[juwaack68]

Originally Posted by wowzer

Thank you aihark/juwaack,

These notes are both considerably more helpful than this:

THERE IS NOTHING TO SOLVE. NOTHING IS BROKEN.
THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO TO SAVE YOUR DATA IF YOU DON'T KNOW YOUR PASSWORD.
END OF STORY.

The 'bug' idea, though unlikely, is still being explored. And the BES thought is a good one. Either way - yes I do have a backup (don't know about 'SUCH") - but am in Europe where solving this will be trickier. Certainly appreciate the help.

Thank you.

Well, in my years of supporting devices (I support over 800 users in the US, Canada, Asia Pacific, and Europe), I have never EVER run across a password issue that was caused by a bug (and there has never been a reported virus on a BB - that would have made national headlines).

It's always been the user typing in the password wrong. Is it possible the password got changed without your knowledge? Hence the BES question - could a BES Admin have changed it for you on accident? Our Helpdesk has done that to people - clicked on the wrong person to change the password.

[sad_miss]

I had the same problem the CAPS WERE ON ! My cellphone shutofff and im desperately trying to something and its written JVM ERROR 513 ! OMG i don't know what to do if someone can help me do something!!!!!! PLEASEEEE

[juwaack68]

You will need to reinstall your OS. From the the Blackberry.com website:

Problem
After typing an incorrect password ten times and restarting the BlackBerry smartphone, JVM error 513 appears.

Cause
All the data and applications have been deleted on the BlackBerry smartphone.

Resolution
Reinstall the BlackBerry® Device Software on the BlackBerry smartphone and restore the data from a backup file (if available).

These instructions will work for you (it's the same process to upgrade or install a new OS):

How do I upgrade the OS on my BlackBerry? - BlackBerryFAQ

[NJBlackBerry]

Pebkab

[juwaack68]

The only time I have EVER seem both the data and OS get wiped is when the device is connected to a computer and the password is typed wrong 10 times when Desktop Manage prompts for it.

[macness]

There is a logical explanation for this:

RIM has already stated that there is a known issue with blackberries sometimes forgetting their passwords. I work in BlackBerry tech support and this has happened to ME! when you can see the password you are typing in and considering you've probably unlocked your device a thousand times, this is very likely the case. Also, there is something that you CAN do.

If you are on a corporate BES, your administrator can reset your password serverside, and if you blackberry has a signal - it will return back to attempt #1.

If you are not on a BES, you are out of luck. You'll need wipe the device. Once you are back up and running, you should find a way to backup your contact using Desktop manager or routinely use the backup/restore function in Desktop Manager.

Hope this helps at all.

[JSanders]

Originally Posted by macness

RIM has already stated that there is a known issue with blackberries sometimes forgetting their passwords.

Poppyc o c k!

RIM has done no such thing. Show me a KB article or RIM whitepaper on that, and I'll retract.

[macness]

Originally Posted by JSanders

Poppyc o c k!

RIM has done no such thing. Show me a KB article or RIM whitepaper on that, and I'll retract.

My source (I don't care if you don't believe me) was a RIM rep on the phone as we were trying to diagnose a password issue.

The user called their carrier, the carrier escalated to RIM, and RIM contacted us to reset the password server side - to which he stated such information. I don't recall the exact words he used but paraphrasing he stated that occasionally there is a RIM server hiccup (those that have experienced downtime would know about this) that occasionally cause issues with a range of PINs - so few, but multiple devices get affected. Now, mind you - he volunteered this information and that's only one person. So while I can agree to the fact that it seems possible that the RIM rep was full of it, it certainly explains quite a few issues where this happens. I don't believe that a person that is FORCED to put in their password after 2 minutes of inactivity for 3 months all of a sudden doesn't remember their password.

My 2 cents.

[ricpac]

He probably was just making it up. All I know is if it's not documented, then it doesn't exist.

[BigA]

I agree. No KB article.

The RIM csr is simply trying to make up an excuse, simply to get you to reset the password via BES. The RIM csr doesn't want to argue with you about how sure you typed in the correct password many times over. The safest answer to that would be to reset on the BES vs. having you type in the wrong password until the BB did a security wipe. Which would really piss off the customer.

[macness]

Originally Posted by BigA

I agree. No KB article.

The RIM csr is simply trying to make up an excuse, simply to get you to reset the password via BES. The RIM csr doesn't want to argue with you about how sure you typed in the correct password many times over. The safest answer to that would be to reset on the BES vs. having you type in the wrong password until the BB did a security wipe. Which would really piss off the customer.

Perhaps, but I had no qualms whatsoever in resetting it to begin with. It's something we do frequently. I don't think I gave the impression that I wouldn't reset the password.

Regardless, there are folks in this thread that stated that nothing could be done and the BB would be wiped, but no one offered the advice from a BES perspective. So hopefully this will help some users.

[careyana]

Originally Posted by juwaack68

...
It's always been the user typing in the password wrong. Is it possible the password got changed without your knowledge? Hence the BES question - could a BES Admin have changed it for you on accident? Our Helpdesk has done that to people - clicked on the wrong person to change the password.

Our helpdesk isn't allowed to touch our BES for this reason.

Originally Posted by wowzer

HI There...I have the same exact problem. Did you ever solve it? I fear my 2 year old daughter entered my pw one too many times. However, she would have to spell 'blackberry' to do this so i'm confused. now - like you- i am ready to enter my password but instead of the '*' symbols it is spelling out the actual words of my password. I certainly have the capitals turned off but am scared to reenter as I have only two attempts left. Anyone else had this? MY BB still showing 5/6 attempts. I have pulled the battery ect but no luck. Seems like some simple thing I'm doing wrong but I am beginning to worry this is more ominous. I am in Europe making matters worse. Yikes! help....

