Do you have a Blackberry device previously used in a corporate environment? Does this device have certain security settings that you can’t seem to control? Have you tried to completely reinstall the device software and still find that certain security settings remain locked? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you probably have a device that was once loaded with an “IT policy” created by the Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) administrator who managed the environment your Blackberry once called home.  Of course, you might already know this but what you probably don’t know is how to remove this stubborn “IT policy.” Fortunately, I do believe I found the answer.

Why does my Blackberry have an IT policy?

A Blackberry IT policy can control many of the security settings for your device. Since most Blackberry’s connect to a corporate Intranet, the device is a virtual direct line into a protected zone. If a Blackberry, configured for a corporate environment, is lost or stolen, the corporate Intranet is at risk. To prevent this type of exposure, BES administrators typically “push” a very restrictive “IT policy” to all the Blackberries connected to their environment. The policy is a great security tool for corporate Blackberries; however, personal use Blackberries typically don’t need this level of security and the owner should have complete control over all of the settings. Unfortunately, when a policy is “pushed” unto Blackberry from a corporate BES, the device owner loses the ability to control certain settings and even a fresh reinstall of the device software won’t change that.

How to remove the current policy from your Blackberry

Regardless where you got your Blackberry, or how you once used it, if you find the current security settings too restrictive, then you’ll need to install a new policy and reclaim total control of your Blackberry. There are two ways to remove a policy, which one is right for you depends entirely on the version of your Blackberry operating system. Fortunately, both options are easy and documented completely in this post by John Clark in the Blackberry forums. I know, kind of lame to not include the policy removal instructions in this article but I must admit, I read Mr. Clark’s instructions a couple of times and came to the conclusion I wouldn’t have explained it any different. And in the end, I followed the set of instructions for the version 4.2 (and below) and it worked perfectly on my Blackberry 8700c.

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