Or.. can I restore everything (contacts/apps/notes/settings etc.) with 1 button push in Blackberry Link? I havent tried that because it won't run on my Snow Leopard Mac. And what can I do if I'm not around my backup computer? Can I restore it with an online service?
You can use the app "Backup Pro" to backup your calendar, contacts, notes, SMS etc to Box, Dropbox, or SD card.
I never heard of this data wipe upon wrong password entry. This sounds a bit over the top. God forbid a little child plays with the awesome keyboard on the phone while locked.
1. The security wipe after 10 failed attempts is meant to protect your information, not protect your phone from being used by someone else (that's what BlackBerry Protect is for). If your phone is stolen and you have a good password, you can at least rest assured that only your phone, and not your personal information, have been stolen. This has always been the case with BlackBerry phones. As a parent, I can say with confidence that if your kid is able to get ahold of your phone and mess up the password 10 times before you are able to intervene, you need to pick up your game as a supervising parent.
2. Encrypting the SD card does not cause it to be wiped when the phone is wiped. It merely ensures that the data on the card becomes unusable if the phone is wiped. The decryption key is stored on the device, so if the device is stolen and then wiped, it prevents whoever stole the phone from getting into the SD card until it's formatted. Again, not meant to protect the actual card, only the information on it.
3. Once your phone has been stolen and wiped, you should still be able to track it via BlackBerry Protect with the IMEI number of the phone. If you don't have it written down anywhere, your carrier should have your IMEI number on hand.
When your phone gets stolen you don't want that someone else can use it. This is also to discourage thieves to steal your phone. But with Blackberry it's very easy to wipe it and then sell it
Why doesn't the phone freeze/lock for 4 hours? And after that you can try again 10 times - if you then fail the phone gets wiped... And stays locked so noone can use it. That would be much beter..
Also, when someone wants to guess your password for fun and fails.... It leaves me with a useless phone. Its a hassle to restore everything and it takes a lot of time..
Or.. can I restore everything (contacts/apps/notes/settings etc.) with 1 button push in Blackberry Link? I havent tried that because it won't run on my Snow Leopard Mac. And what can I do if I'm not around my backup computer? Can I restore it with an online service?
Actually this is cool. It means that your data is protected. It doesn't make it any more desirable to sell a clean phone if you have reported it stolen. Then the phone is useless anyway. If you are leaving your phone around so friends and family can play with it, you don't care about security anyway so don't put on a password. Mine never leaves my side 24/7. My friends and family also respect my personal property and don't try to hack my phone. As for my data, it is all in the cloud. My document, pictures and video gets put to Box, my emails, contacts and calendar are also in the cloud. There is a chance that I can drop or damage my phone and make it unusable anyway so I need to protect what I have on it. Blackberry has this right. My phone isn't important to me, but my data on it is..
I created this - it's a rough idea but even if it's not 100% hashed out it should get them thinking about a Lockdown Mode. I think it's got a nice ring to it.
Feel free to vote it. I'll try and update with any replies.
Some good feedback on the icanmakeitbetter idea so far. This is a very consumer level issue, as most business folks will want the device wipe if lost. Most others will want to be able to turn it off.
actually after the 6th and 9th attempt, I believe it asks you to type in "blackberry" to continue to avoid the problem of a child playing with the device and wiping it inadvertently.
3. Once your phone has been stolen and wiped, you should still be able to track it via BlackBerry Protect with the IMEI number of the phone. If you don't have it written down anywhere, your carrier should have your IMEI number on hand.
device's PIN can be blacklisted.
Anyhow, due to new initialization after wipe phone "pings" BB servers. With mobile data plan or wifi.
and then server says "sorry buddy. bad luck, huh?" and device cannot connect to internet (not sure about the calls/sms).
HOWEVER, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think there was a thread, where password protected phone, after wipe, was asking for same password?
also, The point isn't to make the phone unusable, the point is to protect your information from a thief. You're not supposed to forget your password and when you set your password, it's asked twice so common now.
actually after the 6th and 9th attempt, I believe it asks you to type in "blackberry" to continue to avoid the problem of a child playing with the device and wiping it inadvertently.
This is true! This shows after the 6th attempt, and I didn't get a shot of it - was a bit nervous after the ninth intentional attempt - but it makes you do it again at that point. There also is a pop up prompt to warn the user.
I don't see how a kid would manage to wipe the phone by mashing keys. Placing an emergency call, perhaps. Now your friends screwing with your phone would have to really be committed to screwing your phone up to confirm typing out blackberry twice to wipe your device.
I can appreciate that the purpose is to wipe the phone and protect the data, but it would be nice to have the option of also locking the phone and making it unusable until activated from Blackberry Protect. Yes personal data is important. But a lot of people also feel the phone itself is important too, certainly worth taking care of against theft and resale, etc.