Sometimes you may go a bit overboard when it comes to customizing the icon arrangement, wallpaper or themes on your BlackBerry. You may reach that point when you say "I really wish I could just start over". Well if you aren't ready to totally restore your device to it's factory settings, you can easily reset some options. Your BlackBerry has a built-in Reset to Default Settings option that lets you get some things back to stock so you can start fresh.

To access this option, simply press the Menu key from the home screen, then choose Options. Scroll down to the bottom and choose Reset Settings. From here you have the option to restore your wallpaper, downloads folder, icon arrangement and home screen panels. Check the box next to the item(s) you want to reset and then choose Apply. That's it! Head back to the home screen and you can start customizing things all over again :-)

For more discussion on this and other tips, head into the CrackBerry forums.

For quite a while now RIM has had a recent contacts option (Messages > Options > Messages Displays and Actions > Show Recent Contacts When Composing Email) available for email. When enabled, this option lets you choose recent contacts when sending emails, much like Gmail and other email clients. It's a pretty sweet feature if you don't like to have a crazy contact list but email certain people often. Sometimes it's a hassle if you have contacts pop up which you no longer want to see or just want to keep things a bit cleaner.

Fortunately there is a built-in option to do a bit of housekeeping. Simply head to your Messages app, then press the Menu key and choose Options > Recent Contact Management. From here you can add people to contacts, remove items from your recent contacts list or clear the list out entirely. If you use the recent contacts option, this can be a good way to further tweak things to your liking. *While it's been available since OS 6, this feature may not be available in all OS versions.*

Cloud storage is all the rage. On the surface, it seems like PlayBook owners have been left out in the cold. When we look closely, however, we can see that it is easy and powerful to manage all our cloud storage needs right from the PlayBook.

We know that we need more native apps for our beloved PlayBooks. We also know (even more so after BlackBerry World 2012) the BlackBerrys are for people who need to get stuff done. In today's world - no matter what business you are in - getting stuff done means having access to cloud storage.

For some platforms, there is an app for everything - including cloud storage. Our sister site (iMore) ran a great article on all the available apps for cloud storage on iOS, and it is worth a read.  For us PlayBook owners, we need to get a bit more creative. The good news, however, is that we can access all major cloud storage services on our PlayBook as easily and as effectively as any other platform...we just need to work a bit harder at it!

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CrackBerry's guide to using the Parental Control feature on your BlackBerry smartphone.

As more and more teens start using smartphones, it's only natural that more and more parents start to worry. With great entry-level devices like the BlackBerry Curve 9360, it's easier than ever for more users to get into the BlackBerry game. To help ease the pain of setting your child free with a smartphone, the latest round of BlackBerry OS leaks (7.1.0.402) includes a slew of parental control features. When enabled, the device can be limited for incoming calls, location services, text messages, browser use and various other options. These help ensure you know just what your kids are using their phone for and helps give you peace of mind. Keep reading and we'll take a look at just how easy it is to enable the parental control features on your BlackBerry.

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A brand new feature that was introduced in BlackBerry OS 7.1 is Battery Saving Mode. This simple option lets you set a battery threshold which will then automatically adjust settings to conserve battery. So instead of keeping a close eye on your device when your battery hits a low point (say 20%), with this feature enabled, the device will automatically adjust things like screen brightnes and time out in order to not waste battery power. Battery Saving Mode isn't a miracle worker, but it will keep your BlackBerry hanging on a bit longer until you can find your way to a charger. A very cool feature that I'm sure you won't mind having.

If you're running OS 7.1, Battery Saving Mode should be enabled by default, but you can head to Options > Device > Battery Saving Mode to enable/disable this feature and change the battery level. Keep in mind this is just one way to save battery on your device. You can always manually change some settings to conserve battery power. Things like turning off Wifi and lowering screen brightness can go a long way. For more on this, check out ten tips and tricks to maximize your BlackBerry battery life. If all else fails, just carry a spare battery or charger and you'll never have to worry about a dead device!

The Messaging app in PlayBook 2.0 is one of the most welcomed new features. From one, central location, you can check, respond and compose messages. Both Email and Social Networking messages can now be handled in one app.

When you see that blinking red light, a simple touch of the Messages icon will allow to you to see your new Email, Twitter Direct Messages, LinkedIn messages and Facebook messages. We will show you how to check your messages, read them, reply and start a new message for any one of your connected accounts right from the Messages app. Read on for all the answers to your Messaging questions! 

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Threaded email is a life saver for me, and a must have for my organizational needs both on device and on my computer. When I lauched the email on my BlackBerry PlayBook after updating to OS 2.0 and I saw individual emails instead of threads, I immediately went into panic mode. That was until I remembered there are settings for a reason, and probably a way for that to be changed. Luckily once I calmed down changing the way the emails appeared in the inbox was a breeze, so let's take a minute to look at how it is done.

1. Launch your email inbox
2. Swipe down from top bezel
3. Tap on settings icon
4. Click on "Display As" under Message List
5. Change from Single Message to Conversation
6. Click Back in top left corner

Just like that, problem solved. The emails will automatically group themselves up just as they would on the computer, and back in business you are. Toggling between the two options is extrememly easy, and something you can do while on the go if needed. For more tutorials hit our BlackBerry Help page or jump into our BlackBerry PlayBook Forums to ask your question and get help from the community.

