WARNING! When you factory reset your phone, all personal data located on the internal storage will be deleted, including ringtones, apps, contacts, media files, downloaded files etc. In addition, all settings will be restored to factory values. However, data stored on the SD and SIM cards will not be removed or affected by the reset.

NOTE: Before you proceed with the reset, you can visit this thread to learn how you can back up and restore personal data on the BlackBerry Priv.

Master Reset via Settings:

  1. Open the apps drawer
  2. Go to “Settings”
  3. Scroll to and tap “Backup & reset”
  4. Tap “Factory data reset” > “Reset phone”
  5. In case the phone is protected by a lock screen, enter your password / PIN etc. and tap “Next” to proceed
  6. Tap “Erase everything”

NOTE: Factory reset via Recovery is unavailable on the BlackBerry Priv. However, if your phone is unresponsive, crashes, freezes, or otherwise prevents you from resetting it via Settings, you can try solving this problem by pressing and holding the “Power” button for 12 seconds to perform a system restart.

Check for OS Updates:

NOTE: After a factory reset, it’s recommended to check if new firmware updates are available for download. To do this:

  1. Tap “Apps” on the home screen
  2. Go to “Settings”
  3. Scroll down to “System” and tap “About phone”
  4. Tap “System updates” and, if necessary, follow the on-screen prompts to download and apply any available updates

Clear App Cache / Data:

NOTE: If a third party application on your phone crashes, freezes, doesn’t work properly or takes up too much storage inexplicably, you can try fixing these problems by clearing the app’s cache / data.

WARNING! When you clear an app’s data, all personal information stored within the app will be removed, including login and credit card information, profiles, high scores, settings, saved games etc. As such, try solving the problems by clearing only the app’s cache to avoid losing data.

  1. Open the apps drawer
  2. Go to “Settings”
  3. Tap “Apps”
  4. Swipe to the “All” screen and select the desired app
  5. Tap “Clear cache”
  6. If necessary, tap “Clear data” > “OK” (read WARNING above)

Reboot to Safe Mode and Uninstall an App:

NOTE: If one of your third party applications causes issues and prevents you from removing it, you should be able to uninstall the app from within Safe Mode. In this mode, all third party apps are disabled. To reboot to Safe Mode:

  1. Wake up the screen
  2. Press and hold the “Power” button
  3. From the power management pop-up, tap and hold “Power off”
  4. At the prompt to reboot in Safe Mode, tap “OK”
  5. Wait for the device to reboot, and a “Safe Mode” label should be visible in the lower-left corner of the screen
  6. To remove an app, go to “Settings”
  7. Tap “Apps” and swipe to “All”
  8. Select the desired app and tap “Uninstall” > “OK”
  9. To exit safe mode, simply power off and restart your device as you normally would


› See More: BlackBerry Priv: Master Reset; Clear App Cache / Data; Safe Mode; and Check for Firmware Updates