newBBie.com

Kelly
This is an excellent how-to. I’m going to link to this article from my blog as well so more people see it.
By the way, there is a new app review of Yahoo! Go
Thanks!

Bull,
If you think of anything I missed, got wrong, or might be unclear about, please let me know. I know in your VZW job you deal with a lot of oddball cases that I would never anticipate. So, I especially value your review.
Thanks,
Kelly

Kelly,
This is a very clear and precise how-to, I couldn’t have written it better myself.
However if a customer has a question related directly to Blackberry or other Advanced devices issues, they are directed to the data support team, who are specifically trained for these problems. I can help out to some extent, but there are a much higher tier of support that can do a much better job.

Kelly,

I’m not sure if your Pearl is different than mine (8130), but my OS was listed under Options > About. Status gave me my PIN, battery percentage, and some other numbers and keys. But thanks for walking through this for me, as I’ve never done it either.

Brian

Brian,
You’re correct–I had a typo I have now fixed. Writing on too little sleep.
Thanks,
Kelly

My Pearl went into deep sleep with black screen after it failed to upgrade at first attempt.
FYI, The following articel saved it.

http://www.crackberry.com/blackberry-101-lecture-12-how-reload-operating-system-nuked-blackberry

Jae,
I’ve been hoping to find an article EXACTLY like that one BEFORE I need it. Thanks so much for bringing it right to my doorstep. I’ll revise this article to reference it.
Thanks again,
Kelly

Kelly,

Full marks on the site! I recently picked up a Pearl (my first smart phone) and am constantly learning new features. This site has greatly sped up the process.

A couple questions if you don’t mind: What sites do you recommend for downloading games and/or wall papers? I don’t want to infect my Pearl with anything malicious and the prices at the Sprint Online Store are outrageous. $30 for Tetris?!

Thanks again and keep up the awesome work.

mofo

mofo,
Glad this blog has been useful to you. I haven’t ventured too much into games, and I have always made my own wallpapers. Seems like I’ve seen interesting stuff at http://www.blackberrycool.com/.
Kelly

Cool. Thanks, Kelly.

Great info, thanks so much. I did it for the standby mode thing and it was worth the 20 minute wait. The “connecting to device” was the longest part and one has to wonder if the connection was timing out. But I just waited and all is well.

Louis

I just bought a Pearl and stumbled upon this site! Thanks so much for putting it up! I’ve bookmarked the rss feed and I’ll be checking it all the time!

Stacey,
Glad you joined us here. Hope we can have some good discussions.
Kelly

Have you noticed the following when using the video camera?

Old verizon software version .60 gave about 14-15 FPS video recording.
New verizon software version .97 gives about 8 FPS video recording.

A very poor downgrade if you use the video camera often.

brandon,
There is some discussion where some users did some test measurements and tentatively concluded that the frame rate depends on lighting conditions. It’s buried in this page: http://www.blackberryforums.com/general-8100-series-discussion-pearl/115214-latest-8130-os-4-3-0-97-4-3-0-170-a-2.html. The change log hints at some media changes but nothing specific about video frame rate. See the reputed change log here: http://www.howardforums.com/showpost.php?p=10727228&postcount=24.

If you find anything definitive or simply have new opinions to share, please let us know.
Kelly

Thanks soooo much for this tutorial. It was very helpful. I was very skeptical on upgrading, but you put my mind at ease. I just feel bad for those households that only run Mac OS. Thank God I am smart enough to have a widows based PC on hand when I need it!

P.S. I think Verizon should make an OTA version for those peeps. Anyone else agree?

Nina,
Glad your upgrade went well. Verizon (or other providers) probably won’t enable OTA downloads for files as big as a new operating system. Would clog their networks and risk disrupting phone calls. It is sad that Macs aren’t supported. And let’s not forget Linux!
Kelly

True True, I totally understand now. Thanks soooooo much for this tutorial again. I love the upgraded features. So glad that Verizon is on board with upgrading when available. I’ll keep this site in mind and check frequently.

i am a mac guy, and the only Windows I have access to is on my Mac by running Parallels. I tried to install the BB desktop software as well as the software on the Verizon cd, through Parallels, but ran in to so many installation issues. So I use PocketMac for syncing back and forth from computer to BB. This makes it impossible for me to upgrade my OS. If I take my phone to my Verizon Store, will they do the upgrade for me? I am well within the 30 days that I have for returning my phone; would I be better off with a different smartphone that is more Mac friendly?

PS. That was probably an oximoron, unless getting an Iphone and switching from Verizon to ATT, there isn’t anything that is plug and play ready/compatible with the Mac. PocketMac seems to work just fine, and I love my new Pearl, so hopefully running a Mac with it won’t cause too many problems.

cad871,
I was told by a Verizon Wireless customer service rep who frequents this site that they are NOT allowed to do upgrades.

