clear History
Browser > Menu > Options > Cache Operations > Pushed Content > Clear
Browser > Menu > Options > Cache Operations > Cookie Cache > Clear
Clearing the cache and all your cookies should help to free upwards of a few hundred Kb.
Clean Your Media Player Folder
Media Folder > Menu > Memory Use
From the Memory Use option you get a breakdown of memory usage and you can instantly spot if there any pictures or media taking up too much memory. If you see there are pictures sitting on your device memory, go back select:
Media Folder > Menu > Explore
From here you can browse through files and folders and delete any unwanted memory usage.
On older devices, you can manage the memory defaults. To do this, select:
Media > Pictures > Device Memory > Menu > Options > Change Device Memory Limit to 12MB > Menu > Save
Also make sure to delete any sample video. On newer devices, this is located in the Video folder. On older devices, the sample video is deleted in the applications (see above for deleting unused applications).
Battery Pull and Hard Reset
When all is said and done, it’s time to do a battery pull. This will hard reset your BlackBerry and can clear anywhere from 2 to 10MB of free memory. As a general rule, one of your first troubleshooting methods should be a hard reset.
User Guide for phone tips
- To open the phone, press the Phone button or press the Space key
To dial a number from the Home screen, type the number. To disable dialing from the Home screen, in the phone options, click General Options. Set the Dial from Home Screen field to No To assign a speed dial letter to a phone number, on the Home screen or in the phone, press and hold an unassigned letter key - To call a speed dial number, hold the assigned letter key
- To call your voice mail access number, hold 1
- To type letters in phone numbers, hold the Alt key and type letters
- To type an extension, press the Alt key + the 8 key. Type the extension number
To mute a call, press the Phone button. To turn mute off, press the Phone button again. If you are using a headset, press the headset button to mute a phone call. Press the headset button again to turn mute off - To change the volume during a call, roll the trackwheel
- To end a call, hold the Escape button
Navigation
- To move the cursor in a different direction, hold the Alt key and roll the trackwheel
To type an accented or special character, hold the letter key and roll the trackwheel. When the desired character appears, release the letter key To switch to another application, hold the Alt key and press the Escape button. Continue to hold the Alt key and select an application. Release the Alt key to switch to that application. To exit a screen or dialog box, press the Escape button To change an option field, hold the Alt key. Click a value To move directly to an item in an options list or menu, press the first letter of the item. To select a check box, press the Space key. To clear the check box, press the Space key again. To select a line of text, press the Shift key and roll the trackwheel. To cut selected text, press the Shift key + the Backspace key. To copy selected text, press the Alt key and click the trackwheel. To paste text, press the Shift key and click the trackwheel To capitalize a letter, hold the letter key until the capitalized letter appears. To insert a period, press the Space key twice. The next letter is capitalized. To insert the at sign (@) and periods in an Email field, press the Space key To reply to a message, press R. To forward a message, press F. To reply to all, press L To move to the top of a screen, press T. To move to the bottom of a screen, press B. To move down a screen, press the Space key. To move up a screen, press the Shift key + the Space key. To turn on CAP lock, press the Alt key + the Right Shift key. To turn off CAP lock, press the Right Shift key. To view sent messages, in the messages list, press the Alt key + O. To view received messages, press the Alt key + I. To view SMS messages, press the Alt key + S. To view phone call logs, press the Alt key + P. To view voice mail messages, press the Alt key + V. To move to the next item, press N. To move to the previous item, press P. To type numbers in a number field, press the number keys. You do not need to press the Alt key. In the Calendar, to change to Agenda view, press A. To change to Day view, press D. To change to Week view, press W. To change to Month view, press M
Searching/Filtering/Marking ALT-i: show only incoming mail. ALT-o: show only outgoing mail (messages you have sent - i.e. checkmark icon). ALT-p: show phone log messages (on handhelds that are also a phone). ALT-s: show SMS messages (on handhelds that support SMS). ALT-v: show Voicemail messages (on handhelds that are also a phone).
Note: The ALT shortcuts above are just saved searches. You can create your own, or edit existing ones. Please see the Custom Searches tip below. Further Navigating - t: go to top of message listing
- b: go to end/bottom of message listing
- Escape: close message listing and return to home screen (ribbon)
- Backspace\DEL: Delete the currently selected messages.
