BlackBerry 10.3.1 Battery Tips

If you are using a BlackBerry 10 device and would like to maximize your battery life here are some tips that can help you out! Check for BlackBerry 10 OS Updates Battery Saving Mode Run When Minimized & Run in Background Permissions Advanced Interactions Android Applications BlackBerry Blend Accounts Device Monitor Connections Charging Notifications Review Application and Game Refresh Settings Screen Brightness and Dark Themes Lock Screen Screen Lock Timeout Use a Case or Holster Check for BlackBerry 10 OS Updates Whenever a BlackBerry 10 OS update is released, make sure you install it on your device so you can take advantage of optimizations that can help improve your battery life. Typically, you’ll receive a notification of an update, but to manually check for updates, open Settings, tap Software Updates, and then Check for Updates. Battery Saving Mode Introduced in BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3.1, Battery Saving Mode can extend your battery life when you need it most. When Battery Saving Mode is enabled your smartphone will automatically adjust the following settings, but you can customize what happens by going to Settings > Battery Saving Mode: Screen brightness is lowered Screen does not turn on for notifications Limit Maximum CPU performance Turn off Advanced Interactions Turn off Data Services* Turn off Location Services* * By default, Turn off Data Services and Turn off Location Services are not enabled By default, Battery Saving Mode will turn on when your battery level reaches 20% but you can choose a different threshold for this setting or manually turn Battery Saving Mode on or off. To do this, just tap on the Battery icon that appears in the Quick Settings menu, or optionally tap Battery saving in the Quick Settings menu to review and adjust your Battery Saving Mode settings. If you don’t see Battery saving in your Quick Settings menu add it by going to Settings > Quick Settings and checking Battery Saving Mode. As soon as you start charging your device Battery Saving Mode will automatically turn off. You can easily tell when Battery Saving Mode has been enabled because Device Monitor will show a yellow background when viewing your Battery details as shown in the following screenshot. To customize Battery Saving Mode complete the following steps: On the home screen, swipe down from the top of screen Tap Settings > Battery Saving Mode Do any of the following: To set the power level that your battery must reach before Battery Saving Mode turns on automatically, drag the slider at the top of the screen left or right. To change which settings are adjusted when Battery Saving Mode turns on, select or clear any of the checkboxes. To stop Battery Saving Mode from turning on automatically, turn off the Turn on Battery Saving Mode Automatically switch. You can also setup your device to enter Battery Saving Mode whenever you are using Bedside Mode overnight for example. To do this, open the Clock, swipe down from the top of the screen and tap Settings. Within this screen, toggle the switch next to Battery Saving in Bedside Mode. Run When Minimized & Run in Background Permissions The Run When Minimized permission allows apps to continue performing tasks after you minimize the app on your BlackBerry smartphone. In addition to this permission, you should also review which apps have the permission to Run in Background. This permission is used by some apps that continue to run even though an Active Frame for the app isn’t shown. This can also be referred to as a ‘headless’ app. To help extend the life of your battery, consider turning off these permissions on apps you do not use frequently. Doing so can help save A LOT of battery life so we strongly recommend reviewing these permissions every so often as you install more apps on to your device. To identify which apps have these permissions, and optionally turn off these permissions on a per app basis, complete the following steps: On the home screen, swipe down from the top of the screen Tap Settings > Security and Privacy > Application Permissions Tap the Permissions drop-down listing do one of the following: Tap Run when Minimized Tap Run in Background Select an app from the listing, and then optionally turn off these permissions. Restart your device for the change to take effect Tip: Device Monitor is an easy way to identify apps that may be using a lot of battery life. If you do notice an app or game that is using a lot of battery life consider adjusting the permissions by tapping on the Change your app permissions option, or consider removing these apps. Advanced Interactions Added in BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3, Advanced Interactions can help you do things more efficiently as well as help you save power using the Flip to Save Power feature. By default, Flip to Save Power is turned on and causes your smartphone to turn off its display whenever it is placed facedown on a flat surface. To review your Advanced Interaction settings, go to Settings followed by Advanced Interactions. Android Applications Android apps may continue running when the display is off and we recommend you close these apps when not in use. To do this, press X in the lower right when the app is minimized. BlackBerry Blend If you have setup BlackBerry Blend so you can access your smartphone using your computer, consider closing the Blend app on your computer when not in use. Doing so can help save battery life if your computer isn’t set to automatically sleep, or suspend after a period of inactivity. To do this, right click on the Blend icon followed by selecting Quit or Close depending on what type of computer you are using. The ‘Remain Signed In’ option will create a persistent connection to your device, and decrease battery life so only use this option when needed. To change this setting if you have selected it in the past, open BlackBerry Blend and