Error 523″, “App Error 523″, or “JVM 523″ appears on the BlackBerry smartphone

Today I’d like to talk about a system error that a friend of mine recently encountered, and how they got their BlackBerry® smartphone up and running again in no time! The error in question is when the BlackBerry smartphone displays a solid white screen with the message ‘JVM 523’ displayed. This error may also be displayed as ‘Error 523’ or ‘App Error 523’ depending on which type of BlackBerry smartphone you are using.

Here’s an overview of what this error means, and more importantly, what to do if you encounter it.

What does it mean?

The first thing you might be wondering is what does ‘JVM 523’ mean? Simply put, it means the BlackBerry smartphone encountered a Java™ Virtual Machine (JVM) application related problem and is unable to continue running. As mentioned earlier, if this error occurs, the BlackBerry smartphone will display a solid white screen with a small message stating ‘JVM 523’ on the screen.

Troubleshooting this error

If you encounter this error, the first thing you should do is perform a hard reset of your BlackBerry smartphone. Depending on what occurs after the reset, one of the following options will be applicable.

The BlackBerry smartphone restarts successfully

If the device has restarted successfully and no longer displays the error, I recommend performing a backup of your BlackBerry smartphone using BlackBerry® Desktop Software. For information on how to perform a backup, click on one of the links below depending on which type of computer you have.

• BlackBerry Desktop Software for Mac 2.2.1 – Backup smartphone data or tablet data
• BlackBerry Desktop Software for PC 6.1 – Backup smartphone data or tablet data

Tip: In case you don’t have BlackBerry Desktop Software installed, click here for the PC version, or click here for the Mac version.

After performing a backup, continue using your BlackBerry smartphone as per normal. In the event you encounter the same error again in the future, please complete the steps below to perform a web-based BlackBerry device software update.

The BlackBerry smartphone does not restart successfully

In the event the BlackBerry smartphone still shows the ‘JVM 523’ error message after performing a hard reset, the next step is to verify you are using the most current version of BlackBerry Device Software. You can do this by performing a web-based BlackBerry Device Software update that will ensure you are using the most recent version of BlackBerry Device Software.

Note: If you haven’t made a backup before encountering this error and performing a hard reset didn’t resolve the issue, you may not be able to back up your BlackBerry smartphone. If this is the case, hopefully you were using BlackBerry® Protect, which will allow you to restore most of your important information when the BlackBerry smartphone has been recovered successfully. To learn more about restoring information if your BlackBerry smartphone is on a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, please contact your BlackBerry administrator.

Performing a Web-Based BlackBerry Device Software Update

1. Connect the BlackBerry smartphone to the computer using a USB connection.

2. On the computer, navigate to the BlackBerry Device Software updates website.

• Tip: To learn more about web-based BlackBerry Device Software updates, click here.

3. Click “Check for Updates”.

• Tip: If you are having difficulty getting the BlackBerry smartphone detected by your computer, please review KB10144 in the BlackBerry Knowledge Base, which contains information on how to force the detection of a BlackBerry smartphone using Application Loader.

4. If the Application Loader tool is not installed on the computer, complete the following steps:

• In the File Download – Security Warning dialog box, click “Run”.
• In the Internet Explorer – Security Warning dialog box, click “Run”.
• When prompted, restart the computer.
• On the computer, navigate to the BlackBerry Device Software updates website.

5. Click “Check for Updates”.

• If you have a password set on your BlackBerry smartphone, type the password in the Unlock BlackBerry Device dialog box.

6. Click “OK”.

7. At this point, you have two options. If there is a newer version of BlackBerry Device Software available, click “Get update”. If a new version is not available please reload the most BlackBerry Device Software that’s displayed. To do this, click “View other versions” and select “Current Version” followed by clicking “Install”.

If the error message persists, or if the BlackBerry smartphone is already running the most current version of BlackBerry Device Software and reloading the device software previously did not resolve the issue, further investigation might be required.

To help further diagnose the cause, contact your wireless service provider or BlackBerry® Technical Support Services for further review and support. To help them assist you, a few important details you should have ready when you contact them are listed below.

Other Important Information

In the event that you encounter this issue again on the same BlackBerry smartphone (and updating or reloading your BlackBerry Device Software did not resolve the issue), you should contact your wireless service provider or BlackBerry® Technical Support Services for support while the error is displayed.

If possible, do not reset the smartphone or attempt to reload the BlackBerry Device Software until enough information is captured for a full investigation into the cause of the error.

To assist with diagnosing these types of issues, try to obtain as many of the following details as possible before contacting support:

• What is the frequency of the issue?
• Is the issue easily reproduced or does it occur at random?
• If the issue is able to be reproduced, make note of the steps needed to reproduce the issue.
• Is there a specific application or function being used when the issue occurs?
• Have you experienced any issues with the BlackBerry smartphone as a result of the error message, such as being unable to use the browser?
• Have you recently updated the BlackBerry Device Software or other applications?
• When was the last backup of the data on the BlackBerry smartphone performed?

Got a question about your BlackBerry smartphone? Leave a comment and let me know!