How do I switch my Blackberry Pearl from Multitap to SureType?

I don't get it, I have a new Blackberry Pearl and have been enjoying getting used to its predictive typing system, SureType, but all of a sudden my phone is now into the same annoying multiple-keypress input system that my pre-Pearl phone forced me to use. How do I switch back to the predictive SureType system?

Dave's Answer:

I have suffered through the exact same frustration too, so I know exactly of what you speak. My problem is that I wasn't sure what to call the predictive typing system on the Blackberry Pearl, so I searched Google for "predictive typing", "t9 input" and even the "ABC" that's displayed on the Pearl screen if you're in what Blackberry calls "multi-tap input mode".

For the record, it's not "T9" on this phone and there's no reference to "predictive typing" in the 240 page User's Guide either. You need to search for SureType[tm, of course] to find anything at all.

The solution is oddly tucked away in the Language settings of the phone. Here's how I switched out of Multitap and into SureType on my own cellphone:

Go to the main applications view on the Pearl.
Choose Options (it's the little crescent wrench icon) and select it.
Scroll down to Language and click the trackball.
Under "Input Language" you want to either select your language with Multitap (to enable Multitap) or without (which puts you into SureType mode). For example, I selected English (United States) to get SureType.
Now just click the menu button and select Save and you're back to normal.

I hope that helps you get out of this weird mode. I have to say that I am amazed at just how well the predictive typing capability works too!

More Useful iPhone and Cell Phone Help Articles:

✔ How do you share an iPhone photo on Facebook?

All my friends have figured out the magic to take photos on their iPhone and upload them to Facebook. Everyone but me. How...

✔ Closed captioning for TV shows and movies on my iPhone?

Hey Dave, I saw your article from a few days about How to Turn on Closed Captioning in iTunes and am wondering if...

✔ How do I create location-based iPhone reminders?

Thanks to Siri, I've become a big fan of the Reminders app on my iPhone. Being able to say "remind me at 3pm...

✔ Enable Apple 2-Step Verification in iTunes?

I keep reading all these articles about iTunes account security and people having their accounts hacked. I have 2-step security verification set up...

✔ Turn an iTunes song into an iPhone ringtone?

I want to have song from my song list in iTunes into a ringtone I can use on my iPhone? Is it even...

Let's stay in touch!

Sign up for my weekly AskDaveTaylor Newsletter and you'll receive even more tech and gadget help right to your inbox, along with exclusive news and industry updates. It's good stuff. I promise!

Categorized: iPhone and Cell Phone Help (Article 7189, Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: abc mode, blackberry pearl, predictive typing
Previous: How do I turn a command line into a shell script?
Next: How do I make my MySpace profile public?

Reader Comments To Date: 56

Bryon Thornburgh said, on March 2, 2007 12:01 PM:

There is an easier way to switch the Pearl back into SureType mode:

1. Press the Menu key within a text field
2. Select "Enable SureType"

http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC&docType=kc&externalId=KB10261&sliceId=SAL_Public&dialogID=8932694&stateId=0%200%205344662

john said, on March 16, 2007 5:34 AM:

Hi Dave
Appreciate you sharing your knowledge like you do.
Can you help with a Blackberry Pearl problem ,I have 4 received messages/emails which I can't delete. 3 are emails and 1 is a sms. they are from 2 consecutive days and have been deleted from my computer. any comments appreciated

Jonathan Roy said, on March 22, 2007 4:16 PM:

Thank you for posting this suggestion. I have just received my Pearl a few days ago and was having the same problem. What a great phone, but a wierd way to setup the typing input!

Jessica White said, on April 3, 2007 12:52 PM:

This is by far the most useful information that I've found on the web THIS YEAR! And I'm a network administrator! Thank you so much, and congrats on the high Google ranking for "blackberry pearl multitap mode". You're number one! You're number one!

Michael said, on April 20, 2007 4:52 PM:

There's a MUCH faster way: just hold down the SYM (Symbol) key when you're in typing mode.

At first the symbols will appear as usual, but keep holding down the SYM key until the symbols menu goes away (about 2 seconds).

