Many people have sent me messages and tweets about not being able to see their contacts’ avatar in the new BlackBerry Messenger 5.0. I would usually recommend the standard battery pull, having that contact re-load their photo, re-download BBM 5.0 or re-add the contact. In some cases these methods would work but in others they would not, and at the time I would usually recommend re-adding via PIN.

RIM has published a knowledge base article with a workaround to this issue since there is no resolution (right now).

This is a previously reported issue that has been escalated internally to our development team. No resolution time frame is currently available.

Here’s the workaround provided by RIM:

1. On the Home screen or in the Instant Messaging folder, click the BlackBerry Messenger icon.
2. Highlight the affected user.
3. On the contact list screen, press the Menu key.
4. Select Delete Contact.
5. To add the contact again, invite them by using scan a barcode or by email.

Once you re-invite the contact they will need to re-accept. Once the contact accepts you should both be able to see each others’ avatars. Keep in mind that both parties must be running BBM 5.0. You can download it OTA from blackberry.com/messenger.

If you’ve had issues where you can’t see your contacts’ avatars be sure to try this workaround and let me know how it works for you in the comments!