Question: I have some pictures I took with my Blackberry Curve that I'd like to copy over to my computer. How do I do this?
Answer: With Blackberry phones you have a few choices for copying photos to your computer, or for copying them from your computer to your Blackberry. These instructions also work for copying music files and videos.
1. Transfer via email. This is the easiest way, and doesn't cost any money because data transfer is included in the Blackberry service. With the picture open on your Blackberry (Media -- Pictures -- My Pictures -- and then find your picture), press the menu button and select "Send As Email" (you have to scroll down a ways on the menu to find this option).
The email will show up on your computer with a file attachment containing your picture in jpg format, which is compatible with any photo imaging programs and will even open in Microsoft Paint (although I recommend a program like Paint.NET which is free and awesome).
The only drawback with the email approach is that you can only send one picture at a time, which gets a little tedious if you have several pictures you'd like to copy to your computer. In that case I recommend the USB data cable approach described below.
2. Transfer using bluetooth.
Open the Media application on your Blackberry to view your pictures, and open the picture that you want to transfer. Press the menu button and select "Send Using Bluetooth" (you'll have to scroll down the menu towards the bottom to see this option).
You have to have Bluetooth enabled on your BB, otherwise you'll see a warning message:
If you get this message, then go back to the main Blackberry screen and select the "Set Up Bluetooth" application. Make sure your computer has a Bluetooth adapter and has Bluetooth turned on, and your Blackberry will try to discover it.
If you need help pairing your Bluetooth-enabled Blackberry with your computer, then check out this article that includes step-by-step instructions for turning on Bluetooth on your computer and pairing it with a Blackberry Curve 8310: http://www.rickysays.com/pair-bluetooth-device-with-computer
Once your computer and Blackberry have paired together (connected), then you'll be able to go back to the Media screen, select your picture and choose the "Send Using Bluetooth" menu.
On your computer, you may need to right-click on the Bluetooth icon in the taskbar and select "Receive File", and then choose where you'd like to save the incoming file.
Keep in mind that with Bluetooth you'll only be able to transfer one file at a time
3. Transfer using a USB data cable.
With a USB data cable you can copy all your pictures to your computer in one shot, instead of sending them one at a time like with the email and bluetooth options described above. This option is a lot faster for transferring multiple pictures from a vacation trip or night out with friends.
You'll need the Blackberry Desktop Manager software that came with your phone to be installed (which can also be downloaded here) and a USB data cable.
Don't have a usb data cable or didn't get one with your phone? I've seen them at the Cell Phone Shop and Wireless Emporium and they're almost always on sale (most affordable at WE).
Once you have the software installed, connect your Blackberry with the usb cable and plug the other end into an open usb port on your computer. Open the Blackberry Desktop Manager software, choose the Media Manager option, and you'll see a Windows Explorer-like interface that will let you select the files you want to transfer.
You'll be able to copy multiple music files, videos, pictures, contacts, notes, etc from your Blackberry to your computer, or from your computer to your Blackberry.
Just select the pictures that you want to copy from the bottom view under My Devices (your Blackberry, or the memory card on your Blackberry) and drag them up to the Pictures folder in the top region of the screen, under My Media. You can also select the Folder tab and copy them into any folder on your hard drive.
Notice that the screen shot above shows the Blackberry device along with a media card that I have plugged into the Curve, which gives it an extra 2 GB of memory. I'm using an SDMicro card, and you can get one from Wireless Emporium. It'll give you enough room for an extra 1,000 photos (or about 500 songs).
I prefer the Send As Email option if I just have a single file to send over, but if I have several photos to transfer then the USB data cable approach is much more efficient because it lets you transfer multiple pictures in one shot.
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Anonymous (not verified) Says: Fri, 2009-04-17 14:25
hi i'm trying to transfer file from my comp to my blackberry too and i did what you said here and stil not working. um i installed desktop manager 4.5 and i have the blackberry 8320. is that the right program for my phone model. also i in the media manager under my device it said there is no device connected when i already connect my phone to the computer with a usb cable. Pls help. thank you
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Sat, 2009-05-09 02:37
I tried all this and when i go to bb desktop there is no media manager?? whats the problem?? i also tried to back up and look for my fliks like that but my wmp wont load ipd files?? help..
Mary (not verified) Says: Thu, 2009-06-11 04:50
Thanks so much! Media Manager was the answer for me! Great instructions and screen prints were provided at this site.
Suz (not verified) Says: Sun, 2009-09-06 11:38
I already did this with my media card in my blackberry...but it won't find the pictures that is saved in the device memory. I took the media card out and tried to get my computer to read just the device memory but it said that no pic files were located. Is there a way to copy the device memory files to the media card?
