Just like your desktop and laptop your BlackBerry’s performance can be significantly impacted by too much junk cluttering up the memory. So, you have to occasionally clear things up to help maximize performance.
What Causes Decreased Performance?
BlackBerries based on Java depend on what is called File Free Flash memory for most of the device’s tasks. Cluttering up that File Free Flash memory can lead to delays in many tasks as the device is spending an inordinate amount of time recovering blocks of memory, called “garbage collections.”
These Java “garbage collections” automatically reclaim file space that is no longer in use by the operating system. This process will also move around memory that is in use to combine free memory into larger memory blocks. A laptop, for example, will exchange memory onto the hard drive when it is running out of RAM. In a similar way, when the BlackBerry runs out of SRAM space, it is designed to swap memory out to the Flash memory. But if the Flash memory is also full, then the BlackBerry cannot perform that task effectively, which then causes more frequent and longer garbage collections.
The best solution to this problem is to free up space on your BlackBerry
Freeing-Up Space
Perhaps the easiest thing to do is regularly check the available memory on your BlackBerry. To do this, click on the ‘Options’ application and select “Status’ from the drop down menu. The ‘File Free’ display shows you the current amount of free data storage. The ‘File Total’ section tells you how much storage space remains after loading the Operating System, the phone, and the other basic applications.
For optimum performance it is recommended that you maintain a minimum ‘File Free’ of 400 to 500KB. This isn’t necessary, but you will find your BlackBerry performs much better if you can maintain this level.
Here are six simple solutions.
Delete Old Messages
One easy way to free up a lot of space is to delete old messages. You can change the ‘Keep Messages’ setting on the BlackBerry to 15 or 30 days, which will reduce the number of old messages taking up space in the memory. To do this, go to the ‘Messages’ application, click the trackwheel and select ‘Options.’ From that screen, click ‘General Options’ and change ‘Keep Messages’ to either 15 or 30 days. You should be aware that the BlackBerry will begin deleting older messages automatically when the memory gets low.
Change Appointments Settings
If you use your Calendar a great deal, then you might want to think about changing the ‘Keep Appointments’ setting to 15 or 30 days in order to avoid old calendar events taking up space. To change this go to the ‘Calendar’ application, click the trackwheel and select ‘Options’ from the menu. In ‘Calendar Options’ change the ‘Keep Appointments’ setting to either 15 or 30 days. This will not affect recurring appointments because the BlackBerry regards them as a single appointment.
Clear Browser Cache
Much like a regular computer, it is important to clear the browser cache often. Go to the ‘Browser’ application, click the trackwheel and select ‘Options.’ In the Browser Options screen, select ‘Cache Operations’ and click on ‘Clear Content Cache.’ This will clear the various caches.
Remove Unnecessary Applications
Remove any applications that you do not use. Most people have a few applications or programs they never use – the Memo Pad or a third party game program for example. By removing unused applications you leave more data space for applications that you use regularly. To remove unnecessary applications, click ‘Options,’ select ‘Applications’ from the menu. Scroll to the application you would like to delete, click the trackwheel and select ‘Delete.’
Slim Down Your Address Book
If it is possible, access addresses from your corporate directory. Software version 4.0 includes a Remote Address Lookup feature, which accesses contact info from the corporate address directory instead of including them in your Address Book. This feature is also available for devices that are enabled on a BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 3.5 or later for Microsoft Exchange, or BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 2.2 or later for IBM Lotus Domino.
WTLS
You may also wish to get your IT person, or if you are brave enough yourself, to verify that the Optional Wireless Transport Layer Security (WTLS) Support component is not installed on your BlackBerry unless your service provider requires it to access their Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) infrastructure.
