There are a number of reasons that you may want to reset your BlackBerry.   These could include things like slow or sluggish operation, errors, IT Policy, or corruption on the BlackBerry handheld.  With the BlackBerry there are basically 3 types of resets that can be performed.  This tutorial will show you 3 effective ways to reset your BlackBerry in order to remedy any of the above situations.

BlackBerry Reset Method – Hard Reset

This method is a very simple and quick way to reset your BlackBerry.  It consists of removing the battery from the back of your BlackBerry, waiting for 10 – 15 seconds and then replacing the Battery.  This is the most common of the reset methods and works to remedy a lot of issues, while keeping all data and information intact.

BlackBerry Reset Method – Soft Reset

While this method is a bit less practices it is still an effective way to easily reset your BlackBerry to remedy a lot of issues.  This method involves pressing a combination of 3 keys, holding them down for 3 seconds and then releasing them.  The BlackBerry will then reset itself, again keeping all of the data and information intact.  In order to preform this reset follow the steps below.

1. Press and hold the “alt” key usually located on the lower left hand side of the BlackBerry keypad

2. While holding down the “alt” key press and hold the RIGHT shift key and the “DEL” key all at the same time.

3. Hold this 3 key combination for around 3 seconds and then release all of the keys.  The soft reset procedure will begin a few seconds after this if done right.

Personally I find the hard reset to be more effective in some situations, however; if you have a protective cover over your BlackBerry it can be quite cumbersome to have to remove it every time so this method would make more sense.

BlackBerry Reset Method – Factory Reset

This method also known as “Master Reset, Master Clear, Security Wipe, and Handheld Wipe” is the most powerful and complete reset that you can preform on the BlackBerry without manually doing a clean reload of the BlackBerry Software.  This method will pretty much remedy any type of problem you have with your BlackBerry other than hardware issues or removing an IT Policy.  The only thing you must know is that this reset will delete all of your data and information off the BlackBerry and will bring it back the “Out of the Box” state.  The Factory Reset should only be done once you’ve done a backup of your BlackBerry, and only when nothing else has worked to remedy the issues you are having.  To preform this type of reset follow the steps below.

Software Version 4.x

1. Press the “menu” button to bring up the screen of icons and select the “Options”

2. Select “Security Options” and then select “General Options”

3. Press the “menu” button again and select the option “Wipe Handheld”.

4. Check or Uncheck the box for deleting 3rd party apps. Click “Continue”

5. Enter in the text “blackberry” and then hit the “Enter” button.

Software Version 5.0, 6.0, 7.0

1. Press the “menu” button and then go to  “Options”.

2. Go to and select “Security Options” from the list and then select “Wipe Handheld”

3. Select the check boxes to remove data and applications depending on what you want.

3. Type “blackberry”, and click “Wipe”.

BlackBerry Reset Method – Reset to Factory

This method is like the factory reset only more powerful yet.  While the names of the methods are very similar, this method is the only reset that will take out an IT Policy.  This method does not harm 3rd party applications however it will erase your current data and information on the BlackBerry and you should take the necessary steps to save your data before doing this.  To preform a “Reset to Factory” follow the steps outlined below.

1. Connect your BlackBerry to the computer and go to the “START” menu on your computer.

2. If you are running XP go to “run” and then type CMD and hit “Enter”.  If you are running Vista or Windows 7 there will be a search bar at the bottom of the start menu, type in CMD and then select it from the list to open up the Command Prompt window.

3. Type of copy the following line into the command prompt (Do not copy the brackets just the text inside them):

Windows 32-bit: { cd C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader }

Windows 64-bit: { cd C:\Program Files(x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader }

4. Hit enter on your keyboard.  Type or copy the following text into the command prompt and press “Enter”:

{ Loader.exe /resettofactory }

There will be a small script that runs and then it will look like nothing happened at first, however; after a few minutes your BlackBerry should turn off and the reset to factory process will have begun and you will need to leave your BlackBerry until the screen comes back up.  This can take anywhere from 10 t0 30 min.