While the default action in BlackBerry 7 when pressing a key from the home screen is Universal Search, you have the ability to change this up to access application (keyboard) shortcuts instead if you so desire. This lets you quickly get to many apps on your device by pressing a key on the keyboard (like M for Messages of N for BBM) right from the home screen, making navigating apps even easier. If you think you'll miss Universal Search, not to worry because you can get to that simply by pressing S from the home screen.

To turn on your keyboard shortcuts:

• Go to Options > Display > Home Screen Preferences
• Under Launch By Typing change from Universal Search to Application Shortcuts
• Press Back button and choose Save

While some may be fans of having Universal Search ready to roll just by typing, I for one like to be able to jump to apps quickly with keyboard shortcuts. What is your preference? Do you use Universal Search or prefer to have keyboard shortcuts? Let us know in the comments!

This one may seem like a no-brainer, but believe it or not, there are plenty of users who don't even know this option is there. Much like myself, many BlackBerry users just stick with the default settings on the device like screen birghtness, trackpad sensitivity, wallpaper and font right out of the box. Well the great thing about BlackBerry is the amazing level of customization that it offers -- you can change up most everything on the device to your liking, including the font. 

The default font looks a bit big and fuzzy on the new BlackBerry 7 devices, but changing it up to something like BBAlpha Sans Condensed can give your display a whole new look. To change your font, simply head to Options > Display > Screen Display. Pick the font you like, tweak the size and style and you're custom all the way. Play around to see what works for you or just change it up when you get bored. Happy fonting!

Update: DOH! Well that was quick! It looks like this was just an "experiment" on Google's part, if you go to the page you now get the following message:

Hi there - thanks for your interest in our phone-based login experiment. While we have concluded this particular experiment, we constantly experiment with new and more secure authentication mechanisms. Stay tuned for something even better!

If anything else pops up we'll report back!

I have a great deal invested in my Google account -- between GMail, calendar, address book, Google Docs, Google Voice and Google+, my account has most of my online life attached to it. So I treat my Google password like the valuable Precious that it is.

There have been times where I've needed to login to my Google account from some pretty sketchy computers, like my mom's HP -- which is connected directly into her cable modem with no firewall between the internet and Windows XP. I get sick just thinking about what is living inside that grey box.

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Ever get annoyed when you plug your BlackBerry device in while in the middle of watching something, only to have the screen turn black and a big clock appear in your face? By default your BlackBerry device is set to display the clock when it is charging, so anytime a USB that is connected to a power source or computer is plugged in it will appear. Luckily for you this can be changed to enable Bedside Mode or do nothing at all, and making the change is quite simple.

1. Launch the Clock application
2. Press Menu then scroll to options
3. Select the option for When Charging
4. Change selection to Do Nothing or Enter Bedside Mode (depending on your preference)
5. Save your selection

That's it. Really. It is just that simple. No more clock popping up everytime you connect your device to a power source, instead you get to decide what it does.

If your BlackBerry Messenger Contact list seems to be growing out of control, or you just want to keep things a bit more organized, you can create contact categories to help you out. This is a simple feature that just requires a few menu clicks to get up and running. You can use contact categories to organize your contacts by family members, work contacts, friends or whatever suits your fancy. Keep reading to find out how to create your own contact categories in BlackBerry Messenger.

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Getting a new BlackBerry is always fun, but having your device look just like everyone elses makes it way less awesome. Odds are you want to add some custom touches to the device by changing the ringtone, setting a new wallpaper, arranging your icons to your preference and making some new folders. 

How to download and set a new ringtone
How to download and set new wallpapers
How to make a custom folders

Sure it may seem like some pretty basic stuff, but if you are new to BlackBerry devices (welcome!) or have just yet to try to change yours to make it really your own this may not be common knowledge. Now, get to personalizing your BlackBerry and be sure to hop in the forums and show us your home screens once you get it all set up! 

If you are anything like me and you want your icons to be in a very specific order on your BlackBerry, you would probably find it very useful to be able to specify where newly downloaded applications go. Luckily on BlackBerry 6 and BlackBerry 7 devices you can do just that rather simply. Whether you wish to have the icons placed in the download folder, a newly created folder or just the home screens, it all can be done in just a few clicks.

1. From the home screen press the menu key then scroll down to options.
2. Scroll down to downloads folder
3. Change option to which download location you prefer
4. Save changes

Pretty simple, huh? No need to move icons to a download folder after downloading, instead you can just set it up to do that from the start.

Like most BlackBerry users I'm a big fan of Auto Text on my device (AKA Word Substitution). You can add an endless supply of quick text expansions that make typing out long or common phrases a breeze. There are quite a few that come preset on the device as well, one of which is "sig". Typing "sig" in any text field will automatically spit out whatever you have entered for your lock screen information (Put in the info by going to Options > Display > Message on Lock Screen). Pretty cool if you want to quickly enter your email address, name or other text without typing it out (mine is set to my email address). Keep in mind too that you can edit the "sig" Auto Text and change it to whatever you'd like should you choose to do so, but it defaults to the lock screen info. Thanks @dannthedude!

If you have any BlackBerry tips of your own you'd like to share send them along to tips(at)crackberry.com