The blog & portfolio of Matthew J. Rogers

FAQ & Help

Need help or have questions about the design, installation, use, or features of the bPhone for BlackBerry theme? You’ve come to the right place. Please read through everything carefully, and if you still don’t see what you’re looking for then feel free to post a comment down at the bottom of the page.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is bPhone compatible with my BlackBerry?
Take a look at the compatibility list on the download page. All 8100 series (Pearls), 8300 series (Curves), and 8800 series are supported. By “series” I mean any BlackBerry that starts with the first two digits, so yes, the 8130 is part of the 8100 series. The older 8700 series will work if you have the most up-to-date operating system — if you don’t, there’s a bug in the OS that allows the theme to be loaded even though it’s not compatible and it completely corrupts your 8700.

I didn’t see your warning about the old OS on the 8700 series, and now my BlackBerry is endlessly rebooting. What do I do?
Don’t worry, it’s fixable. One possible solution is detailed here.

When will bPhone be available for the Storm or Bold?
I’m currently working on bPhone for Bold and hope to have it out as soon as possible. At some point I will also investigate producing a version for the Storm.

Why aren’t my fonts reflecting my own settings?
This is a limitation (or bug) in the way RIM implements third-party themes. Certain aspects of the theme get locked to the original theme font and cannot be changed by you, the user.

What’s the difference between the three versions (Zen, Icon, and Today)?
These are three variations in how the icons lay out. I don’t have any screenshots (yet), but most BlackBerries come preloaded with the same variants for one of their default themes, so you can see the different behaviors on those.

Some icons don’t match. Can you make bPhone-style icons for [insert application here]?
No. I have customized just about every single thing that the theme software will allow me to change. I can’t apply any more icons.

Can you make a version with a black background, instead of the fish?
You can change your own background anytime you want. An easy way to get an all-black background is to take a picture with your BlackBerry’s camera while holding your finger over the lens. Save that image and set it as your wallpaper.


Can you make the L-style theme, or the Zen style with the icons at the bottom instead of on the side?
No. The theme software only allows for Icon, Today, and left-side Zen templates.

When’s the next version coming out? Can you make a version for the new BlackBerry model?
I’ll only be able to make significant changes to the theme once an overhauled version of the theme creation software comes out. That tends to lag a bit behind new hardware releases, but I’ll do my best to stay current.

If you have any other questions, feel free to comment here or contact me.

Updated on January 4, 2012

1,320 comments

  • clayrebel September 11th, 2009 at 7:29 pm

    Hi Matthew. I’m with Caitlin. It would be awesome if you can creat one the Tour.
    Thanks so much,

    Ted

  • Swannie September 15th, 2009 at 7:58 am

    Hi There,

    Just wanted to find out if bPhone for BlackBerry will work on a curve 8520? Does anyone know>

    Thanks

    Swannie

  • Krystle September 16th, 2009 at 2:04 am

    Hi I was just wondering if there were any plans of making the bPhone for the 8900?

  • Janet September 17th, 2009 at 6:26 am

    How would I be able to delete this them off my blackberry curve? I went to options, theme, menu and tried to delete but nothing yet. Am I doing something wrong?

  • em September 22nd, 2009 at 8:16 pm

    love love LOVE it! you’ve done an amazing job! just wondering if there’s any way to change the background image of the lock screen? right now when i lock it it goes to that metal mesh-looking background, but i’d love for it to lock with my regular background image as the image! thanks!

  • Manuel September 25th, 2009 at 1:53 pm

    Am using bPhone on my older Curve 8310. Great product !
    Same as above (Krystle) – does the bPhone skin work for the new(er) Curve 8900?
    Should we use the BOLD beta ?

    Thanks !

  • Victor September 26th, 2009 at 11:48 am

    My internet on my phone (8330) tends to not work when i have the zen theme?
    what can i do?

  • TheatreFlackNYC October 1st, 2009 at 6:02 am

    Really Good Job with icons — definitely an homage to the Apple folks, right to the core. I chose the Icon iPhone Theme. But two two significant issues: It would have been helpful if all the icons retained the same order as I had previously set them to — after download, I had to spend quite awhile putting them back in my order (perhaps that’s a bug); Second, I was expecting to see the Earth from space focused on Western Hemisphere against a pitch black-w/hint of midnight blue — instead what I got looked like assorted frog pond flora and fauna in a rather bilious shade of green with a little black-space in between.

