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
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