- Spacebar: page down
- CAP + Spacebar: page up
- Enter or spacebar: scroll down a page/screen at a time
- ALT-enter or CAP + Spacebar: scroll back a page/screen at a time
- b: scroll to end of page
- t: scroll to top of page
- u: jump to closest unread message
- n: jump to next message
- p: jump to previous message
- Escape: close message and return to message listing
- Backspace\DEL: Delete the currently opened message
- r: reply to this message
- l: reply-all to this message
- f: forward this message
- s: search for a word in the message
- i: file current message.
Specifying where messages are deleted With email reconciliation enabled, many people prefer to be prompted as to whether deleted messages are removed on the handheld only, or from both the handheld and their mailbox. To configure the handheld to prompt you as to which action to take when you delete a message: - If not already in Messages, click Messages from the home screen.
- Click the thumbwheel and then select 'Options' from the menu.
- Scroll down and click on 'Email Reconciliation' with the thumbwheel.
- Make sure ‘Wireless Reconcile’ is set to ‘On’.
- Change the option ‘Delete On’ to be ‘Prompt’.
Deleting messages from your BlackBerry™ handheld BlackBerry™ handhelds allows you to manage your mail boxes on the move, especially in case of deleting emails; an interesting option is to delete emails directly from your handheld, these changes reflect on your mail box as well. This helps to manage your mail box smartly. All you need to do is follow these simple steps; this is a one time activity: - Go to “Messages”
- Scroll down to “Options” & click
- Scroll down to “Email Reconciliation” & click
- Scroll down to “Delete On” & click
- Click on “Change Option”
- Select “Mailbox & Handheld”
- “Save” the changes that you have made
Once these settings are done, the experience that you will have is: To ensure that the changes are reflected in your “Inbox” on the “Server” you need to: - Go to Messages
- Scroll down to “Reconcile Now”
All the changes that are done on the BlackBerry™ handheld are reflected on the items you have on the mail server not on the items that are already downloaded on your local machine. Deleting multiple messages at once Hold down the CAP key and use the thumbwheel to scroll up or down to select messages. Click the thumbwheel and select 'Delete Messages'. Highlight a date (i.e. Tue, July 20, 2004) in the message list; hit the thumbwheel and select delete prior. All messages prior to that date will be deleted. Note: If you have your BlackBerry™ configured to automatically delete messages from your mailbox on the server when you delete them from the BlackBerry™, using this trick will NOT cause the messages to be removed from your mailbox on the server. So this is a good way to clean out the messages on your blackBerry™ without worrying about having them deleted on the mail server.
Combine these with a searching/filtering tip to make it even more useful. Example: To delete the last 5 outgoing messages (sent messages with a checkmark), press 'ALT' then the letter 'o' (for outgoing) this will show all of your sent messages. Then per this tip you can use the CAP key to select the last five messages. Click the thumbwheel and select 'Delete Messages'. Selecting Text There are a few ways to select text: Press the CAP key and then scroll the thumbwheel to select. If you release the CAP key and scroll the thumbwheel you will select entire lines. Press the CAP key again at any time to start selecting by character again. Hold down ALT key + CLICK the thumbwheel (click it don't hold it down), release the thumbwheel and then use it to scroll whole lines. You can press and hold the ALT key at anytime to start selecting by character again. Click the thumbwheel and pick 'SELECT' from the menu. Scroll the thumbwheel to select entire line. Click scroll wheel again and select copy. Cut/Copy: After selecting text, click the thumbwheel and select 'Cut Selection' or 'Copy Selection' Paste: Click the thumbwheel, and then select 'Paste Selection'.
NUM/CAP Lock - Turn on NUM lock: Press CAP + ALT
- Turn off NUM lock: Press ALT or CAP
- Turn on CAP lock: Press ALT + CAP
- Turn off CAP lock: Press CAP
Composing a Message Press and hold a letter to capitalize it (with Key Rate enabled).
Press the SPACE key twice to insert a period and capitalize the next letter.
Press the SPACE key to insert the '@' and '.' characters in an Email field. The first time the space key is pressed while in an email field, an '@' character will be inserted, any subsequent uses of the space key will insert a period. Thus if the email address is: "
This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
" you will need to type the first period. To prevent this character substitution, hold down the CAP key as you press the space key, or press the backspace key after the fact to undo (this behavior is identical to that of using AutoText).
Press and hold a letter key and roll the thumbwheel to scroll through international/accent characters, equation symbols and other marks.
