Do It Yourself: Restart BlackBerry

This morning we got a host of new applications in the BBGeeks Store, but one of them stood out to me. It was called, simply, Restart BlackBerry. You can imagine what it does. While having the ability to perform a soft reset — that is, simulate a battery pull — is useful, it can be done without software. And even if you do it with software, you can do it for free. After the jump, the myriad ways to freely perform a soft reset. The first way you can accomplish this is via the keyboard. It’s just as you do on your PC when things go wrong. Just press and hold Right Shift + Alt + Delete. For any new BlackBerry devices, that should initiate a full reboot. If you want to be safe, hold down the same keys as the BlackBerry is rebooting. From what I understand this isn’t necessary any more, but it can’t hurt. For those with older BlackBerry models, you might have to hit Right Shift + Alt + Delete again if your device doesn’t go into a full reboot. There is an application that performs this function, and I’ve always recommended it to users. It’s called SoftReset, but unfortunately it’s pretty much out of date. If you have lower than OS 4.5, then head right to geekandproud.net to get it. If you have OS 4.5 you can still get it there, but make sure to follow these instructions if you’re getting an error. Those on OS 5.0 can install QuickPull 5 for free. Of course, there’s always the universal solution to any BlackBerry problem, the reliable old battery pull. I’ve found few situations where this wasn’t practical, and it is my preferred method for restarting my device. Still, with some 50 million BlackBerry users, there are bound to be people who prefer certain methods. Maybe you’ll like Restart BlackBerry better than the free options. Thankfully, the developer will let you give it a whirl. You can get a free trial of Restart BlackBerry. If it’s way better than these freely available ways, you can pay $1.99 to keep it. Otherwise, keep pulling that battery.

About the Author

Joe Pawlikowski is the Senior Editor at MobileMoo.com and has been covering the mobile industry full time since 2007. When he's not writing about the tech scene, he can be found discussing his personal love - baseball (and more specifically the New York Yankees) as well as writing on his personal blog.