How to enable USB Mass Storage (Mass Storage Mode) on BlackBerry 10

By Adam Zeis on 14 Feb 2013 04:01 pm

USB Mass Storage - aka Mass Storage Mode - allows you to easily transfer files to and from your SD card when connected to a computer. When you first plug in your BlackBerry 10 device to your Mac or PC however, you may have a bit of trouble finding the mounted drive. You'll need to make sure that USB Mass Storage is enabled or you'll be stuck wondering why nothing is happening. Turning it on is super easy, and we'll tell you how to do it.

This is a good tip to know or you may go nuts trying to figure out why your device won't connect to your computer. To enable USB Mass Storage on your device perform the following steps.

Tap the Settings icon
Tap Storage and Access
Scroll down to the bottom and toggle USB Storage Mode on

Done! Now when you connect your BlackBerry 10 device to your computer you'll see your SD card listed as a mounted drive.

Topics: BlackBerry 10 Help Help, How-To & Tips

Adam Zeis 3031 (articles) 2792 (forum posts)

24 comments

jasperlin Feb 14, 2013 at 4:19 pm

any way to transfer to our BB10 phones via wifi like we used to be able to do with the playbook?

Adam Zeis Feb 14, 2013 at 4:26 pm

Yup! Post on that coming!

jasperlin Feb 14, 2013 at 5:07 pm

most excellent, thanks Adam.... although that should have been the first post!

Cap_172R Feb 14, 2013 at 4:28 pm

nice! On another note, got a question for ya Adam. Do you find your Z10 is a dust magnet for that little space between the screen and bezel??

ruhban Feb 14, 2013 at 7:55 pm

Yeah it is. I have a CaseMate 'Tough' case on mine. It makes the Z10's profile larger than it should be however not as much dust gets through the edges to the screen - most of the time it sits under the really tight border of the case when most of the dust can be blown away with a simple puff of air however I've had to use my nails to pick a few pieces of dust or dead skin or whatever gets in between that gap. The same happens on my PlayBook which is really annoying because I think when I try to take it out using my nail I think I just end up pushing it deep into the body. Short answer - yes.

Cap_172R Feb 14, 2013 at 7:57 pm

Thanks...i feel the same way about it. Was just wondering if other were experiencing similar. I had an issue with the 9900 getting dust inside the screen. don't want a repeat (doubt it'll happen though)

ruhban Feb 14, 2013 at 11:10 pm

No problem :) Your 9900 gathering dust sounds odd - mine never did that although it does wear a cheap screen protector.

ps4rh Feb 14, 2013 at 4:55 pm

Worth noting: this only applies to the SD card. The internal storage doesn't get mounted this way.

I actually end up using WiFi to get to internal storage, but it drops out on occasion. And BBLink won't sync.. Grr...

codedivine Feb 14, 2013 at 6:28 pm

Same here. I have never gotten Link to work, and had to resort to Wifi sharing for accessing the internal storage.

ruhban Feb 14, 2013 at 11:14 pm

I just use Windows explorer or whatever it's called on Windows 7 lol Link is a lot worse than Desktop Manager I don't see the reason as to why they changed! Change is supposed to be better not worse!

ps4rh Feb 15, 2013 at 10:06 am

I'm wondering if JRTStudios could port iSyncr to BlackBerry 10. I used it on Android and it works very well for sync'ing iTunes playlists and content to a non-iOS device.

All it seems to require is a license file on the target device (I've used with the SD card from my Android phone in a reader and it works) so it would presumably with with a BB10 device in mass storage mode. I'd hope it'd be an easy port.

I'll send a note to the developer...

irwindersra Feb 14, 2013 at 5:14 pm

i had major issues with getting this to work, apparently my windows 8 wasnt liking the new driver, so i actually had to read through a bunch of forums, i ended up finding that if i go to device manager, there is something that says blackberry, when i open up the properties i can go to a button that says roll back drivers, as soon as i did that, BAMN everything worked mint. and actually i dont turn mass storage on, when i connect via USB it automaticall is showing as a Z and a Y drive, actually now that i think of it, even when its not connected via USB i still have access to the folders, and can still move files back and forth, but i have the wifi storage feature turned off, not sure what is going with that

jvictor77 Feb 14, 2013 at 7:08 pm

Same here - I've never had to bother with all that!

franchise22 Apr 6, 2013 at 8:51 pm

I have been racking my brain trying to fix this (figured it was a windows 8 compatibility issue)....device manager....driver rollback.....FIXED! I love Crackberry!!!!!

Thanks irwindersra

ealvnv Feb 14, 2013 at 5:29 pm

Adam I believe this function enables the device to be used as a flash drive with any device that supports a flash device as an storage device such a car stereo or one of those tvs where you plug a usb device to access any media you may have in there, and when this function is enabled the Z10 won't be able to use the SD Card.

To access both the sd card and internal storage from a computer all you have to do is install BBlink and plug your device to it via a usb cable, you do not need mass storage mode to be on at all

cuetip Feb 14, 2013 at 6:46 pm

While this does allow you to connect your phone to any usb compatible device that is not a computer such as a car stereo or game console you can safely leave it on and it will not impact your phone's ability to access the memory card unless it is plugged into something. I leave it on all the time and still have full access to my memory card unless it is plugged into my pc.

Tony2255 Feb 14, 2013 at 6:50 pm

Yes I noticed this too when I plugged my Z10 into my jeeps usb to charge and all of a sudden I was able to control my music on the Z10 with my stereo controls on the steering wheel...very nice!!