As for the reason the letters are reflected on the screen after a few incorrect entries is called 'password echo'. We have this disabled on our BES for security reasons.

[vinceflynn]

I've had the same problem now twice. I go to type in my password and instead of **** I see the letters or numbers. Here's what is happening.

1. I carry my blackberry in my pocket and several keys get typed over time.
2. My login screen shows that I have typed the wrong password 5 times or so.
3. Now my login shows the characters I'm typing not ****
4. Let's say my password is 0234, it now shows up as 0ers. I have to hold press the alt key to enter 0234. Each time I do my login fails getting closer to the 10th try.
5. Here's the problem, and I hope it helps others. When I first created my password I thought it was 0234. Everytime I enter 0234 I only see ****. In reallity my password was 0ers to begin with I just never saw the letters. Now when you try to enter the numbers it is incorrect. I'm betting users with alpha only logins never have this problem.
6. The solution is to enter the password as you normally would and not to worry about the letters that you think should be numbers.

Sounds simple but can be extremely irritating.

[genvej]

Originally Posted by vinceflynn

I've had the same problem now twice. I go to type in my password and instead of **** I see the letters or numbers. Here's what is happening.

1. I carry my blackberry in my pocket and several keys get typed over time.
2. My login screen shows that I have typed the wrong password 5 times or so.
3. Now my login shows the characters I'm typing not ****
4. Let's say my password is 0234, it now shows up as 0ers. I have to hold press the alt key to enter 0234. Each time I do my login fails getting closer to the 10th try.
5. Here's the problem, and I hope it helps others. When I first created my password I thought it was 0234. Everytime I enter 0234 I only see ****. In reallity my password was 0ers to begin with I just never saw the letters. Now when you try to enter the numbers it is incorrect. I'm betting users with alpha only logins never have this problem.
6. The solution is to enter the password as you normally would and not to worry about the letters that you think should be numbers.

Sounds simple but can be extremely irritating.

well... I have alpha only and i still have the problem... The really big problem is that it doesnt take the password even in this state... My previous password was qwertyui which was seen as ********. Now it shows the actual letters but it will still not accept me entering qwertyui

[JSanders]

Then honestly, qwertyui was not the password.

Your BB hasn't changed the password on its on. If you have gone to being able to view the password, that is a safety precaution the BB does to show what you are typing becuase you are close to 10 tries. After 10, your BB will wipe all personal data, calendar events, messages, etc.

[glanne]

Originally Posted by vinceflynn

I've had the same problem now twice. I go to type in my password and instead of **** I see the letters or numbers. Here's what is happening.

1. I carry my blackberry in my pocket and several keys get typed over time.
2. My login screen shows that I have typed the wrong password 5 times or so.
3. Now my login shows the characters I'm typing not ****
4. Let's say my password is 0234, it now shows up as 0ers. I have to hold press the alt key to enter 0234. Each time I do my login fails getting closer to the 10th try.
5. Here's the problem, and I hope it helps others. When I first created my password I thought it was 0234. Everytime I enter 0234 I only see ****. In reallity my password was 0ers to begin with I just never saw the letters. Now when you try to enter the numbers it is incorrect. I'm betting users with alpha only logins never have this problem.
6. The solution is to enter the password as you normally would and not to worry about the letters that you think should be numbers.

Sounds simple but can be extremely irritating.

vinceflynn was right.

i was about ready to give up on my last attempt 'til i found his response.

i just purchased my new blackberry, the 8320, so my password was still the default '123456'.

when prompt for passowrd normally with asterisks (*) instead of characters, i simply type in those numbers as placed on the qwerty keyboard (under letters w-e-r-s-d-f).

when i had this error, after typing 'blackberry' as asked and had to type my password shown in characters instead of asterisks, turns out my password was in fact 'wersdf', and not numbers. how irritating!

but i'm forever grateful to vinceflynn for writing this and therefore avoiding my post-frustration and probably lack of sleep.

so, just a thought, genjev (but don't take my word for it) - your password might be #wertyui instead of qwertyui, since the first character for passwords seem to be alt'd by default sometimes.

hope this helps! thank you again, really! ♥

[ummto2]

Can I just say this feature is stupid???? What's the point of wiping out all the data after 10 attempts? Just to annoy the pee outta someone???
A jealous husband got ahold of mine and reset my phone this way and now I've lost EVERYTHING that was on it. I was able to restore from an old backup but I still lost a LOT of new contacts and messages I had that I hadn't had a chance to back up yet.
It doesn't even make sense to do this.... so basically if someone steals your device, they can just put the wrong password in there too many time and wipe the phone clean.... giving them a clean slate to start with so they can begin using my phone! Why not lock the darn thing down after 10 tries???? LOCK them OUT!
So even if I put everything back on it he can do this to me anytime he feels like having a vendetta against me for locking my phone?! If I don't remember to back it up every day I'll just keep losing everything all over again? You'd think it would just shut down for a while and then let me put my password in later to get in...... sheesh!

[djm2]

This is an old thread, but one person's "stupid" is another person's secure. Sounds to me like you have some other issues -- with your spouse.

[JSanders]

Originally Posted by ummto2

So even if I put everything back on it he can do this to me anytime he feels like having a vendetta against me for locking my phone?!

For you and he, actually, I would recommend some good intensive marriage counseling.

[ummto2]

Originally Posted by djm2

Sounds to me like you have some other issues -- with your spouse.

That one's actually easier to fix than the problem with the data being gone