I’m hesitant to advise you on switching to the iPhone. Before I bought my 8130, I thought the iPhone was the greatest thing going. But I heard from several former iPhone owners that the thought the Pearl was superior. It really depends on too many factors for there to be ONE right answer. Please stay in touch.
Kelly

Thanks for the info. I think I will pop in to my local store tomorrow and see if they can do it. They have always loaded any other software upgrades to other Verizon phones I have had, not sure why they can’t do this one….If they can’t, do you, or anyone else have any suggestions for how I can get the new upgrade on my phone. Like I mentioned earlier, can’t get my computer to recognize the phone when running windows under Parallels. (What frustrates me is that I bought the phone last week, which means it came with an old O/S and not the new one that has been out for a few….)

cad871,
It won’t hurt to try your local store. If they’ve done it for you in the past, I don’t know they would stop now.

Don’t feel like this new upgrade is a “must have right now.” It’s almost indistinguishable from the previous version. Some even complain the video recording has gotten worse (slower frame rate). My advice in the article was that software upgrades of ANY kind are an unnecessary risk unless you know it has a benefit.

Since your phone is new, why don’t you just focus on having fun with all its cool features. Worry about the OS upgrade later.

In the meanwhile, you could search out a good friend with a Windows machine who might let you install Desktop Manager and Device Software on. Or you might find a cheap used PC just for the purpose of being your BlackBerry workstation.

Really–go have fun with your BlackBerry. Don’t sweat the upgrade right now.
Kelly

I’m a new blackberry devotee. Only had it about a week. (Quite an awesome little piece of technology.) I thought I’d do the upgrade right away before I loaded it up with stuff. Your tutorial made it a breeze. I kept this site open as I stepped thru the process. Thank you for “being there.”
So glad I found this site while researching my purchase.

Li2a,
You’re gutsy to do an OS upgrade after having your BlackBerry only a week. Something tells me you’re not a mere mortal when it comes to technology. Anyhow, I’m glad the blog article led you through the process so well. I kinda crave feedback like that to reassure me I didn’t mess up the instructions. Hope you return and find more good stuff.
Kelly

good guide,

thank you for the verizon link

i just go my pearl today and found thatt there was an update to it so i went ahead and downloaded the file
looked over the guide
everything was done in less then 25 min,

i stared it and walked away and by the time i was back it was done, everything stayed on it the way it was (i had a 8830 before backed up) asked me to run the setup again i just canceled and we’re back in business

good guide

Hi.

I recently upgraded the software on my Pearl and have, as a result, lost the ability to sync my Calendar. I use BIS and sync via a cable (not over the internet). Any advice as to what to look for to correct this problem?

As a quick follow-up, I think it may be because I lost the [CICAL] service book file. Should there be a [CICAL] file? And if so, how do I restore it?

I should also add that I can’t find any of the back-up files I created before upgrading the OS.

Steve,
To find your backup files, search for *.ipd.

Your questions about Calendar sync problems and missing CICAL service book files are pushing the limits of my knowledge. You didn’t say what you were syncing your BlackBerry Calendar with. Outlook? Google Calendar? Or what?

In my Options > Advanced > Service Book, I see that I have two email accounts set up with attributes of CID: CICAL (same accounts also set up with CID: CMIME).

In Options > Advanced > Default Services, I see that I have Calendar (CICAL) set to one of my email accounts. Same for CMIME. Not sure why only one of my two email accounts is listed there. I guess because only one is set as the default choice.

If I do Calendar > (Menu key) > Options, I see my same two email accounts set up as selections for Calendars.

This may be a stretch, but I wonder if after your upgraded your OS, you got messed up in the Setup Wizard, or some setup got messed up in some other way. I say that because I think the Setup Wizard might be what sets up the stuff I described above.

I doubt that helps, but that’s the best I can do. I am very curious to follow your progress in case you learn something you can share with me/us.
Kelly

PS. As I understand it, the CMIME file is what stores your e-mail access (i.e., where RIM should look for your e-mail, the username and password). You should probably have one for each e-mail you access (I do). But if it is working properly, then I wouldn’t worry about it.

The CICAL file is what connects your BB to your calendar program (whether it is Yahoo! or Outlook or something else) and is usually identified by a corresponding e-mail address. I believe this is the file that, through the desktop manager, sets the fields that get synced. If your e-mail is kelly123@yahoo.com, both the CMIME and CICAL file will be identified as kelly123@yahoo.com. If you don’t sync your calendar or only sync one, you probably don’t need to keep the unused CICAL file, but again, if it is working properly, then it is probably best not to mess with it.

