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BBB FILE EXTENSION

BlackBerry Backup File Format

Backup File
What is a BBB file?

A file with an extension of .BBB is known as BlackBerry Backup file. These are backup files containing data and configuration settings from a BlackBerry phone. Depending on the options taken when first creating the backup, .BBB files can contain many different types of data.

The most common types of data backed up from a BlackBerry phone are the Address book (contacts), SMS messages, emails and calendar.

If the data on a BlackBerry becomes corrupt, lost or accidentally deleted; the data can be restored from the .BBB file to the original device.

UPDATE: BlackBerry desktop manager now uses the BBB file extension for storing backups on both Windows and Apple OS X operating systems.

How to Open a BBB file

The only software available to reliably view the data inside a .BBB file is phoneMiner. This software allows you to view the address book (contacts), SMS messages, emails and calendar inside a BlackBerry backup file.

phoneMiner also allows you to export the data to common formats such as Excel, CSV and XML.

It is possible to open a .BBB file using a plain-text editor, although the backup must not be password protected. This will display all the data within the backup (including the characters used solely by Blackberry's Desktop Software) and makes for difficult reading.

How to Create a .BBB file

BlackBerry backups can only be created using the 'Blackberry Desktop Software', an application developed by Research In Motion Limited (RIM), the creators of the BlackBerry phone.

Blackberry Desktop Software is bundled with all new BlackBerry devices, however the most up-to-date version can be downloaded through RIM's website.

Once the software installed, a BlackBerry must be connected to your computer using a USB cable. Running the BlackBerry desktop software will give you the option of creating a full or partial backup.

Full backups will result in a .BBB file containing all personal data and phone settings from the BlackBerry. Selecting a partial backup will create a file with the chosen databases only (E.g Address Book and messages).

Before actually generating the backup, the software will provide the option to password protect the backup; doing so will encrypt the data using 256-bit AES encryption. Anyone attempting to view the data will then need to provide the original password.


Additional extension information
File type: Backup
Popularity: popularity Frequent
Author: Research In Motion Limited
MIME type:Not specified

Related links

Visitor comments
jack
2010-01-13 09:53:14
is there any software to convert .ipd files to .bbb format?
Sue
2010-01-18 18:31:14
How do I get a Blackberry back up address book from my Mac into my Mac address book and then sync with my new iPhone to upload the information onto it?
kendra
2010-01-31 07:00:03
no there is no way to convert the .bbb to .ipd (.bbb is for mac and .ipd is for a pc)if you have a PC, download ABC Amber Blackberry program and this will allow you to see everything from address book entries, calendar events to SMS.Do you know if there is the equivalent to this program for mac? or how to extract the .bbb file so that I can see my texts?
John
2010-05-13 09:12:43
ABC Amber BlackBerry convertor can read BBB files.
Mark
2010-06-11 13:53:46
Change .bbb to .zip, then unzip and find .ipd file within
blackberry HELP
2010-07-16 00:34:38
OKAY READY?!Remember you can screw up your files sometimes so always copy the original file to another folder before you edit it.I just had to figure this out on my mac. my blackberry storm finally went out on me completely, so I backed it up, but couldn't figure out how to open the .bbb files. All the forums I've found only say its impossible. Change the file extension from .bbb to .zip then locate the .ipd file that's in the zip folder. Simply choose Open With.... and open it with Microsoft excel.Theres a lot of jibberish, but hit Command+F to open the find, type in the contacts name it'll find it for you then you'll see all your contacts there.GOOD LUCK ENJOY! I know I have a lot of numbers to copy now >.<
Jason Shepherd
2010-09-11 06:33:14
How do I convert my bbb files to vcf files for my mac - need to upload them to my iphone 4?
Hannah
2011-01-30 17:52:26
I'm a mac user. I have followed everything from blackberry HELP and have saved the file as an .ipd - however, my mac wont let me open the .ipd with Microsoft excel. Help?
UAE user
2011-04-05 08:41:08
Open Microsoft Excel and then click on the open button, navigate to your file and make sure that the drop down list is set to "all files" and then you can open the .ipd file via excel
Warren
2012-03-06 21:43:47
Used phoneMiner to extract my .BBB file, worked great - thanks :)
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