Hello again readers! Dear Berry is here once again with a mailbag full of BlackBerry questions and woes. Today's question comes from a reader who asks:

I purchased a Q10 recently since I've been using BlackBerry for the past 4 years. Of course with the change of models. However, noticed that Q10 I'm unable to save sent & received text messages. This is an important feature that I need, please tell me that I can save important text messages.

With BlackBerry 10 there are a couple of options available for you to save sent and received text messages. First one, is sharing conversations from within the Text Message application. To do this, tap on an individual text message and then long press on the specific text which brings up the action menu. Here you can send via text, email, NFC, Bluetooth or to send to the Remember application. However that will only forward one part of the conversation (i.e. You can share the incoming or outgoing message but not the entire conversation) which means you would have to send each one separately. The other, is by connecting and backing up your device using BlackBerry Link

My suggestion would be to use a third party application and below are a list of a few with the ability to backup, restore, and save your text messages. Hopefully this is an easier way and offers better functionality for your needs.

  • SMS Backup - is a handy backup and restore solution that stores your SMS messages on your device or SD Card in XML format or offers the option to clear all as well. As of now MMS support is experimental. You can read the forum thread for more information.
  • Message X - is a message utility tool that lets you forward, backup, restore, and delete text messages. You can follow the forum thread here.
  • SyncLion - allows you to automatically archive all your SMS on pre-selected IMAP e-mail accounts, (i.e. Gmail, Yahoo, AOL, etc.). It is a fast backup solution that allows you to save and restore messages whenever you need to. 
  • Exporter - offers the ability to save your SMS, Email, and PIN messages in plain-text format as .txt files for multiple accounts on your device or SD Card which you can read offline and anytime.  
  • Call Notes - saves your incoming and outgoing SMS messages and phone calls to your BlackBerry calendar so you can set a reminder to follow up at a later time. You can find the full review here

While I'm sure there are more SMS applications available, these are a few to help you get started.

See you next time!

Have a question about BlackBerry etiquette? Need advice on how to cope with your BlackBerry addiction? Dear Berry has you covered and there's no question too big or problem too small. Submit any of your BlackBerry woes by email to [email protected] or on Twitter @DearBerryCB.

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