click the gear icon in the top right corner followed by clicking Remain Signed In. Accounts If you set up multiple accounts that support email, contacts, and calendar synchronization, only enable synchronization for accounts that you plan on using to ensure that only necessary activity occurs. To review account synchronization settings, tap Accounts within Settings, and then tap the account you want to customize or delete. Device Monitor Device Monitor, first introduced in BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.2, was updated with the release of BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3.1 so you can monitor data usage over your Wi-Fi and cellular connection. When you select an item from the Device Monitor list, you can view additional details such as CPU, memory, mobile network, and Wi-Fi® usage statistics. You can also view applications you installed, the amount of space those apps take up, and delete applications. If you haven’t already, consider adding the Device Monitor to the Quick Settings menu for fast one touch access to this useful feature. To do this, go to Settings followed by Quick Settings and check the box next to Device Monitor. Connections The radios on your BlackBerry 10 smartphone are designed with efficiency in mind, so turning off Wi-Fi, Bluetooth®, or NFC as well as changing your cellular connection to use a different network technology may not improve battery life. We recommend using Wi-Fi whenever possible because it offers substantial power savings; so make sure you are actively adding Wi-Fi networks and hotspots to your smartphone as you come across them. Note: If you’ve set up Media Sharing, considering turning off it temporarily if need to maximize your battery life (Settings > Media Sharing). Charging Your BlackBerry 10 smartphone is designed make efficient use of the battery, however, you should still follow best practices to maximize your battery’s lifespan. Always use an official BlackBerry® charger, charge for an extended period of time when possible, avoid charging in small increments (for example, less than 15 minutes), and do not your leave smartphone in direct sunlight (for example, on your vehicle’s dashboard) or in extremely cold temperatures. Notifications If you receive a lot of notifications throughout the day, consider reviewing and customizing your notification profiles. If your smartphone is set to vibrate when notifications arrive, this uses more battery life than having the LED light up. BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3.1 also includes a new feature that can turn on your screen whenever a new notification is received. Battery Saving Mode will turn off this feature but you can optionally turn this feature off completely by going to Settings > Notifications > Lock Screen and toggling the switch next to Turn on Screen for New Notifications. If you also receive a lot of notifications overnight, swipe down from the top of the screen after you lock your smartphone to enable Bedside Mode, which turns off all notifications. For help customizing your notification profiles open the Help app on your device and search for “Change your sounds, notifications, or ring tones” or review the user guide for your device. You can find it here: http://docs.blackberry.com. Review Application and Game Refresh Settings It’s a good idea to review the refresh settings within your favorite third-party apps and games, as some of them might maintain active connections to services or data that is still being transferred. Refresh settings are typically found in the settings screen of an application so make sure you review these screens after you install a new application or game. Don’t forget to double check your application and game permissions as well because some of them may have the ability to run when minimized, or run in the background which can affect battery life Screen Brightness and Dark Themes A significant way to reduce battery usage is to decrease the brightness of the display. Within Settings, tap Display, and then move the Brightness slider to a reduced setting that you find comfortable. If you are using a device with an OLED display such as a BlackBerry® Z30 smartphone, the BlackBerry® Q10 smartphone , or the Porsche Design P’9983 smartphone from BlackBerry consider using a dark theme, which results in lower battery consumption. You can find an option to enable a dark theme in BBM™, the Contacts app, and the Calendar in the Settings screen for the respective apps. To try out the dark theme, open these apps and swipe down from the top of the screen. After selecting the dark theme, close and re-open each application for the change to take effect. Lock Screen To prevent accidental taps and presses that can turn on your screen (and decrease battery life), lock the screen by pressing the Power/Lock key on the top of your smartphone before you place it into your pocket, purse, etc. Doing so can help prevent your device screen from waking up accidentally which can use battery life if this occurs frequently. Screen Lock Timeout In addition to pressing the Power/Lock key to lock your screen, you should customize the Screen Lock Timeout setting. This setting controls how long your smartphone waits after being left idle before turning off the screen. To adjust this value, go to Settings, tap Display and change the Screen Lock Timeout. Use a Case or Holster Depending on which of type case or holster you use, putting your device in it may or may not turn off the display. On top of protecting your smartphone, using a case that turns off the display is a great way to save battery life because the display is shut off as soon as you insert your device. To browse a variety of these cases, visit http://www.shopblackberry.com or check the available cases provided by your local retailer(s). Got a question? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Snap v3 Beta 3 now available for download

