There are certain times when you may geek out more than you should with your BlackBerry 10 phone and run into some issues. Whether it be a poor-running OS leak, an interrupted security wipe or a somehow nuked device, you may want to downgrade or reload the stock OS. Thankfully, just as in the past, you can still do so on BlackBerry 10. 

With older BBOS devices there was a high chance of "nuking" a device for any number of reasons - bad apps, botched restore, bad software, crappy OS leaks ... you name it. On BlackBerry 10 there is really no chance at all that you'll ever need to reload the OS unless you run across a bad leaked OS or happen to stop a security wipe prematurely.

For both the BlackBerry Z10 and BlackBerry Q10 you can restore the OS to stock when you run into any of these issues. The process unfortunately requires a Windows PC (sorry Mac users) but requires only a few steps to complete. 

You can reload or downgrade the OS on your BlackBerry 10 device one of two ways.

The Easy Way - Reload BlackBerry 10 OS Using BlackBerry Link

Make sure you have the latest version of BlackBerry Link installed on your Windows PC. 

  • Open BlackBerry Link and connect your device via microUSB
  • Select Settings (gear icon)
  • Select Reload under Reload Device Software
  • Follow the on-screen instructions to reload the software. When complete you can disconnect your device. 

After you reload the device software we recommend setting up the device as new to prevent further issues.

The Harder Way - Reload BlackBerry 10 Using Internet Explorer

If for some reason the above steps don't work using BlackBerry Link you can always reload the OS using Internet Explorer. These steps are a bit trickier so read through and make sure you understand everything before you get started. 

  • Make sure you don't have any BlackBerry software running on your PC (BlackBerry Link and BlackBerry Desktop Software)
  • Detach all BlackBerry smartphones, including the BlackBerry 10 device that you are going to restore.
  • Using Internet Explorer navigate to www.BlackBerry.com/updates then scroll down the page and select the Check for Updates button.
  • Connect the BlackBerry 10 device you want to restore
  • Hold the power button for 10 seconds until the device turns off, then press the power button again so it turns on.
  • A prompt will appear and the BlackBerry smartphone will show in the drop down list on your PC shortly after the LED lights up (it could show up as USB: UNKNOWN or USB: BlackBerry (PIN) – both are normal/fine).
  • Click the OK Button as soon as it becomes enabled - you only have a few seconds to do this!
  • Once the above steps are completed successfully a dialog will be displayed stating Checking for BlackBerry Device Software updates
  • Your device power itself off after two minutes. Shortly after, the device LED should turn green.
  • Continue to wait after the LED turns green and you will be prompted to install BlackBerry Device Software. Follow the prompts to install the BlackBerry Software and finish the software installation

Fire It Up!

Now you should have a fresh stock OS installed on your device. If for some reason the device still won't boot, try running through either method again until you get it to restore the OS. 

Of course if you run into further issues you can always get more help on reloading in CrackBerry's BlackBerry 10 OS forum.

Looking to restore an older BlackBerry OS device? Check here.

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