[louzer]

Can the Tablet OS versions be downloaded to archive locally or is the only access to the OS via OTA update? If, for whatever reason, I needed to do a wipe/refresh, and I was without an internet connection, could I instruct the DM to use a local file downloaded to my laptop instead. Or if I had a problem and wanted to go back to a previous version, I could do so locally.

[kbz1960]

Good question and hope there is or will be some way to do this.

[MaxxJag]

One way, although no the greatest, is to put a password on your device and "miss" it 10 times. it'll be reloaded.

[mandony]

No. The PB OS is not installed the same way that the BB phone OS are updated by down load. The only way to install the OS is to install the CURRENT OS by Internet connection. (As far as a PW re-install, I believe the PB OS will go back to the first installed OS from the factory, not the last.)

To reinstall the CURRENT OS:
Open DM on PC
Backup your PB
Disconnect and turn off the PB.
The DM should show 'PB disconnected'
With the PB OFF, connect the PB to PC.
DM will connect to the PB, turn it on, and, give you an option to
'reload the OS'
Click the option.
OS will load.
Do a 'restore backup'

[louzer]

If I have a complete backup of the Playbook and I do the method mentioned by MaxxJag by missing the password 10 times, does the restore-to-original-factory come from an image sitting somewhere on the device? ie it's loaded and not downloaded?

Then, if it's loaded to original factory install and I restore my backup, is it restoring my data and overwriting the OS to bring it up to most current?

In other words, if I have my Playbook, a laptop with DM onto which I have made a complete backup, but no internet connection, and i brick my Playbook, can I get it back to the most recent state?

[louzer]

Disaster recovery planning is sometimes unsavory, but necessary. In that light, what I was really asking was what happens if RIM were to go away, my Playbook became unusable (for whatever reason), and I needed to restore it to it's most current data/settings.

But before I go on, I just want ask that this thread focus on actual procedures as opposed to prediction or conjecture about this actually happening. It's purely an academic, yet necessary exercise imho. Now having said that...

This is something that's been on my mind recently. Now in light of the news about HP today, it made me wonder what people who need support for their touchpads are going to do. Then I decided to revisit this thread. If anything were to happen and the RIM update servers, for whatever reason, became unavailable, do we have the ability to have a local backup (OS and data) to restore independently of the RIM servers. I'd hate to think that my Playbook could become a brick if it failed and needed to be restored.

Again, I don't want to sound like a doom-and-gloom kind of guy. I just want to know if my device is completely dependent on an online source to truly restore it.

[FourOhFour]

The OS and user data are on different partitions. A security wipe blows away the user data. The read-only partition remains untouched.
Also, I was pretty sure DM could do a restore of bricked devices back to a factory image or something.

[robsteve]

You will still need internet and or RIM connectivity, because all current methods require you to log in with a Blackberry ID to complete the debrick or security wipe process.

If you do manage to install the OS via a local file, I am not sure if you can restore your backup without completing the Blackberry ID process. You will have to experiment and see what happens.