Steve,
You just taught me some good stuff. I’m especially pleased to hear there is an “undelete” option in the Service Books. I’m sure you’d remember if you deleted something unless it was totally a slip of the fingers.

I’m glad you got things working and returned to share the news. You never know what comment will help another person.
Kelly

Thank you sooo much for putting up this site.. I have had my pearl for about a week.. and just when I thought I had conquered it (or at least most of the major functions). It goes and does something wonky that I don’t quite understand. Your site is easy to follow and I now have it bookmarked. Thanks so much for breaking the phone down “Barney Style”

You’re Awesome

Tricia

Hello Kelly!
Nice article, one thing missing. What should I do if my service provider isn’t included in the provider’s list? My provider is Vodafone Romania, and is missing from the list. Orange Romania is in the list, so the problem is not the country. I searched their website and… nothing. Couldn’t get the provider’s custom Device Software. Is there a general OS for Blackberry, or I should go to their store and ask more details about upgrading the OS.

PS: My OS version is 4.2.2.146, so it’s kinda old.

@Tricia,
Glad you’ve found the site useful. Hope it continues to be. By “Barney Style” I hope you mean easy-to-understand. I’m assuming you’re referring to Barney the purple dinosaur and not Barney Fife!
Kelly

P.S.–You really think I’m awesome?! I’m blushing.

@Max,
I know several really nice people from Romania, so I searched hard and long for downloads for Vodafone Romania, but have had no luck. I did find a blog by a Romanian guy who loves his BlackBerry but HATES Vodafone Romania.

I don’t want to be responsible if you mess up your phone, but I wonder what would happen if you BACKED UP YOUR PHONE COMPLETELY and tried an upgrade using a download from Vodafone UK? (It might result in English language operation, but your English is obviously excellent.) My advice has been to NOT do an upgrade unless you’re having a problem or really need a new feature.

Please let me know what you decide to do, or if you ever find where to get Vodafone Romania downloads.
Kelly

I got a pearl about a month ago. I think it’s great, but I’m somewhat disappointed with the performance. I just upgraded to 4.3.0.97 to see if it runs any better. So far it’s fine, but at least one thing that bothers me is still there. The camera takes about 10 seconds to start and it’s just too slow to take pics. I have an 8GB SD in the phone (just emptied and formatted it, no difference) and if I take it out, the camera starts working fine. Has anyone seen this before? Any ideas?

I have only 3 additional applications (Google mail, maps and updater) and I don’t have much stuff (addresses, messages etc.) in the phone.

Thanks for the good info!

Juha,
I have a 2GB microSD card (made by Ativa), 61% full of files (mostly music). From the Home Screen I can open the camera and take a photo in about 3 seconds, and can take about 3 photos every 10 seconds.

So, possibly your 8GB card is slower by design, or slow because of its larger capacity. Maybe you could purchase an inexpensive microSD card of smaller capacity and see if that allows you to take photos faster. But you probably want your 8GB card with you for music, videos, etc.

Please let me know what you decide to do and how it works out.
Kelly

when I connect my Pearl to my computer the automatic update option is not popping up? how do I get it to manually recognize my phone needs the update?

to clarify I mean I’m not getting the automatic prompt to update….

shawn,
Try clicking the “Check for Updates” link on the bottom right of the screen of the Desktop Manager. I’m not sure if that checks for OS updates or Desktop Manager updates. Would you please tell me what happens when you try it?
Kelly

that link only checks for updates to the Desktop Manager no the device

shawn,
Are you comfortable navigating around your hard disk folders and moving things around? I would try moving (not deleting) my old OS folder (found here: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\Shared\Loader Files) to somewhere else temporarily. You should see the new OS folder in the same place. If you do that and re-try the process, maybe the Desktop Manager will get the idea it needs to do an update. Let me know what you try and how it works.
Kelly

Back to Steve’s question #28 on March 26….I have similar problems. I also use BIS, sync via usb cable, use Outlook for calendar, Verizon wireless, BB 8130. I set up my yahoo and gmail accounts for email, but do not use my internet provider account due to crummy pop mail services and waaaay too much spam. Thus, I only use yahoo/gmail. However, I DO use Outlook for my calendar, and sync-ed this Blackberry Desktop Manager once and it worked. Then, after 2-3 days I have added a bunch of personal/work appointments (like 37 reoccuring distinctly non-overlapping) and tried to sync.
Now, I CANNOT see the appointments in my calendar in Outlook! after sync. I called verizon tech support for Blackberry and they are “investigating it” and are calling me back tomorrow (?). I’ve tried to backitup, wipeclean, resync, and it still does not sync to Outlook properly. I also tried taking out the battery/reset and rebooting the home pc, no luck. I even tried to tell it “device” wins and send all appt’s to Outlook (one way) and overwrite all, no help. It tries to send appointments, but sends like 3-4 birthdays, and thats all it “sees” on the phone for transfer. I have no clue why it is not sync-ing and it is driving me NUTS!

