I recently had the pleasure of upgrading my Blackberry from OS 4.2 to 4.5. Normally this would be a “no brainer”00, but as with all things in life I had to be difficult and perform my upgrade from a Windows Server 2008 workstation.
Without further ado:
Install the latest version of Desktop Manager (DM) that works with your operating system.
Verify that DM is connected to the BES. If DM is not seeing your BES, your device will not reactivate after the OS upgrade is complete.
Install the 4.5 package.
Unplug your handheld from your PC and reboot.
A reboot was required in my case as DM and Windows did not detect the new device drivers for the handheld.
Plug your handheld into your PC. Windows will automatically detect the updated device drivers.
Start your handheld upgrade from DM.
Wait.
Wait some more.
Did I mention you should still be waiting?
??? Profit ??? Really RIM, does an upgrade need to take this long?
After the successful completion of your upgrade, DM will automatically reactivate your handheld with the BES.
Important notes:
If you are connected to a Windows domain, when upgrading with DM, make sure you are signed in to your domain account that is tied to your handhelds email configuration. If you do not do this, you will most likely not reactivate on the BES, and that is a BAD thing.
If the upgrade does not take the first time, be sure you have rebooted and that you are utilizing the newest device drivers for your handheld.
Why would you want to upgrade and go through the pain? For some of the following:
BlackBerry Maps with Points of Interest
Improved media player with playlist support and automatic playlist generation
Voice note recording
Video recording on Curve models
Streaming support for YouTube and Sling Player
Microsoft Office document editing with DocumentsToGo