Holding down the SYM key toggles between SureType and Multi-Tap modes.

When in Multi-Tap mode, you will see a "ABC" icon in the upper-right hand corner of the screen. When in SureType mode, there is no associated icon shown.

adrian said, on July 2, 2007 1:02 AM:

A big THANKYOU to all posters on this blog, I am totally useless with anything technical and was about to smash my blackberry pearl because it kept hopping into multi-tap mode and i couldn't get out back to predictive , you have saved my blackberry from a certain cruel death, other than that glitch it is absolutely fantastic.

thanks

Daniel said, on August 31, 2007 9:41 AM:

Thanks again to everyone for their suggestions for escaping multi-tap hell!

I've found that using the password vault, which appropriately switches the input method to multi-tap while one enters a password, leaves the pearl in multi-tap mode. If anyone knows anyone at RIM could you ask for a firmware update that automatically switches the keyboard out of multi-tap mode once the password has been entered?

That would save a lot of frustration - particularly for new users.

Anthony said, on December 13, 2007 7:09 AM:

Gracias, Mon Amie! Just had a CFO walk in havign somehow managed to switch his input language to greek - literally typing greek symbols for everything! Thanks for a big save easy to find article that let me fix it in less than 5 minutes....

Rob said, on February 29, 2008 4:42 PM:

Thanks for the help with switching back to sure type.

Jack said, on March 13, 2008 5:48 AM:

Dave,
Your site is very informative. With my BlackBerry Pearl, my Call Log deletes itself automatically. Missing alot of calls. What can I do to prevent this. Thanking you in advance.
J

Keti said, on April 28, 2008 12:57 PM:

Hi Dave,
Thank you so much for answering this question! My phone was on SureType since I got it about 5 months ago then all of a sudden a couple of days ago it automatically switched to multi-tap mode and I couldn't seem to find a way to switch it back. After google-ing my question, your site came up 1st and I'm so happy I'm back to SureType!
Thank you!!
p.s. I also tried the suggestions posted by Bryon and Michael but they didn't work for me, sorry guys, Dave's the best! :))

Agata said, on May 14, 2008 9:05 AM:

GRAZIE!!! THANK YOUUUU! MERCIIIII!

I was getting real desperate! :)))))))))))))

Made my day!
Agata

ashlee said, on May 24, 2008 12:22 AM:

My phone is going into some sort of mode where it says *none due to radio off* in thr manage connection feature.
therefore, i can't use my phone at all...
any idea how to turn this back on?
thanks

brandenbrutal201 said, on May 26, 2008 2:50 PM:

go to the main menu and click manage connections...

then in the list find mobile network... click on it

and that should do it. :)

Brian said, on May 27, 2008 1:06 PM:

I just got an 8120 Pearl & it suddenly stopped using SureType. Not only that, it stopped doing the automatic number lock in my address book phone fields. And when I click on the menu there is no "Enable SureType." And there's no ABC in the corner either. I don't get it - the Language is set right (i.e., not to Multi-tap). Any thoughts?

Tahday said, on July 20, 2008 11:33 PM:

Your a beast, somehow my text got switched and i had to put it back to sure type...

youwant said, on July 27, 2008 8:47 PM:

This is dumb. For a function to be used so frequently not to be directly mapped to a button makes no sense. I have the need to switch modes constantly. Anyone know how to override a button mapping?

BTW the holding SYM trick does not seem to work for me.

lkjsfdlkjsdfd said, on July 30, 2008 2:18 PM:

just change launguage to somnething else and then save it and put it back to english and the abc will go away

Charles Palmer said, on August 13, 2008 1:07 PM:

I, too, am desperately in need for a way to switch between SureType and multitap without using the menu.

Fatima said, on August 21, 2008 12:21 PM:

hey i have a telus blackberry pearl. and all of a sudden i have no sound on it. i was using it just fine. i can styll make calls and receive calls. but when i pick up the call theres just dead air. same as if i call someone outgoing...no one can hear me and i cant hear the phone ringing?! what do i do!