#2 What am I supposed to set my default services to? (CICAL/CMINE)

#3 Am I required to have a vzw.blackberry.net email account? And, what exactly does this do? (purpose and description)

#4 What should I set as my “message services” under options/email settings? (does it matter?)

#5 What should I set as my “message services” under email options/email reconciliation? (does it matter?)

#6 When I send emails, I get a message showing what email I sent (a duplicate), but I do NOT have the boxes checked to confirm delivery, confirm read, or send read receipts. What the heck is going on???

Help! Confused but still loving this unit!

Thank you so much my brother. Your blogs were instrumental in me figuring out my new 8310. I now have all the applications and themes I could want on there, as well as the latest software etc. Much appreciated.

josh

josh z,
Glad to help. It’s so cool this blog has reached all around to your side of the world (Australia, judging from your email and IP addresses). Stay in touch, bro.
Kelly

@Brian,
I regret that I haven’t tried syncing to Outlook yet, partly because the university I work for uses a different group calendaring system (but will be moving to Outlook soon). There are experts on the web that know a lot out syncing with Outlook, however. I’d check out PinStack.com and BlackBerryForums.com.

#2-6: I can’t answer any of those. Maybe another reader can. There is a thread of discussion on this blog somewhere that addresses the “duplicate” emails.

Sorry I can’t be more helpful with your particular questions. Maybe one day.
Kelly

For Shawn.,
I too had issues with the Desktop manager not recognizing the device has an older OS and asks to update it. For some reason my Vendor file reappeared, and after removing it again the desktop manager instantly recognized the update after a restart. Try it out, hope it helps

Kaoo,
Thanks for lending a hand on this one. I hope Shawn is still watching this thread.
Kelly

@Brian for #6 sorry I can’t help with all your other issues, as I am using a company BES and all that sounds foreign to me, but as far as seeing the sent messages, I believe you can remove those from view by going into messages, then select your menu key/options/General Options under the display section there is a toggle for “Hide Sent Messages” that should remove those pesky sent messages from appearing in your inbox seemingly as a “duplicate”

Good Luck with the rest of your issues, if I stumble upon anything, I’ll be sure to return and post!

Thanks much to Kelly! This blog is awesome, and I visit it as much as possible to keep in the loop!

Cheers!

-Scott

Now a question for anyone that may have Sprint as their carrier:

I am currently on version 4.3.0.71 (Platform 3.1.0.37) on my Blackberry Pearl 8130

I cannot find a newer update to my software on Sprint’s site, or no icon on my unit to update OTA (Calling support @Sprint seemed to make me more stupid, the longer I talked to the person, so I ended the call as pleasantly as I could…)

Is there anyone out there with a Sprint 8130 that can point me to the updated version of the BB software for the 8130? Kelly mentioned earlier that he thought Sprint got the 4.3.0.97 version before Verizon did…

Does it exist for Sprint?

-Scott

@ Kaoo what is the “vendor file” you speak of, and where is it found?

Just looking at all possibilities of why my unit thinks its up to date when clearly it is not.

Thanks for any help!

-Scott

Scott,
vendor.xml is found at C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research in Motion\AppLoader. Open a folder like My Documents, copy that path above, paste it into the Address field of the My Documents window, and click Go. You should see the vendor.xml file in the newly opened window.

Here is a very authoritative article that claims to explain how to upgrade a phone to a new OS regardless of the wireless service provider you have: http://www.blackberryforums.com/general-8100-series-discussion-pearl/115214-latest-8130-os-4-3-0-97-4-3-0-170-a.html. Deleting the vendor.xml file is key to making the technique work.

I have never tried this because I’ve never needed to, but I trust the BlackBerryForums.com guys to know what they’re talking about.
Kelly

Thanks a bunch Kelly!

That link looks like all I need to upgrade, whenever I can find the time…

Thanks again, your blog is priceless, and your attention to it is INCREDIBLE!

-Scott

Scott,
Didn’t I tell you I get $1000 a day from RIM for keeping up this blog? Oh, wait. That was a dream. Never mind.
Kelly

Hi Kelly, I believe they should! (At the very least send you some sample BB models to play with, and new BB beta models heheh)

LATE it is, but I have upgraded successfully thanks to your excellent tutorial, and link to the files and more advice!

It went just as smooth as you described in your tutorial, and my carrier is Sprint, apparently they will not support installing the upgrades either, it’s all up to the user…

Kelly pretty much nails all there is to know in my opinion, so I doubt my similar experience will be of any help to others, short of confirming a flawless upgrade on the 8130 with Sprint as my carrier.