With two beta releases already out there, it's now time for Snap v3 beta 3. As expected, this release brings along with it several bug fixes and changes including some changes to address download issues, scrolling and there's now additional layout fixes for the BlackBerry Passport as well. That's just a small list of additions, you can view the rest below. Read More »

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BlackBerry Knowledge Base explains the removal of Adobe Flash from OS 10.3.1

As some folks have noticed, especially BlackBerry Classic owners and those running OS leaks, Adobe Flash has been removed from BlackBerry OS 10.3.1. For their part, BlackBerry has never really said much about the situation directly but the BlackBerry Knowledge Base was updated with an explanation for the removal. As expected, it mentions Adobe stopped development of mobile Flash back in 2011 and the mobile web is now moving to HTML5. Read More »

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Thank You BlackBerry for making email triage on 10.3 faster than iOS and Android

Seven months ago I went went on a podcast rant and wrote an editorial here complaining about the "email triage" experience on BlackBerry 10. My issue? It was too damn slow. From the inbox, deleting or archiving a single email was a painful process. Unlike Android or iOS, where I could swipe left on a message to quickly take action on it, on BB10 I had to tap and hold on a single message, wait for the menu to slide out from the right, and then move my finger down to the bottom to tap the delete icon. Thank God BlackBerry provided the option to turn off Delete confirmations, or that would have added another tap to the already-long process. Read More »

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How to switch between multiple notification profiles with ease!

Introduced in BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3.1, a new feature has been added that allows you to quickly switch between your various notification profiles using the Quick Settings menu. All it takes is opening the Quick Settings menu followed by tapping on the Notifications icon until your desired profile is selected. To try this shortcut on your device, complete the following steps: While viewing the home screen, swipe down from the top of the screen Tap Settings followed by Notifications Tap Quick Settings Check the profiles you’d like to add to your Quick Settings screen Tap Back when finished to save your changes Optionally, tap Rearrange to change the order of profiles After doing this, tap the icon next to Notifications within Quick Settings to quickly switch between your notification profiles. For example, in the following screenshot, tap the red box a few times to cycle through the notification profiles you have checked during step 4. Don’t forget you can always access the Quick Settings menu from your home screen by swiping down with one finger, or within an app by swiping down from the top of the screen using two fingers :) Got a question? Leave a comment and let me know!

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How to create a custom keyboard shortcuts using BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3.1

Did you know that BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3.1 introduces the ability to create custom keyboard shortcuts? This extremely useful feature can help you complete a variety of actions just by briefly pressing and holding a single key. For example, you can create a keyboard shortcut that opens a BBM conversation with a specific contact, maybe your significant other, or create a shortcut that opens a frequently used App. Follow the steps below to review and customize your keyboard shortcuts to maximize your productivity whenever you are using your device. Create a new, or edit an existing keyboard shortcut By default your device includes a variety of shortcuts that I’ve listed at the end of this post but you can create your own shortcuts, or customize existing shortcuts. On the home screen, swipe down from the top of the screen Tap Settings followed by Shortcuts and Speed Dial Do one of the following To create a new shortcut for a unassigned key, tap the key. To edit a existing shortcut, tap the letter followed by tapping Edit A Shortcut Do one of the following To open an application using the keyboard shortcut, tap App Launch Shortcut To compose a message using the keyboard shortcut, tap Quick Compose Shortcut To add another type of action to the keyboard shortcut, such as composing a new note or task, locking your device, or switch notification modes, tap Other Shortcut Delete a keyboard shortcut On the home screen, swipe down from the top of the screen Tap Settings followed by Shortcuts and Speed Dial Tap and hold an existing keyboard shortcut Tap Delete Appendix – Preloaded keyboard shortcuts BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3.1 includes a variety of preloaded keyboard shortcuts that are listed below! Keyboard key Assigned action A Open the Contacts app B Open the BlackBerry Browser C or 9 Compose a new message D or 5 Create a new BlackBerry Remember note H Open the BlackBerry Help app K Lock your BlackBerry device L Open the BlackBerry Calendar app M Open the BlackBerry Hub N Open BlackBerry Messenger O Open the device settings P Open the Phone app Q Switch between Normal and Silent notification profiles R or 3 Open the Clock app T Create a new task U Open the Calculator app W or 1 Call voicemail Got a question? Leave a comment and let me know!

