Upgrading Your Device to the Latest BlackBerry OS

If you purchased a 7100 device that shipped with a version of the BlackBerry operating system (OS) older than 4.0, it's important for you to upgrade the OS to 4.0 because that is the major release of the OS currently supported by RIM. If you aren't sure which version OS your device has, follow these steps to find out:

1.	Open the Tools Screen Scroll to the Tools icon on the Home screen and click the trackwheel. The Tools screen appears, offering a list of tool options.
2.	Open the Settings Screen Scroll to the Settings icon and click the trackwheel. A list of options for which you can change the settings appears.
3.	Open the About Screen Scroll to the About option in the list of settings and click the trackwheel. The About screen opens, which shows a great deal of information about the system software installed on your device.
4.	Check the Version Number of the OS Near the top of the About screen you'll see a line that shows the version of the BlackBerry OS. Check whether the first number in the version is 4, which indicates that you have version 4.0 of the OS. If the number is 3, it means you probably need to upgrade to get the latest and greatest BlackBerry OS.

If your device indeed needs to be upgraded to a newer version of the BlackBerry OS, you'll have to visit the website of your wireless service provider to download the upgrade software for your specific device. But first you should download the latest version of the BlackBerry desktop software, the BlackBerry Desktop Manager. The latest version of the BlackBerry Desktop Manager is available for downloading directly from RIM at http://www.blackberry.com/support/downloads/. After downloading the new desktop software, see 8 Install the BlackBerry Desktop Software for details on how to install it.

With the Desktop Manager software updated and ready to roll on your desktop computer, you can then move on to downloading and installing the latest BlackBerry OS. It's important to note that the latest BlackBerry OS is not in any way required to get the most out of this bookit's just a good idea in terms of improving your device's stability and smoothing over minor issues in performance and reliability. But feel free to dive in and start learning how to maximize your BlackBerry 7100you can always upgrade later!