Off to much needed bedrest…

-Scott

Scott,
Really glad your upgrade went well. Thanks for confirming the instructions work.
Kelly

Kelly,

Another success story to report – Just wanted to say thanks for sharing this information. I talked to our corporate BES person and Verizon first and they both recommended the upgrade, so I went ahead. Your instructions and examples made it painless. I’m seeing similar results. i.e. more free memory, no memory leaks, everything seemed to transfer ok with no problems so far. Keep up the good work!

Jerry

Jerry,
Great news! And I needed that tonight when I couldn’t be helpful to any of the readers with problems. Thanks so much for taking the time to come back and share your results.
Kelly

Scott -

I’m in a similar position, and have trouble finding out whether there is an OS upgrade specifically for Sprint. All I can seem to find is that there is one for US Cellular, and for Verizon. I’m all for just upgrading to the verizon version, but my question is: were you having a memory problem before? And did the upgrade help?

Kelly, et al -

Thinking toward the future, I’m wondering if you’ve heard any more significant move about the upgrade to BB OS v4.5?? All I’ve been able to find thus far is simple article describing general updates:

BlackBerry Pearl 8130:

* Automatic playlist generation in the media player (H)
* Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo (H)
* Native format attachment downloading (S)
* HTML e-mails (S)
* Over-the-air device upgrades (S)
* Free/busy calendar lookup (S)
* Searching the server for old e-mail messages (S)

at this crackberry article:
http://crackberry.com/blackberry-operating-system-v4-5-formerly-4-3-1-update-details

But I’m wondering if there’s been any more word about a potential release date? Or about other advantages to the v4.5 upgrade? The memory leak issue is by far the biggest issue for, also, and I wonder if this will help..

Also, if you look at the article, they mention in the device specific upgrades that the new version will include YouTube streaming support for the Pearl 8100 — but there’s no mention of this for the 8130. Now I was under the impression that YouTube simply didn’t work on the 8130, and I’ve never gotten it to work.. but am I wrong? Or maybe all of the upgrades to the 8100 are included by default for 8130 upgrades? It wasn’t clear.

Lastly, what would be really incredible is if v4.5 allowed one to use the media card for device memory. somewhere over the rainbow, perhaps..

thnx again

Evan

Evan,
I’ve seen the same article you’ve seen, and similar ones. But I don’t know any more than you do.

From all the readers who have left comments, it appears that YouTube Mobile works sporadically on 8130s. I’m of the opinion that it’s dependent on network conditions at the time you try it. I think the solution will need to be a combination of software changes on the OS/Media Player and some kind of changes in the wireless providers’ networks.

I think everyone would love for the media card to be used for more than just media storage. It could be like a disk drive on a computer, maybe.

Thanks for your message!
Kelly

Wow!

I just finished the upgrade on my (Sprint) Blackberry 8130 with the Verizon software upgrade (4.3.0.97) from my previous Sprint version (4.3.0.70 i think) and I’m blown away.

Beforehand (same applications loaded) my free memory was around 11 megs, and afterward, it was around 17 megs. that’s a HUGE difference.

woohoo!

thnx again,

Evan

Evan,
That was a gutsy move! So glad it’s working for you, too. Thanks for returning to share the good news.
Kelly

Seems to be working for me. Got a little scared when it was taking forever towards the end of the update process, but everything on the phone seems to be working good. (Of course, I still have two things to test out. 1.) My text messages where getting deleted and I am/was 50% sure that I had enough memory. 2.) My bluetooth does not work like it was/is supposed to, in my mind.)

Troy,
Since I upgraded, my phone has continued to work great. I intentionally let my free memory go down to 0.25MB (I’ve installed tons of apps and run them a lot to use up memory–on purpose), and still haven’t had a single message get deleted, or any performance problems. So, memory management must be better after the upgrade.

Before and after the upgrade, I have had trouble keeping my Bluetooth paired with my Bluetooth GPS receiver, but it stays paired fine with my BT headset. Not sure why I’m having the trouble with BT GPS.

Glad the upgrade seems to have gone well for you.
Kelly

How do you do this if you are using a BES? When you connect using Desktop Manager the phones usually get messed up (lose wireless reconciliation options).

John,
You need to check with your BES administrator on that.
Kelly

@John: My Blackberry is setup on BES, and I performed this upgrade with no issues. The problems with connecting to desktop manager may be an issue if you do that occassionally and allow the desktop manager to configure a profile etc. but I have found it has not had any negative impact on me thus far, as I cancel out of any prompts I get once I connect to the desktop manager,…BUT

When I performed the upgrade, I followed Kelly’s instructions exactly, and the upgrade went fine, the reconciliation does not matter, as I had to re-activate my enterprise activation after the upgrade anyways, thus returning all settings to where they should be I imagine…

I have access to the BES, and can set my own password to activate etc. so I have it easy, as Kelly said though, you might want to check with your BES administrator for the final word on things. I can try and help you through though, if you have some specific questions etc.

