Phone Phan: Recycling Blackberries Properly: Removing Data and IT Policies Before Disposing

A part of my job in working in the IT department is taking care of the loads of Blackberries that are no longer wanted (not needed, by the way; majority of these phones are serviceable and clean… well, sometimes they get abused, but still work). Every now and then my inbox has a few of the old phones stacked up in it, no longer wanted by the cubicle-mates who decided they wanted something sexier.

Never mind that Blackberries are on their way out; I still think they are pretty good as far as phones are concerned. I got the chance to use one not too long ago, when I lost my phone and had to make do while a new phone arrived. Ironically, it was about the best non-smartphone I have used (it had a prepaid SIM card without data plan, so all smartphone capabilities are null and void.) Battery life is terrific, keyboard is among the best I have used on the phone, and while numpad was accordingly tiny, screens tend to be tiny compared to the contemporary smartphones, and trackballs/touchpads leave something to be desired, good combination of tactile keyboard, snappy performance, and long battery life make for a terrific phone.

Despite what you think, though, old phones should not be recycled without scrubbing the data within it. The emails, text messages, call logs, and pictures stored in the phones might have some sensitive information in them. Also, if you would like to repurpose the phones—say, donate them to charity (although I do not 100 percent support this idea; I don’t think the needy should have to end up paying data plan to go with these phones, but I digress)—you might as well wipe out the IT policy set on the phones to remove the traces that would show where the phones came from, to limit the liability from the originating company/organization.

Problem

So, the problems we are trying to solve today are twofold:

Wiping the sensitive data (hell, all of the data) from discarded Blackberries; and
Removing the IT policy from the said Blackberries.

I’m sorry if the topics are getting increasingly mundane and obscure. But sometimes the stuff you need help the most on is on the mundane and the obscure, right?

Click “more” for the how-to.

Solution

Since the problem is twofold, as is the answer.

Wiping the Sensitive Data

This part is simple if the Blackberries you’re working on is password protected. Just punch in the wrong password in excess of what’s allowed (if the limit is five, then put in five wrong passwords; if ten, then ten wrong passwords; and so on). It will automatically erase the data stored on it and scrub the memory for you. Very nifty.

If the phone is not password-protected, then the IT department and/or the user would need a stern talking-to. After that, you can either go straight for the Removing IT Policy portion of the solution, or delete the data straight from the phone, like so: (source)

From the Home screen of the Blackberry, click Options > Security > Security Wipe
Select the appropriate check boxes to remove data and applications as intended (in our case, you can safely say “all of them”)
Type blackberry, and click Wipe Data (OS 6.0 to 7.1), or Wipe (OS 5.0)

Here I am making an assumption that you’re running a software that’s at least version 5.0 on your Blackberry phone. For 4.7 and earlier, click on the source link above for information. It’s easy to follow!

Phone Phan

Monday, November 9, 2020

Recycling Blackberries Properly: Removing Data and IT Policies Before Disposing

Problem

Solution

Easily phones to recommend remove 240fps with no password of a protected PDF file

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