[lmasterz]

Hey all....

I'm a newcomer to Blackberry so bare with me. So I got my BB8120 from T-mobile. Activated the data plan. Data plan doesn't work at all (been 2 days). I'm residing in Madison-Wisconsin and T-mobile does not have a tower there. Thus, I'm using (roaming) Einstein-PCS tower. Now before I ordered my BB I double checked with the T-mobile idiots if there is coverage where I reside for blackberry and they said yes there is. After a couple of days of BB data not working I decided to call Einstein, and they told me they do not have any blackberry servers within their tower, therefore it's impossible to use any date through BB.

I'm really disappointed with the fact that I can not use it. That defeats the whole purpose of getting a BB.

I've read around this forum something about a Feature Enabler and what not. Did some research but still unable to get a solid view on it. I did have T-zones on my previous cell phone and it did work with Einstein's tower fine. Now from what I know, you can not add T-zones if you own a blackberry, I'm not sure if it's because you're not allowed or because it's not actually possible. Does any one actually know why you're not allowed?

Given my situation, is there anyway I can use BBM (maybe wifi, also read around this forurm, but still nothing too reliable)? If it would work with T-zones what I can do is ask them to remove my BB data plan and tell them that I'm currently using another phone and would like T-zones back on.

Thanks in advance!

[TroyDBrown]

Just an FYI who you roam on has no bearing on you connecting to a BlackBerry Server. Einstein is doing nothing more than providing a data connection. They do not have to carry or support BlackBerrys.
Did you purchase the $24.99 BlackBerry data plan from T-Mobile or a basic data plan?

[TroyDBrown]

Also does your phone show gprs, GPRS, EDGE or edge?

[lmasterz]

The $24.99. I did Google my problem and I did find very few others who did face the same problem, as in they're on Einstein with T-mobile and still can not get the data to work. So after I called Einstein, I fully confirmed it. Doesn't the carrier have to support Blackberry servers (i.e. have an agreement with Blackberry) in order for me to get it to work?



It shows gprs and edge (sometimes). Never capital!

[TroyDBrown]

Originally Posted by lmasterz

The $24.99. I did Google my problem and I did find very few others who did face the same problem, as in they're on Einstein with T-mobile and still can not get the data to work. So after I called Einstein, I fully confirmed it. Doesn't the carrier have to support Blackberry servers (i.e. have an agreement with Blackberry) in order for me to get it to work?



It shows gprs and edge (sometimes). Never capital!

Only your carrier has to support it not the one you are roaming on. the lowercase gprs / edge means you have data with no connection to the BB servers.

First go to Options > Advanced Options > Host Routing Table. Press the application button and choose Register Now.

[lmasterz]

I just did the Register now, it said "Register sent". And are you sure only carrier has to support it, because technically speaking, I'm under the Einstein roof right now.

[TroyDBrown]

Originally Posted by lmasterz

I just did the Register now, it said "Register sent". And are you sure only carrier has to support it, because technically speaking, I'm under the Einstein roof right now.

Yes 100% !!!

Data on your phone works just like the Internet. Even if you don't use AOL to get online you can still go to AOL's website etc.

Next step is to pull and replace your battery. After it boots up lets see were you stand. Do this with the device powered on.

[lmasterz]

Done. still. got "gprs".

[TroyDBrown]

Originally Posted by lmasterz

Still loading...

Ok great.

[lmasterz]

Done. still. got "gprs".

[TroyDBrown]

I would call T-Mobile. When the automated system answers say BlackBerry. Have them make sure your account is provisioned correctly.

[lmasterz]

I'll give it a shot even though they're useless! Thanks anyways.

[TroyDBrown]

Originally Posted by lmasterz

I'll give it a shot even though they're useless! Thanks anyways.

Let us know.

[monkeypaw]

I was in an area last year where Alltel (or something like that) was the only provider. It said roaming and I could call just fine with just minutes usage, no charge. But none of my data services worked. No email or internet. So it seems not all roaming agreements have data as part of the service.

[lmasterz]

Ya that's what I thought too. Not all roaming partners have data agreements, they sure have the main which is voice only. This gets me to my unanswered question, would Wifi or T-zones (or even that Feature enabler option that T-mobile provides) enable me to use BBM or must it be part of the data plan since it uses their specific servers. I'm a bit confused regarding this because I have read on this forum and others some vague responses towards this issue. So if anyone can clarify it for me once and for all I'd appreciate it.

Thank you

[lmasterz]

Just got off the phone with a 40 min phone call to T-mobile. They said that it will not work where I reside (Madison, WI) simply because the tower I'm roaming with (Einstein) doesn't support data. The options they offered were to either return it and they wont charge me or anything, or get a T-mobile router (i.e. as if i'd have a tower in my home, but wouldn't be that useful) or get a new phone. So what I'm planning to do is probably cancel my contract with them and switch to AT&T or Sprint, which ever is cheaper, unless anyone on here has an alternative good solution/carrier?

[monkeypaw]

Switching providers sounds like the best option since wifi only reaches so far. UMA is great, but when you're out and about you'll get no emails and have no internet.

[RiverBoa99]

I have a BB 8320 and it works fine here on the 4.2 OS, just not the 4.5 and up. I'm not sure why. The uppercase letter problem only happened once I switched to 4.5 OS.