Let me know!

-Scott

@Evan: SORRY! I saw your posting too late, but it appears you have upgraded successfully, and thats good news!

I performed my upgrade (I also have a sprint unit) through the link Kelly provided in a previous post to me: ( http://www.blackberryforums.com/general-8100-series-discussion-pearl/115214-latest-8130-os-4-3-0-97-4-3-0-170-a.html ) and it went through without any issues whatsoever.

I had lack of memory issues before the upgrade and after I found more memory available as you had, and in general the phone seems more responsive, and has better reception and signal strength. The memory boost was what was most beneficial to me, not sure why the older software ate so much of it up…

Glad you got it upgraded, but has your youtube experience been any better? I find it works more often than not, but certainly does not seem to be any rhyme or reason to it…

Have a great day all!

-Scott

Help! I really am also having a problem getting Outlook to sync with my Blackberry Pearl. I have Outlook 2007 and verified with Verizon tech support that this version DOES work with Blackberry. Phone syncs upon connection to my desktop, and address info is swapped between the two, but the calendar info won’t sync. My CICAL (in default services menu) is also set to (inexplicably) my AOL email address. Any way to change this setting in phone advanced options to reflect my desire to use Outlook as my calendar? How are people getting this to work? Help! -Elaine

Elaine,
I don’t sync to Outlook so I can’t give you first-hand answers. First, about CICAL, I think it should be set to the email address you use with Outlook. See an older reader comment about that here: http://blackberry8130.wordpress.com/2008/03/08/how-i-upgraded-my-blackberry-operating-system/#comment-790.

The only other thing I’ve found about Calendar syncing is that a calendar entry deemed by Desktop Manager to be “corrupt” will apparently prevent syncing from doing anything at all, but with no error message. At least there is one case where that happens; maybe not all cases, since I haven’t tried it many ways.
Kelly

Hi, great website. I just purchased the pearl 8130 1 wk ago, but it ha the old software. Are the selling the Pearl with the 4.3.0.97 software pre-installed? Thanks!

Nav,
It probably takes a while to flush out the existing inventory with the older OS on it. Surely in due time they will sell 8130s with the newer OS.
Kelly

Do you happen to know when 4.3.0.97 was released? Thanks!

Nav,
Verizon released it in late February or early March 2008. That’s the best I remember. I can’t say for other providers.
Kelly

Does it matter if the media card is in the Pearl 8130 during the upgrade?

Judi,
No, you can leave your media card in during the upgrade.
Kelly

so does this update fix the memory leak problem and having messages and call logs deleted? or does it just prolong the time until it happens?

c0mplex,
I believe this update provides better memory management but it does not and cannot eliminate all memory leaks. If a 3rd party application leaks memory due to a defect, or simply consumes a lot of memory doing what it’s supposed to be doing, you will see memory slowly disappear. If you keep saving media, messages, and other personal data, your memory will slowly disappear.

But I think the answer you’re looking for is this: In my case, after the upgrade, I’ve intentionally let memory get filled until it was less than 1MB (actually, about 250kB), and I did not have any messages or such disappear. You may not be able to draw a general conclusion from that for other users, but I think the update is far superior when it comes to memory management.
Kelly

hi do u know how to fix a blackberry when it keeps turnong on and off with the spinning hourclock on the screen? i have an 8700c

eddie,
I have an article you must have overlooked that describes that problem. It’s here: http://blackberry8130.wordpress.com/2008/03/01/text-messages-email-call-logs-disappearing-insufficient-application-space-keep-getting-a-tumbling-hourglass/.

That article probably applies equally well to an 8700c. A quick tip, if you haven’t already tried it, is to pull the battery out, wait 10 seconds, then replace the battery. Hopefully that will allow your phone to recover long enough to try a fix. It’s likely a problem with your phone’s memory being full. After reading the article and trying it’s recommendations, you might be able to decide.

Let me know what happens after you try that stuff.
Kelly

I love this blog! Just tried this last night – late at night (big mistake) and wound up with the dreaded, “white screen of death” AND the 507 Error. Based on your advice, I may try to re-install the software a third time (may be the charm). If this doesn’t work, this will make the 3rd Pearl I’ve had in 3 months due to issues. Maybe the Pearl isn’t for me, but when it works, it works great. I should have never tried to upgrade the OS!

Rodger,
Sorry your upgrade didn’t go well. I hope, too, that the third try will be successful.