Windy said, on October 28, 2008 6:20 PM:

I found this correct answer on my 4th search sessoin, not the first.
Thanks for the fix, FYI my pearl 8100 says "localization" not "languages" in the Options menu. Then I changed the input language to English (not English-us/Britan). Then it automatically changed to "US sure-type" not the multi tap.

Vanya said, on November 30, 2008 4:59 PM:

Thanks so much for that; somehow my predictive text got switched off, and the "Multi Tap" thing was driving me crazy....all fixed now!

Beth said, on December 29, 2008 11:16 PM:

Dave? You're friggin GENIUS!!!! Went thru my Pocket guide 4x's... finally did a search and there you were with your easy peasy answer. Thank you and HAPPY NEW YEAR!

cb es osa said, on January 16, 2009 12:14 PM:

Thanks! Holy cow, was about to lose my religion!

nmjs said, on January 21, 2009 7:37 PM:

the suretype just randomly turned its self off and ive tried everything on here. there is no "enable suretype" on the menu and that SYM key thing doesnt work either! im getting really stressed out! please help me!

Daniel said, on January 26, 2009 9:23 AM:

It worked!!!!! thanks from Chili

Rob Baron said, on February 9, 2009 8:31 PM:

This was exactly the answer that I needed. Thank you so much.

di said, on February 19, 2009 8:49 AM:

whenever i type a message on the pearl there is always a period after every word? help! thanks

Trisha said, on February 20, 2009 6:18 PM:

Thanks for the instructions on how to disable that stupid sure type off!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't find it anywhere until here!!!!!!! thank you

JJSolo said, on March 12, 2009 11:33 AM:

Thanks for your help! This has been driving me crazy.

Jackie Simons said, on March 24, 2009 7:46 PM:

Thank You SO much!! I was about to get rid of my blackberry. I even went on blackberry forums to try and figure out what was going on with my text messaging. I really appreaciate your help. Thanks Alot! :)

Ed said, on April 24, 2009 4:21 AM:

Thanks for this. Just for info, on my blackberry pearl the menu is called 'localisation' instead of 'language'. Rest of the method is the same though.

Cat_not_kitty said, on May 12, 2009 2:14 PM:

Thanks for the resources, everyone! For those of you with a Blackberry Pearl, holding down the SYM key doesn't work, nor will you find an "Enable SureType" option in the texting menu. To make matters worse, there's no Languages option in the main Option menu (why on earth they would make the whole thing so bloody complicated, I don't know). To change texting back to Suretype on the Pearl, follow Dave's directions but go to the Localisation Option (rather than the Languages option). My keyboard randomly stopped predictive texting and when I finally found the Localisation fix (thanks to Windy, above), my input language was still set appropriately i.e. to English (UK) rather than English (UK) Multitap. Switching it to another language and then back to the right language seemed to fix the problem.

Renee said, on May 20, 2009 6:49 AM:

THANKS!
I was gettig so crazy why it switched off and I couldn't get it back on. Your help worked.

Vince said, on May 20, 2009 11:31 AM:

Thanks Dave. Very helpful. V

Tiff said, on July 8, 2009 7:26 AM:

THANK YOU ! YOU ARE MY HERO.

Brian said, on July 27, 2009 7:37 AM:

Great info. Everyone, there are many varieties of Pearl's out there, and they will have slightly different menu names, etc. Mine positively DOES have the Languages menu item rather than Localization.

SYM key did not work for me. Not every text field has the menu option to switch between multitap and Suretype. For instance, when trying to select a name from the address book, or choosing a name to send an SMS text, the menu item isn't there. However, once I'm in the body of an SMS text, I can push the menu key and there's an option to switch between multitap and suretype.

Going into the Languages/Localization menu will give you more options, though. On mine, there's an "Input Options" menu which has several options which can be turned on/off:
Compound Words
Context learning
Auto Word learning
Use Address Book as Data Source
Learn words from email messages (off, All Messages, Contacts only)
Predictive input.