    I have to say that the Earth with black/midnight blue background is what caught my eye; what I got in the download/install (OTA) was ugliness punctuated by the eye candy of the icons….

    Why the difference between the gorgeous Globe from Space motif shown in the screenshots and the bilious surround in the download/install? Did I download the wrong file…?

    Also, with this theme it appears there is no longer a Red Star notifying of new eMail & other messages. Additionally, when I installed this theme I wound up losing the OperaMini browser application and had to download and install that all over.

    I look forward to receiving your response/counsel/feedback on the issues I raised here. Thanks so much for your creativity, effort and time, Matthew!

    –Matthew Too (aka TheatreFlackNYC)

  • Ligglerleap October 2nd, 2009 at 1:33 am

    Amazing theme. I had this on my 8300 but now I have the 8900 so do you have any plans to do it for the 8900?

  • David N. October 4th, 2009 at 1:16 am

    Hi, I was wondering if this works with my blackberry storm (9530)
    I also can’t find out my operating system.

  • Chris October 5th, 2009 at 4:14 pm

    Hey! Just wondering if the bPhone is compatible with the new Pearl 8220? Thanks for your help.

    -C

  • v.maeister October 8th, 2009 at 4:24 am

    is this theme available for the blackberry curve 8520?

  • J-MAC October 8th, 2009 at 9:58 pm

    Hey will there be a bphone theme for the tour?

  • Erica October 14th, 2009 at 10:20 pm

    Great theme! This is the theme I’ve been using on my 8320 since I got it, and I just got a new one under warranty and tried to install and it wouldn’t work (zip file).

    Is the file suppose to be .jad ? My desktop manager only allows .alx and something else.

  • jeff October 19th, 2009 at 3:12 am

    I see no option for the 8220 pearl flip phone, but you say something about “all versions” regarding the pearl. Is there anything that would work?

  • JOEY October 21st, 2009 at 5:02 pm

    Hello I would also liek to know if this would work on Blackberry Curve 8520? Please let us know, thanks

  • Nell October 22nd, 2009 at 9:40 pm

    Where do I find it? And it said installed successfully but Its not I’m my options on on my apps

  • Ian Andrews October 26th, 2009 at 4:46 am

    I downloaded bphone to my Blackberry Bold but, after receiving a message to say that it had installed correctly, I also don’t see how to start it.

    Since the last person and I seem to have the same problem, wouldn’t it make sense to ensure the application starts automatically or easily – or at least via instructions on the FAQ?

  • Ashley November 15th, 2009 at 10:58 am

    Hello,

    I had the theme on my pearl, and noticed that there was an icon that showed new gmail messages in the upper part. Now that I have a bold I really miss that feature, especially when I want to see if I have any new emails while the keyboard is locked.

    Just wondering if that’s something you can add back in. Also…anyway to add an updating feature?

  • Neven November 18th, 2009 at 10:49 am

    Hello Matthew,
    I am trying to install the bPhone (which looks awesome btw) to my Curve 8310, but after several attempts it doesnt appear in my theme list. I have tried to install it using the BB Desktop Manager and OTA (along with pulling out the battery), but no luck. My IT Policy is set to Default and the Content Protection is set to Disabled. Any idea what might be the problem?

    Thanks in advance,
    Neven

  • jake.l November 19th, 2009 at 9:28 pm

    hi.does anybody know if this theme work on the blackberry curve 8520 (gemini)? when will it be available for this bb curve? someone plz let me know asap.

  • Randy November 25th, 2009 at 1:02 pm

    I love your themes and they make my bb7520 look great.
    I am having problems installing ones that I make with plazmic. Can you give me any help?
    Thanks
    Randy

  • Angel November 26th, 2009 at 10:10 pm

    Hi!! I will like ti know if any of this versions will work with the Bold 9700
    Thanks!!!

  • Angel November 26th, 2009 at 10:11 pm

    Hi!! I will like to know if any of this versions will work with the Bold 9700
    Thanks!!!

  • James November 29th, 2009 at 10:42 pm

    Hi, I also have a 9700 and it appears that the theme installed, but after I rebooted (took the battery out) the new theme did not appear from the home page when I selected options > Theme Options

  • Brooke December 3rd, 2009 at 1:41 am

    I can’t wait for your storm version :) I have this bookmarked.

  • Dennis December 5th, 2009 at 12:52 pm

    MJ, this is awesome! However, all I could download was a .jad file which Desktop Manager does not recognize nor any .zip program I have. I don’t have internet on my phone so OTA is not an option. Can you please advise? Thanks!

