Fixing a wedged android update - DTEK60

The other day I received a notice from my mobile device manufacture (Blackberry) of an OTA update containing security patches for my DTEK60. Excited, I rushed to install the patch only to discover that something didn't work quite right. The upgrade window would simply hang after tapping the "restart & install" button and no amount of rebooting or re-pressing the button would fix it. In most cases this would mean I'd need to reboot into fastboot, clear the cache partition, and try again. Sadly, I own a DTEK60 from Blackberry and this is not an option. The recovery menu provided by Blackberry for Android is massively lacking and the normal fastboot binary does not work. I messaged support to see if there's something I can do, but they simply say I need to do a factory reset to resolve the issue, *which is completely unacceptable. So I did what any good nerd would do, I spent far too long messing with the device until I figured out a workaround.

The Simple Fix

The fix is really quite simple though it took me far to long to figure it out.

1. Download the CCleaner app from the google play store (no worries you'll uninstall this when you're done with it). You'll be using this app to access some of the system apps that are generally kept away from you.

2. Use the CCleaner app, tap "storage", then tap "apps", finally tap "system". Select the trash icon and accept the warning. Navigate to and select Google Play Services & Blackberry Hub+ Services. With both of these applications selected, press "uninstall". Select "OK" when system will ask if you want to roll the application back to the "factory version" of the application.

3. Now with those apps rolled back to factory, go back to system, about phone, and system updates. Re-download your OTA update, and select "restart & install".
   

4. Profit!
   

If everything worked, the update will have downloaded correctly and verify itself. After you press the "restart & install" button the update application will count down from ten, reboot the device, and apply the updates. After the device update completes, uninstall the CCleaner app, and install the needed "google play services" and "Blackberry hub+" updates using the google play store.

That's all folks

Amazingly/unfortunately the DTEK60 is a "secure" android device, which is amazing, however it also means it's terrible when simple hacks are needed to get things moving again. The simple removal of an update.zip file was turned into a day of messing around with a limited access device and because of the strong security posturing from the infamous Blackberry Ltd the normal options found on XDA and other forums simply did not work to get this job done. All that said, the fix is easy, anyone can do it, even Blackberry support and while it took me far to long to get here I hope this helps someone else in the future. .