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The definitive listing of BlackBerry Classic keyboard shortcuts

The BlackBerry Classic is a productivity powerhouse as is, but, thanks to a variety of keyboards shortcuts, you can be even more productive! Listed below is an overview of core keyboard shortcuts that will help you get things done even faster! Note: Some shortcuts might not be available depending on the typing input language that you use. BlackBerry 10 Shortcuts The BlackBerry Classic comes with preloaded shortcuts that can be used whenever you are viewing your home screen or the BlackBerry Hub. These shortcuts can be customized as well! To find out how to do this check out this post on how to create custom keyboard shortcuts using BlackBerry 10 OS version 10.3.1. Key Assigned Action A Open the contacts app B Open the BlackBerry Browser C or 9 Compose a new message D or 5 Create a new BlackBerry Remember note H Open the BlackBerry Help app K Lock your BlackBerry device L Open the BlackBerry Calendar app M Open the BlackBerry Hub N Open BlackBerry Messenger O Open the device settings P Open the Phone app Q Switch between Normal and Silent notifications modes R or 3 Open the Clock app T Create a new task U Open the Calculator app W or 1 Call voicemail BlackBerry Hub In a list of messages Action Shortcut Compose a message Press C Search the BlackBerry Hub Press S Go to the next unread message in the list Press U Move to the top of your list of messages and notifications Press T Move to the bottom of your list of messages and notifications Press B In a message Action Shortcut Reply to a message Press R Reply all to a message Press L Forward a message Press F Flag a message Press W File a message Press I Browser app Action Shortcut Go forward one page Press N Go back one page Press P Find text on a page Press S Open the address bar Press U Open your bookmarks Press K Open your history Press H Open your tabs Press W Enter reader mode Press R Refresh a webpage Press L Zoom in Press I Zoom out Press O Go to the top of a webpage Press T Go to the bottom of a webpage Press B Move down the screen Press Move up the screen Press and Calendar app Action Shortcut Go to today Press T Go to a date Press G Go to the week view Press W Go to the month view Press M Go to the previous day, week, or month Press P Go to the next day, week, or month Press N Go to the schedule view Press D Go to the agenda view Press A Create a new event Press C Search your events Press S Edit an event Open an event and press E Clock app Using the stopwatch Action Shortcut To start or stop the stopwatch Press To reset the stopwatch and clear lap results Press Using the Timer Action Shortcut To start or stop the timer Press Contacts app Action Shortcut Go to the top of a contact’s details In a contact’s details, press T Edit a contact In the content list, tap a contact. Press E Go to the bottom of a contact’s details In a contact’s details, press B Typing Action Shortcut Undo an automatically corrected word Press twice Insert a period (.) in a text field Press twice. The next letter is capitalized Insert an at sign (@) or a period (.) in an email address field Press Capitalize a letter Press and hold the letter key until the capitalized letter appears Turn on CAP Lock Press and . To turn off CAP lock, press or Type a symbol Press . Tap the symbol that appears on the screen Type the alternate character on a key Press and the character key Type an accented or special character ** Press and hold the letter key and tap the accented or special character you want Type a number in a text field Press and press the number key Type a number in a number field Press the number key Turn on NUM lock Press and . To turn off NUM lock, press  or Highlight a line of text Touch and hold the text. Move your finger up or down on the screen Highlight text character by character Touch and hold the text. Move your finger left or right on the screen to select each character Cut highlighted text Tap the highlighted text. Tap Copy highlighted text Tap the highlighted text. Tap ** The list of available accents depends on the active input language. If you set multiple input languages, the accents for the languages that can be predicted together appear for a letter. For example, when English, French, and German are set, because their alphabets are similar, you get accent options for all three languages. Got a question? Leave a comment and let me know!

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