BlackBerry How-To: Downgrade the OS on Your RIM Smartphone

CIO.com's Al Sacco offers up this step-by-step tutorial on how to "downgrade" or return to an older version of the OS software on a BlackBerry smartphone.

By Al Sacco
Thu, October 28, 2010

CIO — Perhaps your wireless carrier released a new software update for your BlackBerry smartphone, but your favorite applications just won't work on the new build. Or maybe you were feeling daring and decided to install a leaked "beta" BlackBerry OS to check out some new features, but it drastically degraded your handheld's performance.

BlackBerry Desktop Software "Downgrading" a BlackBerry OS

Whatever the reason, every BlackBerry owner--"power users" and newbies alike--should know not only how to upgrade their BlackBerry software, but how to downgrade it, as well.

A quick Google (GOOG) search yields a variety of quality tutorials on how to upgrade your BlackBerry OS. But for whatever reason, good step-by-step articles on how to downgrade are few and far between.

For this in-depth breakdown of the BlackBerry OS downgrade process, I am using a Windows 7 PC and the latest version of Research In Motion's (RIM) (RIM) BlackBerry Desktop Software, formerly known as BlackBerry Desktop Manager or BBDM, v6.0 bundle 47. And I'm downgrading the OS on my BlackBerry Torch 9800 running BlackBerry 6. (Grab the latest BlackBerry Desktop Software from RIM's website.)

If you're looking for additional BlackBerry Desktop Software tips and tricks, read "How to Fix a 'Bricked' BlackBerry," and "How To Load, Update or Remove Software via Desktop Manager." Or pop on over to my BlackBerry Bible page for a listing of all my BlackBerry-related tutorials.

1) Remove BlackBerry Handheld Software from Your PC

First things first, you'll want to remove any existing BlackBerry handheld software that's already installed on your PC. To do so, open up your PC's Control Panel, navigate to Programs and Features and select that option. Next, find any BlackBerry handheld software for your device, highlight it in the programs list, and then remove it by clicking the Uninstall button near the top of the window. Your PC should guide you through the uninstall process. (Note: You'll want to make sure your BlackBerry Desktop Software is closed when trying to uninstall handheld software.)

BlackBerry Handheld Software Listings in Windows

If you don't have any BlackBerry handheld software installed, simply move on to the next step.

2) Download, Install New BlackBerry OS on Your PC

You can acquire BlackBerry handheld software in a number of ways, but your best bet, i.e., the "safest" way, is to obtain the software through your wireless carrier. That way you know you're getting carrier-approved software for your device. And you won't have to tinker with the OS to make sure it installs correctly--more on that in the next section.

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