[Tutorial] Custom Upgrade BlackBerry OS 7.

1 Walkthrough
IN BLACKBERRY, TUTORIAL - ON 9:34 PM - NO COMMENTS
So I just purchased a BlackBerry Bold 9900 first released back in 2011. Many, I
am sure you do, ask why purchase such legacy device while I could purchase a sma
rtphone sporting quad-core processor, gigabytes of memory, Super AMOLED screen,
HD resolution, LTE network connectivity, 1080p camera/video recording quality ca
mera available. Well the answer is pretty obvious and common, I want to try out
their touted physical keyboard and landline-like voice quality. Most importantly
, it is cheap and serve as an adapting window before trying out the next flagshi
p, the Blackberry Q20 or Blackberry Classic (alias) that is simply an improved v
ersion of the Bold 9900 in many aspects. There is no reason to purchase Bold 990
0 after Q20 is announced, hopefully release sometime in November if the rumor ar
e to be believed. I won't become a laughing stock by purchasing it now, since ma
ny Bold users still complains and even hold their purchase on Q10, especially th
e lack of a dedicated top panel for answering/rejecting calls, accessing BB menu
, back buttons, and optical trackpad.
Of course, this is only going to be my communication device for text messaging,
voice call, replying emails, and nothing else. Well perhaps browsing some websit
e and social feeds occasionally. For anything else, I had my iPhone covered. Thi
s might shock you but the Bold 9900 makes a return in North America just recentl
y back in June.
There are mainly two reasons as to why I dived into writing this tutorial to cus
tom upgrade BB OS:
1. Most tutorials are outdated.
2. I faced intermittent carrier signal quality dropped despite staying on averag
e coverage area, which is not what I expected from a BB.
So some information about my network carrier, DiGi in Malaysia. Though it might
not matters to you.
Several notes about Blackberry OS before diving into the steps:
The latest Blackberry OS release is OS 7.1.1098 from O2 carrier in United Kingdo
m. The last denominator is the revision on this release and differs from each ca
rrier. I recommend using 7.1.923 from NTT Docomo (Japan) as reported by many as
being a stable OS with fast signal lock.
The OS itself is built upon Java Virtual Machine and applications are developed
using Java language. You can't expect Android or iOS quality like apps on BB. It
is simply business.
Why bother upgrading BBOS yourself when you can simply use Blackberry Desktop So
ftware?
The main reason is the latest revision available when using this approach is 7.1
.74x which has a non-working Blackberry App World. Although there is a workaroun
d for this by simply download the latest App World .jad files from website such
as xxx, I had issues with my carrier resulting in intermittent signal drop betwe
en 1 to 3 bars, and sometimes, SOS with no signal at all!
Now let's take a look at your recipe:
- BlackBerry OS (Operating System) downloadable from BlackBerry official website
. Simply google with keywords such as "your carrier/telco name + blackberry os".
For example, 'digi blackberry os' and the correct software download link here.
It is usually bundle with package name such as 9900AllLang_PBr.7.1.0_rel2930_PL5
.1.0.701_A7.1.0.1098_O2_UK.exe'. The red highlighted text denotes the revision n
umber for the release. In this case, it is revision 1098 for OS 7.1.0.

* The installation directory for each revision is located under:

C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\Shared\Loader Files
- BlackBerry Desktop Software to backup your core files such as calendars, conta
cts, messages, and etcetera. Note that it does not backup any third party applic
ations, i.e. those applications that does not came with the release such as Link
edIn, Tune-In Radio, etc. It is available in both Windows and Mac.
- BBSAK (BlackBerry Swiss Army Knife) to backup your third party applications do
wnloaded from Blackberry World. Unfortunately you will need a Windows OS for thi
s.
* It is recommended to use a Windows OS natively (no virtual machine) to proceed
with this tutorial to avoid complications while flashing the ROM or uploading t
he OS image. Most people, myself included stuck during 'Uploading ROM Image' ph
ase.
* Make sure you installed all the recipes properly before proceeding.
So now that the recipe is ready, let's go through it step-by-step:
* The whole process will took around 20 minutes.
1. Open BlackBerry Desktop Software and backup your essential stuffs such
tacts, BBM chat messages, calendars, tasks, etc. You can choose to backup
hing but there might be some problem in case the upgraded OS cannot read.
f you're simply changing between revisions of the same major release such
there should be no problem restoring a full backup since the differences
n revisions are usually minor patches.

as con
everyt
Well i
as 7.1
betwee

2. Open BBSAK and use it to backup your third party apps.

3. With your BlackBerry device still connected, click Wipe All button to erase e
verything on your BB device.
During this process you will see a LED red flash followed by the booting process
page, with 'Error 507 Reload Software' around 3/4 of the progress bar.

4. Click the Load OS buttons in BBSAK and you will asked to select which OS to i
nstall. You might see multiple OS'es when you installed multiple revisions.
5. Follow the wizard, select the items to installed, and wait.
* If you are stuck in 'Uploading RAM image' during this step, you are probably i
gnoring my advice and using Virtual Machine to proceed. I experienced this when
using Parallel Desktop and solved it when natively install using a Windows OS.
6. Once it is complete your BB device will restart and enjoy your newly installe
d OS. Hopefully seeing a more stable carrier signal reception. :)
Advanced Reading
How to Install Hybrid OS
Long story short, simply grab a release such as Berrylicio.us release candidate,
extract, and replace all the files in the recommended BB OS Loader folder.

A more lengthly and detailed explanation can be found here > How to Install Hybr
id BB OS
Troubleshooting
1. The process stuck when trying to 'Upload ROM image'.
Install on a native Windows OS.
2. App Loader cannot find anything to install.
Delete all the vendors.xml files. They are located in two places:
For 64-bit Windows OS:
- C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader\
- C:\Users\<Your Username>\AppData\Roaming\Research In Motion\BlackBerry\Loader
XML\
FAQ
What is hybrid OS?
Since the files for the OS is modifiable, some people took the liberty to modify
some kernel files for faster signal locking. I had tried out the Berrylicious.u
s RC (Release Candidate) 15 and 22 with OS 7.1.923 and 7.1.1098 respectively but
simply could not noticed any differences.
Why switch to hybrid OS over official OS?
Some noticeably experienced faster signal locking, more stable mobile hotspot ac
tivation, better battery life. Though it all depends on your network carrier. Tr
ust me, selecting the right base OS and the right hybrid OS can be a huge hassle
and time waster, and I simply cannot tell the differences between hybrid or off
icial release on my carrier.