If you are tired of accidentally mashing your BlackBerry keys and dialing strange numbers cause your BlackBerry is floating around in your purse or pocket, you’ll need to lock your BlackBerry keyboard. You can do it with or without a password, but either way, then number of accidental calls to complete strangers should go way down.
There are multiple ways to lock the keyboard on your BlackBerry. The first and easiest is the lock icon on your home screen. Highlight it and start it up by pressing the trackwheel or trackball. Your BlackBerry is now locked, meaning that pressing random keys on the keypad is less likely to make bad things happen. To unlock it, press * and then the green phone key. If you have set a security password, then you will have to enter that password to unlock the device.
There are also keyboard shortcuts to accomplish the same thing. On Suretype devices, like the 7100 or the Pearl, you can hold down the “*” key and the device will lock. On Qwerty devices like the 8700, hold down the Alt-key and the Enter-key.
To set your BlackBerry to lock automatically when you holster the device, go to Options, Security, General Settings and set the Lock Handheld Upon Holstering to “Yes”.
If you’ve set a password on your BlackBerry, you will have to enter it to unlock the device. Be careful, if you forget your password and guess it incorrectly too many times, your BlackBerry will be automatically wiped!
To set the security password, go to Options, Security, General Settings and change the Password field to “Enabled”. Now select “Save” from the menu, and you will be prompted for your new password.
Whether you set a password or not, once your device is locked, it will display the Owner information that you have entered into the device. This might be a good place to leave an email address or phone number in case you ever lose your BlackBerry.
## This Article Was Originally Published by AllBlackBerry.com