BTW–when one gets the 507 error, is the phone totally non-functional? If I were in your shoes and simply couldn’t get the upgrade to work, I might consider trying a trick of doing a “wipe handheld.” It can be done on the phone by doing Options > Security Options > General Settings > (press Menu key) > Wipe Handheld. Or if that isn’t working, I’d see if JavaLoader (or JL_CMDer) could accomplish the same thing. I have no evidence whatsoever that this would help, but when I’m stuck with no alternative, my troubleshooting technique is to simply try anything “different” that may shake loose whatever is causing the problem.

Let me know how you progress with this. You’d be surprised but trials like these often teach you things you’d never learn otherwise. Not that you’d choose to learn them that way!
Kelly

First I want to say that I didn’t know about this article until 3 hours ago. I couldn’t wait to get home so I could try the upgrade. Now for my 2 cents. The upgrade went flawlessly. It took about 30 minutes, and I have quite a bit applications and data on the device. I’m one of those that just have to read the manual to everything, that being said, I’m glad I read all the comments before starting the upgrade. For those who had a problem with upgrading, the first law before any software install is to disable any antivirus, especially Norton’s, and while you’re at it, play it safe, anti spyware. All my settings stayed the same, no issues. To be honest, at one point, my heart skipped a beat. About 3/4 of the way, for a moment I did see the error 507, but it disappeared a moment later.

Patrick,
My blog statistics show that thousands of readers have read this article then clicked the link to go to the download (upgrade) site. So I have to figure that a big percentage of them actually went through with the upgrade even though very, very few come back to leave a comment. I would like to assume that the upgrade went well for most of them or I probably would have heard complaints.

Thanks for taking the time to let me know how it went.
Kelly

Hi I stumbled upon this article while trying to figure out how to fix a problem lve been having. maybe you could help?
My phone keeps deleting my texts and my call log no matter what I do. Verizon told me I needed a software upgrade but I already have 4.3.97 do you have any idea what’s going on?

Laura,
Almost all of us have this problem. Read this article for the answer: http://blackberry8130.wordpress.com/2008/03/01/text-messages-email-call-logs-disappearing-insufficient-application-space-keep-getting-a-tumbling-hourglass/.

Let me know if you need more help.
Kelly

argh! no linux desktop manager etc

Kelly,

I have to say that this is possibly the most painless thing I have EVER done with a piece of technology. Your explanations, pictures and examples were perfect. Thank you SO much for taking the time out to do this for all of us BlackBerry newbies (such as myself, although I’m not new to technology in the slightest).

I had to admit that near the end I was getting a bit frustrated looking at the white screen with the hourglass, but about 10 minutes after waiting, sure enough my phone was working! Everything is back to the way I had it, all of my contacts and everything were backed up and replaced to my handset, and I am one very happy BlackBerry Pearl owner.

Keep up the good work, Kelly, and good luck to all of you about to perform this upgrade!

Thanks again,
Caitlin

Notwithstanding the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” advice, (”As a general rule, if you’re not having a problem, doing an upgrade is probably taking an unnecessary risk.”) are there any compelling ADVANTAGES to doing an upgrade from 4.3.0.60 to 4.3.0.97?

I have no current issues; I am what one could probably categorize as a light user – phone, email and calender (w/ google apps), baseball scores, NYTimes for news – not much more.

So, should I not try to “fix it” cause it sure ain’t broke?
(I just wish it had more than one alarm).

Thanks – great site.

JJS

JJS,
I wasn’t having any big problems when I did the upgrade. I had a mild problem with memory disappearing, like most everybody else. Since the upgrade, I feel certain my memory is holding much steadier. I still reboot it every week or so just to be safe. I’m glad I did the upgrade. If you are comfortable with the directions I give in the article above, I say give it a shot. No guts, no glory.
Kelly

How did you get the bphone app onto your 8130???
i have tried and tried, but nothing has worked!

Caulin,
It may have installed OK but just isn’t showing up. You may need to pull the battery (remove, wait , replace, wait). Try that and see if it doesn’t show up. I don’t know why, but many people report that works for them.

Now, if you’re getting an error message, that is another story. Let me know.
Kelly

Kelly,

As Always, great article. My OS Upgrade went very smoothly. But I do have one question, how did you get your phone icons to look like the icons of a iphone or ipod touch? I want mines to look like that.