So playing with these options might let your Blackberry learn some custom terms or business words you frequently use. This could help you from needing to switch to multi-tap as frequently. I guess the watchout is that it may also pick up on more misspelled words, etc.

R said, on July 29, 2009 8:59 PM:

thanks so much for all the help. I had gone through all my applications several times. Leaving the choice buried under "language" is pretty obscure.

Tabitha said, on August 28, 2009 4:19 PM:

i have a black berry pearl, and when i press call or to look at my call log my phone automaticly locks how do i fix it? please help

Jennifer said, on September 23, 2009 7:01 PM:

Oh my gosh; thank you so much!
I was going CRAZY without suretype.
I was searching the internet with "suretext" and that got me no where. Thanks again :D

Sarah said, on October 6, 2009 12:16 PM:

Hi Dave

My Suretype menu is coming out horizontal and I want to switch it back to a vertical menu. How do I do this?
Thanks for you time
Sarah

Steve said, on October 30, 2009 11:33 AM:

Dave,

My Blackberry pearl freezes when I want to open my contacts. How do I fix this.

Thanks for the tip on Suretype, that was driving me crazy

Tiffany said, on November 4, 2009 2:37 PM:

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! That was bothering me soooo much and i have regained my sanity!!

Deanna said, on November 14, 2009 3:54 PM:

THANK YOU for this.

You are wonderful.

Lilly said, on December 8, 2009 8:48 PM:

Thank you for the help I got so sick and tired of texting with Suretype.

Han said, on January 25, 2010 6:10 PM:

Your page was very useful in enabling me to turn that irritating SureType OFF, and switching back to multitap. I really cannot understand how anyone can work with SureType. Sure, if your vocabulary consists of say 100 words and you always type the same message, it can be very useful I suppose.

Dylan said, on April 15, 2010 8:43 AM:

Hi dave, thank you so much for your helpful information. My black berry had sure type for nearly two years now and then three months back they updated my software and the sure type was gone and I had the multi function and I couldn't figure out for the life of me in how to get it back. It made it so difficult to text fast but now it's back to normal and I can't thank you enough!

Brooklyn said, on June 16, 2010 5:53 AM:

Heey (;

Thanks Yo.
I really Appreciate it.
That was totally helpful )(:

Keep Posting.

Joe said, on June 17, 2010 12:38 PM:

Thanks! my pearl started typing ABC and i havent been able to figure out how to fix it. Now it's back to predictive text.

Kate said, on October 11, 2010 6:52 AM:

How do you add words to the dictionary in SureType? It seems like a good idea but is very irritating as it has a very limited vocab! Thanks, Kate

deepu said, on October 23, 2010 2:13 PM:

hi dave, u r really legend bro.u solved my blackberry pearl multi tap problem.i appreciate u.thanks for that.

johnrey said, on January 8, 2011 7:38 AM:

Thanks for this help. I have pushed a button and switched Suretype off but cant find it but the option language option does work. The shift button does not work. For those of us who use it a lot it does learn so you add words. 8110 over 2 years old now.

Erin said, on May 11, 2011 11:55 PM:

Thank you soooo much! My 18 month old got a hold of my cell phone and switched it. I was going crazy until I found this website and your help:-)

Joanie said, on May 15, 2011 8:41 PM:

Dave--
I was having so much trouble with the keyboard that had switched to predictive typing and I couldn't even text. I tried the suggestions of easy switching but your comment at the type was what did it. Thanks so much -- now I can text!!

Peter said, on December 22, 2011 12:13 PM:

This is without doubt the most useful tip I have found on the internet in my search for solutions for dealing with the many foibles of the Black Berry. You saved me hours of searching and possibly trying solutions that could have ruined my phone.
Many thanks.

Dipak said, on April 22, 2013 8:52 AM:

In the middle of typing a message press Menu and select Multitap.

I do have a lot to say, and questions of my own for that matter, but first I'd like to say thank you, Dave, for all your helpful information by buying you a cup of coffee!

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

How do I switch my Blackberry Pearl from Multitap to SureType?

Reader Comments To Date: 56

I do have a comment, now that you mention it!

Check This Out Too...