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Sat, 2009-09-19 14:10
I followed all instructions but when I get to the the main menu and click media manager it takes me to the media screen but wont allow me to click. It is in a dull grey and the hand wont even light up the install button. The media sync is lit up and working but I cant get into the media manager. Can you help!?!
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Wed, 2009-10-28 16:49
Worked for me. Thanks!
Hamilton (not verified) Says: Fri, 2009-12-04 08:10
Ok, for all of you that did see any of your pictures when attempted to copy/transfer your pictures this is what I did and worked for me.
From Ricks Instructions (with USB cable):
1. Open Blackberry Desktop Manager
- Select Madia Manager
- Then Roxio will open up (it may install if its the first time)
- Connect your Blackberry device if it isnt already and give it about 5 seconds (enter password if you have one set)
- Now you should see exactly what Rick has in the second screenshot of this portion.
- If you dont see it then disconnect the usb from the device and reconnect it.
- It will come up eventually it just needs to look for the drivers and files.
- then browser for your pictures on the device from the folders below on the left panel.
- then you should know the rest... copy up / disconnect / connect the other device and copy down.
Sorry if the steps comes out all screw up, its my first time posting and I thought I would share the solution.
Thanks Rick!
JonW9 (not verified) Says: Tue, 2009-12-15 10:23
Thanks to Hamilton! Couldn't see my BB photos at first, but after disconnecting and reconnecting the USB cable they appeared.
Renata (not verified) Says: Fri, 2009-12-11 20:54
Does anyone know of a way to connect the usb cable and be able to import photos from my blackberry to my computer without installing the blackberry desktop manager? I had the desktop manager on my laptop for like a day, but I uninstalled it, because it slowed my system down.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Fri, 2009-12-18 18:14
i don't know who designed this media manager thing but let me just it is not userfriendly, and there isn't anything in the manual that helps.
I did not have a media card, but i did have my usb cable. this is what i did. i downloaded the 5.0 version of bb desktop manager from att website, go to it search for blackberry desktop software, you will see where it says to download, make sure you select the one that says download with media manager. Save the program so that it can download. This download will take 1 hour Then u will see a screen that has media manager launch, click it then it will tell you that you need to install media manager, say yes, this took 2 hours for me. once that happened, it will then tell you to restart your computer.
okay,after all of that connect your bb to the computer with a usb cable, you see on the screen of your bb that it is connected.
click on your bb desktop icon, click media manager, you will see a picture like the one shown above, click split view you will then see half the screen my media, the bottom half my device(bb) on the bottom screen
go to the picture folder, all your pictures should pop up on the bottom screen. to copy onto ur computer, hit the new folder tab icon that's located to the right of the my media tab. then go back to the bottom half of the screen click your photo then hit copy up that should do it. I don't know how to select all the pictures to copy at once, sorry. hope this helps
rmg (not verified) Says: Mon, 2009-12-21 22:02
Thanks - this totally helped me and I was able to transfer the pics efficiently via USB cable.
Gareth (not verified) Says: Fri, 2010-01-01 14:17
Thanks for above instructions. I followed these and was able to copy the pictures, but the details of when each photo were taken weren't copied. Is there any way to do this please?
Michelle (not verified) Says: Mon, 2010-01-04 05:42
this is sooooooooo helpful!!
Omar Rosado (not verified) Says: Mon, 2010-01-18 21:39
I am using a usb cable via bb desktop manager. I installed in my house computer and in my work computer. In both cases the software (Roxio for Blackberry) is extremely slow. If I only click in one of the device pictures it gets freeze and reacts after almost a minute. Hardware is not a problem, both systems are in perfect shape. Any recomendation?
Thanks in advance.
Omar.
Please email your answer to omar.rosado@cwpanama.com
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Fri, 2010-02-12 14:26
I got the Blackberry Curve 8900 last week, I installed the desktop manager v5.0.1 but had to install Media Manager seperately. I click launch to open MM but the Desktop Manager goes blank, then comes back within seconds as though nothing was clicked. The Media Manager just simply won't open and I have noooo idea what to do to get the pictures onto my laptop! Any ideas? I don't have a usb data key and I don't know how to set up email on my B/Berry!
HELP!!
Victoria (not verified) Says: Fri, 2010-03-05 21:15
I usually don't use the disks that come with the cell phones, I appreciate that reminder! I was frustrated when I plugged in my BB and nothing happened. =]
Brandy J. (not verified) Says: Sat, 2010-03-06 06:59
Best answer yet by far! Thanks alot! I have been trying for two weeks to do this and you were able to show me (and the rest of the world) how to do it in 2 mins or less! Thanks alot!
