BlackBerry® Curve™

[hear-this]

My curve will not respond to any keys! 

I've tried pulling the batter several times (for various lengths up to several minutes).  Each time I replace the batter, it boots up with an extended hour-glass, verizon logo, and security software checker.  However, after boot up, the only thing that the phone can do is scroll between icons on the home page using the track ball. NOTHING MORE!!

No buttons work at all!!  Nothing happens when I press the 'green phone' button.  Nothing happens when I press the 'red phone' button.  Nothing happens when I press my programmable 'soft keys.' Nothing happens when I press the track ball, mute/standby button, volume buttons, menu button, number/querdy buttons...  NOTHING!!

I can't select any icons (applications).  I can't answer in-coming calls (although I can see them when it's ringing).  I can't make out-going calls (the phone does not respond to pressing any keys).  I can't power the phone off with the 'red phone' button.  I can't do anything!!  

There was no known physical damage to the phone to cause this issue.  It worked last night, but when I tried it first thing this morning, it did not work.  Also, the battery never ran out.  It was at half battery when the problem occured.  I've since charged it to full power.

Please help, if you can.  I have major business that I need to attend to, and this happened at the worst possible time!!  AAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Thanks!

[bumblepie]

Try Pulling the Battery out without turning the phone OFF.

Make sure its not connected to anything (cable, charger), Make sure its turned ON, then pull battery out.

OR

It sounds like a software fault. Even more so if nothing is behind the buttons to cause them getting stuck.

You need to download the latest version for your device from the carrier the phone was sold with.

Save the folder to your desktop, double click it to install it your computer. (can take 40 mins to download)

Then you connect up the blackberry and using the program called application loader,(which is built into the desktop manager program that came on the cd) push the new software to the device. Ensure when you see an 'advanced' box, you click into it, to check both check boxes to remove all current installed software.

Here is a list of software carrier sites:

http://na.blackberry.com/eng/support/do ... _sites.jsp

And Also

Use BlackBerry Application Loader to install BlackBerry Device Software

Good Luck and let us know how you go..

9/10 times this is a software fault.

[Bifocals]

Hi and welcome to the forums!

Sounds like you need to reload your device OS.

Get a copy from your carriers download site

If you have a  recent backup from BEFORE this problem happened you can use it.

Follow the steps outlined in this post by Tanzim:

Step #1

Before starting make sure that BlackBerry Desktop Software is installed on the computer.

Step#2

Make sure that you have installed updated device software installed in your PC. Check this link to get update device software from carrier OS download site.

Step#3

Users can perform a full or selective backup of the data using the Backup and Restore tool in BlackBerry Desktop Manager by completing the following steps:

1. Connect the BlackBerry device to the computer running BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
2. Open BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
3. Double-click Backup and Restore.
4. Select Backup to perform a full backup or select Advanced to perform a backup of specific databases.
5. Choose a location to save the backup file, then click Save.

Step#4

To perform a clean install of the BlackBerry Device Software, perform the following steps:

1. Connect the BlackBerry smartphone to the computer and open BlackBerry Desktop Manager.
2. Double-click the Application Loader icon.
3. Click Next to start the installation process.
4. Type your BlackBerry smartphone password, if prompted, and click OK.
5. Click the check boxes next to the names of the applications you want to load, and then click Next.
6. Click Advanced, and then click the check box beside Erase all currently installed applications.
7. Click Next.
8. Click the check box next to Do not automatically backup the application data during the loading process.
9. Clear the box next to Backup and restore applications installed wirelessly.
10. Click Next > Finish.
11. When the process has completed, the message The loading operation was successful will appear. Click Close to return to BlackBerry Desktop Manager.

Please let us know if we can help you with any information on this

Thanks,

[hear-this]

Thanks for the advice.  I'm trying the software update now.

FYI, the battery 'hard-reset' was done (many times) with the phone powered on and NOT plugged in.

I'll let you know how the software update works...

[hear-this]

I went to the site to download the OS for my provider (Verizon, U.S.).  I downloaded the software and performed everything as the directions stated here. 

But, when I plugged the USB cable into the phone, it was not recognized by the computer!  This has never happend before until I downloaded the new software.  In other words, the phone was recognized on the USB port 5-10 minutes ago! BlackBerry Desktop Manager and Device Manager were recognizing it before the download, but now they do not recognize it.

I went to Windows Device Manger, just to see if the computer was recognizing it.  It was listed as BlackBerry Smartphone, but it had a yellow exclamation point over it.  

Since BlackBerry's software does not recognize it, I can't perform any of the suggestions you posted previously.   errrrggghhh....

ps. I appreciate your help, so please don't take my frustrations personally.  It is purely directed at this phone, which is only 2 months old!!!

[Bifocals]

Just FYI you can walk that phone right back and get a new one if you like.

There is no guarantee that reloading the os will be the resolution of the problem. There could be a serious flaw

in the device that has caused this. If it was me, just my opinion, I would get another phone.

Let me do a search, I believe this procedure can be done with the battery out if needed.

Please let me know your thoughts,

Thanks

[Bifocals]

This is the procedure I was talking about:

Once you have downloaded and installed this, then you need take advantage of the small window at boot up time when the device will 'connect' to the PC. So get your Desktop Manager started, start Application Loader (onto the Welcome screen which says 'Next'), and get the USB cable ready. Then, quickly, remove and reinstall the battery, plug the device into the USB cable, press 'Next', and hopefully the application loader will find the device and display the USB connection in the "Drop down" list labeled Connection. Quickly press Next to connect to it, and it will stop the start up processing and allow you to reinstall the OS.

You will then get the normal application loader screen with all the OS components to install.

You can try this procedure without installing the OS, to make yourself familiar with it and the timing involved. It is a bit hit and miss for me so keep trying if you don't get it first time - once the device gets to a white screen with the hour glass, I think you have missed it (so pull the battery and try again). Note if you pull the battery while connected to USB, it is not guaranteed to reboot because it can get its power from the USB.

Unfortunately, it does not give you the opportunity to delete your own applications at this point.

[Note that I have had the following comment added with respect to these instructions:

As you describe, i had to download the OS and run the application loader, but the difference is that i had to remove the battery in the first part of the process.

When you install the OS loader do the steps:
1) the loader install the OS (i did this without the battery only with USB connected)
2) restart device (while restarting i restore the battery without remove the USB)
3) install applications and finish the process.]

[hear-this]

Ok, I restarted the computer, and it is recognizing the 8330 again.

The Desktop Manager installed some updates, mostly seemed like language options, etc.  Nothing too useful.  Also, it only took a few minutes, not nearly the 30-45 minutes that the download page described...

Needless to say, the problem still exists.  

I'll try the other solutions you've written about.

ps.  I'd love to walk into the Verizon store, but I doubt they'll be open tomorrow.  Today and tomorrow were huge events that I was organizing, and the worst possible time for my phone to give out!!  You can be sure they'll be hearing about this Tuesday.

[Bifocals]

Forgot about the Hoiday, sorry!

Let me know how it goes!

[bumblepie]

When u get to the last stage of installing to the device, before u press 'finish' there was an option that said advanced. You need to press that and make sure both those checkboxes are ticked. that way it will remove the whole os and reload it..

What u did was just write over the top of existing software