  • Nick December 8th, 2009 at 3:08 pm

    Hey,

    Are there any plans for bPhone for the new Blackberry Bold 9700 ? Or will any of the previous versions of bPhone work on the 9700?

    Thanks

  • The Saajid December 12th, 2009 at 5:46 pm

    For those who are unable to get ALX ZIP file, use below link.

    http://rogersmj.com/tech/blackberry/download/?theme=bPhone&mode=desktop

  • Cadillac December 12th, 2009 at 10:34 pm

    Hey!
    As you know much of new blackberry released and one of them is curve 8520,where bphone theme for 8520?

  • natalie December 14th, 2009 at 3:46 am

    does this app work for the blackberry curve 8520?

  • Stephanie December 16th, 2009 at 11:38 pm

    Hello! I need a little bit of help with the installation of the bPhone app. I downloaded the file over-the-air and did a battery pull… but it hasn’t changed. The email didn’t come with any instructions so I’m not sure what to do =(

    Please help!

    Stephanie

  • Sachin December 18th, 2009 at 3:42 am

    Hi,

    I installed the bPhone theme a couple of months back on my Blacberry 8320. Few days back I have started facing problems. The phone is showing java error as well as it switches off the phone automatically. Also, it takes lot of time to switch-on the phone. I tried uninstalling the theme but couldn’t. Need your help to uninstall the same.

    thanks
    Sachin

  • Carol December 25th, 2009 at 2:14 pm

    Really want this for my new Storm2. I love my iPod touch and it would be nice to have the same icons on my BBerry.

  • Robert December 27th, 2009 at 2:00 am

    Amazing work MJ. Following up on other people’s previous comments, I was wondering if bphone is compatible with the 8520?

  • adam December 27th, 2009 at 12:10 pm

    this is a great theme i had it when i had my curve from AT&T but i have recently switched networks to Verizon and decided to get the tour. is there any way for you to make this theme available for the tour that would be great it you could. also i think it would be a great idea for you to post the theme on the website; http://www.mobihand.com because there are plenty of people who buy themes from there and from my experience i think your theme would be great.
    -thanks

  • todd December 29th, 2009 at 10:47 pm

    I am wondering if one of your versions will work on a bb bold 9700 as well….

    Thank you.

  • RMC January 2nd, 2010 at 12:21 am

    Is the AT&T BlackBerry Curve 8900 compatible with bPhone?

  • Mark January 2nd, 2010 at 3:16 pm

    I had bphone on my 8820 and its awesome! Just upgraded to T-mobile 8900 – does Bphone bold beta or other work on t-mo 8900? Thanks

  • Ricardo January 4th, 2010 at 9:09 am

    Good looking app! I still wonder if you already release a version for OS 4.5 for BB 8350i?
    Thx in advance!

  • Louise January 5th, 2010 at 1:46 pm

    Do you know where to find it for the 8520??
    Because it looks so great!!!
    Tanx

  • olivier January 10th, 2010 at 4:00 am

    a lot of same questions but no answer concerning the dowload on the bold 9700.
    The installation is correctly completed but impossible to find the application.
    Can you please let me know how to do or at least how to find the file in the 9700 to delete it.
    Thanks in advance
    olivier

  • Kevin January 12th, 2010 at 7:55 pm

    Hi,
    Would it be possible to change the lock screen background for the theme for 8320?
    Is there any software to edit the theme?

    Thanks

  • mackie January 16th, 2010 at 9:12 pm

    I don’t see any answers on here about the 8900? Is there a download available for this model?

  • Kelvin T. January 21st, 2010 at 9:12 am

    is the theme able to support the curve 8900? I’m not persuaded to download the the curve 8300 series instead.

  • Kevin January 24th, 2010 at 8:38 pm

    Is there a theme for the curve 8530?

  • Robert Sikes January 27th, 2010 at 7:56 am

    Great Job on the bphone Today Theme!

    However I have an issue with the Alarm. No Sound. The Spinner (Hour Glass) just spins and spins.

    Help Please!

  • chris January 27th, 2010 at 4:36 pm

    hi I just found your theme and wondering if it is going to work on my bb8350 i or if you are going to create one for the 8350i

    thanks in advance

  • David February 3rd, 2010 at 4:32 pm

    any chance getting this for curve 8520? thanks

  • is there any theme for 8520 February 5th, 2010 at 2:44 am

    how can I download a theme for my 8520