You can insert certain information about your blackBerry™ into email messages. For instance, typing "mynumber" (without the quotes) and pressing space will insert your BlackBerry's phone number (If your blackBerry™ is also a phone). Likewise typing "myPIN" (without the quotes) and pressing space will insert your BlackBerry's PIN. These are simply AutoText entries that use macros. You can edit these or roll your own using the same macros. Example: I create Autotext entries for 'mycell' and 'myphone' to be the same as 'mynumber'. Calendar (with "Enable Quick Entry" set to 'No') - n: Go to the next day, week or months (depending on view)
- p: Go to the previous day, week or month (depending on view)
- t: Go to "Today" in the Calendar screen.
- g: Go to a specific date in the Calendar screen.
- a: Switch to Agenda view
- d: Switch to Day view.
- w: Switch to Week view.
Battery The largest draw on a battery is the transmitter. A few things that drain the battery: Frequent phone use Being in fringe or no coverage areas will eat up your battery as it attempts to transmit If you're in an area that is out of range, turn your handheld's radio off manually or use Options / Auto On Off to conserve battery life. Third party applications that must communicate frequently to maintain state (like some IM clients). Heavy use of the backlight will also drain your battery.
Geek Tips
Rather than looking at the bars, you can change the display of the 'signal strength' to read in real numbers. While at the home screen (ribbon), hold down the ALT key while you type NMLL. The bars should change to read numbers. For the 'signal strength', if you are in the 100 area (that means -100 dBm), you will be transmitting at maximum power, and since coverage is hit and miss at this weak a signal, you may end up transmitting many times before the packets make it through. This might help explain any poorer than normal battery life. I consider anything at -90 to -50 excellent. To get the bars back: While at the home screen (ribbon), hold down the ALT key while you type NMLL again.
Hold down the ALT key -AND- the CAP key at the same time, then press the letter 'h'. This brings up the "Help Me!" screen that lists version, app version, pin, imei, uptime, signal strength, battery level, file free, and file total. Mailbox Clean up Cleaning up your mailbox is generally much easier on a PC (where you may have better searching, sorting and archival tools), but you can do a lot of it from the BlackBerry™. Delete message that are no longer needed. These messages must not only be deleted on your handheld, but from your mailbox as well. To make sure you are deleting the messages on your mailbox, please review the ‘Specifying where messages are deleted’ aforementioned tip. After deleting the messages, you can click the thumbwheel and chose ‘Reconcile Now’ to speed up the process if needed, but please use this option sparingly as frequent use can degrade server performance. After deleting the messages, you may still need to remove them from your Deleted Items folder
Purge/Empty Deleted Items - Go into Messages from the home screen.
- Click the thumbwheel and then select 'Options' from the menu.
- Scroll down and click on 'Email Reconciliation' with the thumbwheel.
- Click the thumbwheel again, and select 'Purge Deleted Items' from menu.
Give this process a little time before trying to send another message. Remember that any item in your mailbox goes against your limit. If you still find that you are over your limit, you might have other items such as Tasks, Calendar, Contacts, etc. that you can delete.
Notes On Wireless Reconciliation
If messages deleted on the desktop are not deleted on the handheld, it can often be caused by one of following (assuming wireless email reconciliation is enabled on the BES and handheld):
The customer has "hard deleted" a message in Outlook. This is done by holding down the shift key as you delete a message. Messages deleted in this manner bypass the "Deleted Items" folder. Messages must go to the "Deleted Items" folder AND stay there long enough for reconciliation to occur. Which brings up #2... Messages must stay in the "Deleted Items" folder long enough for wireless email reconciliation to occur. This can take some time. Outlook 2003 in cached mode will add an additional slight delay to this as well. Wireless email reconciliation will not occur if messages are deleted and then the "Deleted Items" folder is immediately emptied (either by manually doing so or if "Empty the Deleted Items folder upon exiting" is checked in Outlook/Tools/Options/Other and the customer exits Outlook right after deleting messages).
Display
BlackBerry™ handhelds have different display options that you can select according to your requirements. These settings include:
Screen Standby Time Display Font Size & Type Backlight Time
Please follow these steps to change your display settings: - Go to “Options”
- Scroll down to “Screen/Keyboard”
- Click on “Screen/Keyboard”
Within the “Screen/Keyboard” menu, you can adjust: - Standby Screen
- Standby Timeout
- Font Size & Type
- Backlight Time
- Key Tone
- Key Rate
Select the desired menu, click on the roller button on the device, select “Change Option”, this will show relevant options that you can change within the menu, scroll to the required setting and click. While moving back to your main screen the handheld will prompt you to “Save”, “Discard” or “Cancel” the changes that you have made.
|