Brandy J
Slim (not verified) Says: Sat, 2010-03-13 18:04
I just upgraded my phone (Katana) to a bb after 3 years. Lucky for me, the employee at the store transferred my pics to my new phone. All of my old pics were stored under DEVICE MEMORY in the bb and for some reason, I could not download them to my laptop. I found this site and decided to try it. At first I could not get the software to download, but after I restarted my laptop everything worked fine.
Thank you Ricky!!
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Sun, 2010-03-14 19:22
Thanks - great directions!
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Sat, 2010-04-03 18:48
I was able to complete all those steps. Now I want to post the video to Facebook and email to myself. But the file type is strange. Is there not a simple way to do this? It's been hours of just trying to get one video between the desktop manager download and the confusion.
Linsey (not verified) Says: Mon, 2010-04-05 07:25
I've used Roxio Media Manager for a while now and when I first started using it, I used to be able to hit Select All in my photos from my BB and Copy Up and it would only copy the pictures that were new and not already saved. It no longer does that and tries to save all pictures instead of just the new ones, which is a problem as I have a lot of pictures. Any way to change this?
Warren (not verified) Says: Tue, 2010-04-13 22:51
Ricky thanks for excellent 'How To' post. I simply followed your instructions and got both videos and pictures off a BlackBerry 9000 in one shot using the USB cable. I am a first time user with no experience with smart phones, again thanks.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Sat, 2010-04-24 13:05
To copy multiple pictures at once. Hold down the shift key, click your first picture and scroll down to your last picture and hold down shift key and click your last picture. All pictures should be highlighted. Click copy up. To copy up select pictures you would hold CTRL and highlight your desire photos to be copied up. Hope this help.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Sat, 2010-04-24 13:11
Another and easier way to select all photos is to select Edit on Media Manager and click select all
pat (not verified) Says: Sun, 2010-05-30 04:58
After sitting and watching the software download and install (reminds me of the days of AOL updates via modem - yawn...) on my Acer netbook - I tried to start up the Desktop manager software and the message 'Change Display Settings' popped up. I tried every which way to change to settings yet, it reverts back to the old settings and I get the same message again. I am so frustrated. We took over 100 pics on the BB in Hawaii and can't even transfer them. Is there an easier way? Why can't BB adopt the popular 'plug and play' process? In the meantime, can someone help me with my display issue? Thanks!
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Wed, 2010-06-23 17:27
hi i need help with the bb 9700. i am trying 2 put the pikz from my bb to my computer but it wont work. when i open my desktop manager, i click media but it tells me 2 install....i tried clicking install but it tells me 2 insert a disk but i dont have the disk. what should i do? PLEASE help...=)
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Wed, 2010-07-14 16:42
if you have a mac just connect your bb to Blackberry Desktop Manager and go to either iphoto or itunes and click "File" and then "Add to Library..." Then just go to the finder and click on what file you want added to that particular library. Its really easy and fast.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Fri, 2010-07-16 20:30
For those that are Mac users that are trying to transfer music or pics from blackberry to computer:
Open the Media Manager, hook up your BB etc.
Open either iTunes or iPhoto and click "File" and then "Add to Library..."
Then just choose which files you want from the Finder and it will begin to transfer the music or photos from your Blackberry.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Tue, 2010-08-03 16:32
I can upload my pictures from my BB, but, only from the device memory. It does not show the media card like the second photo. I have media card support on and off, same with mass storage, on and off, unplugged USB etc, and can not get the media card to show up below the device memory. Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
Alex (not verified) Says: Thu, 2010-08-05 20:15
I am using an Acer laptop - you know, the half-pint size? It's top screen resolution is 1024x600. The BlackBerry desktop manager says to set screen res to 1024x768. Why desktop res should make any difference to the transfer of an image file is beyond logic.
I have been reading the problems other users are having with software being wiped from hard drives and replaced with this one, and only being able to use Verizon. It kinda seems like this 258MB (huge / bloated) App falls under the conspiracy theorists' banner.
All I want to do is transfer images without having to email each and every one of my pix separately. Seems to me that if BlackBerry are going to provide a camera, then BlackBerry should also provide a convenient way to transfer the pictures.
After trying to get this thing to work for 7 hours and getting no results, I am thinking this application is not ready for release.
Anonymous (not verified) Says: Thu, 2010-08-12 22:21
I have a macbook and want to transfer my photos from my blackberry so I can switch to an iphone. Blackberry Desktop manager is different for a mac and I can backup all my data etc, but don't know how to view it or save it to my computer? Can you help please?
Thanks!
Erin (not verified) Says: Wed, 2010-08-18 01:35
Your instructions to download pictures from my PC to my Blackberry from the Media Manager were PERFECT. Very user friendly & it worked PERFECTLY! THANK YOU!!!!
Erin
Gopi Lingamgunta (not verified) Says: Sat, 2010-08-21 18:27
Thanks for your useful instructions, they are really very helpful.
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