Thanks

mshamika,
See my review of the immensely popular (and free, but donation accepted) bPhone theme here: http://newbbie.com/2008/02/10/iphone-versus-bphone-a-theme/.
Kelly

Hey Kelly, I installed your update because I have been having some problems with my Pearl. I’ve had it about 6 months or so, and this past week it’s been acting up a lot. At times, my camera would just keep popping up and taking pictures. Each time I would click in my track ball it would bring up the camera for some reason, and I would be unable to get rid of it unless I removed the battery. Also, when I could click on things (such as messages or an icon or something) my phone would automatically bring up my camera again. Sometimes, I would be able to exit the camera, but each time I clicked on something, the camera would pop up! My phone is also unresponsive at times, like it won’t respond to key commands such as lock, or unlock or at times not respond to me trying to turn off my phone! If there’s anything I can do to get my phone back to decent working order, please help by directing me in any way! Thanks so much Kelly! I appreciate your responses…

Brock T,
That doesn’t sound good at all. Here are some thoughts:

* Are you sure you aren’t squeezing the phone in an unintentional way and activating a convenience key (left or right) to activate the camera? I disabled both my convenience keys because of similar mis-activations. Options > Screen/Keyboard,…

* Memory problems can explain the unresponsiveness. Are you doing all the stuff recommended in the article on memory problems?

If the above doesn’t help, I fear your phone may have a defect (hardware). A wipe and reinstallation of the OS can help isolate whether it’s defective hardware or software. I hate recommending that, but that’s what I’d do if it were my phone.

Please let me know how this works out.
Kelly

Hey Kelly,
So I took my phone into a Sprint Store to have it looked at. They kept it overnight and the next day they told me that my phone just had a bunch of lint in the guts of the phone! They cleaned the connections out and the phone has run perfectly since! Just a few faulty connections! Thanks for your help though!

Brock,
Thanks for taking the time to share with me/us that solution. I’m assuming they used compressed air to blow out the keyboard really well?

So, the lesson I think I’ve learned is that…
* if a phone starts acting like one button push is causing a different button push, or
* if a button push doesn’t seem to do anything, or
* if a button push happens by itself…
your keyboard may be full of lint or dirt or other debris. So, take some compressed air and blow it out. Actually, that should be a part of some routine preventive maintenance (that’s my engineering background kicking in).

Thanks, again, Brock.
Kelly

Alltel does not have that version upgrade can I use another site?

Jon,
I have read whether others have upgraded their phone OS using a version intended for another carrier, so I know it is possible to do. I don’t generally recommend it because (1) if the upgrade doesn’t work at all, many people wouldn’t be able to restore the previous OS, and (2) if you experience any problem at all, you’ll always be plagued with the question whether the “off-brand” OS is to blame.

However, I also like taking (calculated) risks. If you have the previous OS version downloaded to your computer, have your phone backed up fully, and have the confidence to plunge into such an upgrade, and are willing to suffer some possible downtime with your phone if something goes wrong…then, yeah, go ahead and try.

For instructions on doing the upgrade, try starting here:
http://www.blackberryfaq.com/index.php/How_do_I_upgrade_the_OS_on_my_BlackBerry%3F. Read thoroughly BEFORE you start. Let me know what happens, please.
Kelly

ok well i havent done it yet it took me a while to get back to this site and find it again, so I have one question do you know how to or a link on how to back up my old operating system onto my computer i am a whiz on finding programs or making my own for other applications but im dumbfounded here so if I could do that first I would rather not take so much of a calculated risk considering this is only one of two phones I have and the other is a pos excuse me for using vulgar abbrivations I could also take it back but what would they say I mean they made it so no virii could get on it and I go around them and change things myself I know I sound “weak” in a way but im stuck with them for another 3 years and I dont want to have to pay an early contrat fee etc.

(also I have the unlimited data plan for alltel and its great faster then avg. broadband in the area)

it works fine but im downgrading to the official release to see the difference I still dont have mds picture messaging but its prob because alltel dosent support it for this model news to come ill keep you update opn the new os 4.5.0.56 but 4.5.0.66 is great so far a memory leak but I havent needed to charge it in 3 days…

I just updated my software on my blackberry pearl 8130. I dowloaded the lightshow for my trackball onto my phone but when I try to open it then it tells me that the lightshow is only for an 8130. Is there any way to get it to work on my phone?

Daniels,
No way it will EVER work on the 8130. The 8130 has only a white LED behind the trackball, whereas the 8100 has multiple different-colored LEDs. So, the 8130 cannot change colors. Sorry.
Kelly

I was able to successfully download DM v4.6 and device software v4.5 however my emails remain in plain text and there is no option to view in HTML. Other than docs-to-go I don’t see any upgrade features….PLEASE HELP!!!

Jan,
Your wireless provider must have upgraded their BlackBerry Internet Service (BIS) to 2.5 for HTML email to work. Then, you have to activate HTML email on that BIS (using your login account there). Here are RIM’s instructions with more steps:
http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/articles/498/KB15254_f.SAL_Public.html.

Let me know how this works out for you, please.
Kelly