[neil111]

Originally Posted by penguin3107

What you want to do is not possible.
The 8830 is not offered by any GSM carriers in the US (At&t, or T-Mobile).
It doesn't support the GSM frequencies used by those carriers.
In the US, you can only use the 8830 as a CDMA device, either with Sprint or Verizon Wireless.

The SPrint 8830 supposedly comes unlokced, so you can use a European SIM card in it when you travel overseas.
The VZW 8830 is locked and will only accept a Verizon SIM card. So far, no one has been able to unlock the VZW 8830.

Thanks for the feedback and advice.

[daltonxxv]

Originally Posted by daltonxxv

WOW - I'm not sure who brittonx spoke with at Verizon but I've now been on the phone for more than 45 minutes with a variety of their "customer service" staff. I have gotten a manager named "Lawrence" in their "blackberry escalation" department to admin that Verizon has asked RIM to block GPS capabilities on their phones AND that Verizon is supposedly working on an upgrade to VZ Navigator which will allow it to be used on ALL PDA's & Smart Phones. Of course, there will be a charge for this feature.

When I asked about the use of GPS in BBMaps and other "free" third party features, I was told they (Verizon) could put me in touch with RIM who could provide me with the "receiver" required to utilize GPS-enabled services. Of course, Verizon has no idea what RIM's hours of operation are but they were kind enough to tell me that "every time I've connected with them, they've been in Canada and that's outside the United States so I'm not sure what time zone they're in". OMG!

After only 30 minutes on hold with RIM, I'm giving up but I've been assured my account has been duly noted so, when I call Verizon tomorrow or Monday, they will know to transfer me to RIM immediately - somehow I'm not quite believing that but, we'll see.

More to come!

As for BigA's desire to switch to Sprint - just wait until you need even the smallest amount of customer service from Sprint! The only thing that could make their customer service worse is if they joined with Nextel - oh, wait!

So...I finally got on with Max from RIM. He advised the GPS function is disabled by RIM as the result of a contractual obligation with VZW and RIM is not allowed to enable it. He advised that I am certainly welcome to purchase a separate GPS devise and pair it to my phone.

He did indicate VZW is supposed to be coming out with an update to VZ Navigator which, for a price, will allow you to use the GPS function ONLY with VZ Navigator. So, basically, they're going to hold you hostage and allow you to ONLY use the GPS functionality if you're willing to pay extra for it. WHAT A JOKE!

I guess every provider has their pro's & con's but I find it ridiculous that VZW won't let you use ANY mapping program with GPS - even if they limited it to bbmaps - until their proprietary, pay program is available.

For now, one of the folks I know is working on a way to unlock the GPS functionality on VZW phones -we'll see how it goes.

[BigA]

Originally Posted by dvaskelis

I didn't see any messages there about Verizon locking out video content... and it certainly works fine on my Verizon BlackBerry 8830 using Roxio Media Manager and Media Player.

BTW, Media Player is *much* more stable, snappier, and responsive with the new BlackBerry OS firmware that's stickied at the top of this forum.

Wow, you must not be reading the posts.

---
clamder (Offline)
New Member

Posts: 3
Join Date: May 2007

PIN: N/A
Model: 8830
Carrier: Verizon


Report Post
Default 05-19-2007, 01:03 AM
anyone get video to work for the 8830? i've tried all sorts of codecs... no luck..

----
mattk0 (Offline)
Thumbs Must Hurt

Posts: 69
Join Date: Aug 2006

PIN:
Model: 8830
Carrier: Verizon


Report Post
Default 05-19-2007, 11:44 PM
Clamder- I'm curious if you are getting an error with it. I also have an 8830 and for every video am getting a "The media being played is is of an usnsupported format" error, even if I've converted it with the converter..

I also downloaded some of the videos from the seabyrd website and transfered it to the blackberry and got the same error(s). Anyone else seeing this? help?


----
Runamuck (Offline)
Thumbs Must Hurt

Posts: 72
Join Date: May 2007

PIN: N/A
Model: 8800
Carrier: Tmobile


Report Post
Default 05-20-2007, 09:33 AM
Quote:
Originally Posted by mattk0 View Post
Clamder- I'm curious if you are getting an error with it. I also have an 8830 and for every video am getting a "The media being played is is of an usnsupported format" error, even if I've converted it with the converter..

I also downloaded some of the videos from the seabyrd website and transfered it to the blackberry and got the same error(s). Anyone else seeing this? help?
I'm hearing reports on HOFO boards that users are finding out that VZW, in addition to crippling the GPS on the 8830 also modified the media player as a means of allowing users to access VCAST content. Could it be that they intentionally crippled certain codecs on the 8830's media player?


---
mattk0 (Offline)
Thumbs Must Hurt

Posts: 69
Join Date: Aug 2006

PIN:
Model: 8830
Carrier: Verizon


Report Post
Default 05-21-2007, 07:45 AM
I'll give that a try, thanks for the info.

(Sounds like runamuck is correct: Verizon has definitely crippled the GPS feature and even the media player with 'normal' codecs. Thanks Verizon ;-(




---

[takeshi]

Originally Posted by MichaelBB

Me personally I'm looking at an 8800 from AT&T, a 30 day trial period will tell me whether the network is worth it or NOT. I went to verizon today after work, and all the sales reps were stupid as usual , OH you mean the GPS is disabled, I didnt know that.

Good luck. At&t isn't any better.

Originally Posted by BigA

3. Audio/Video. Verizon has some how locked down to only few specific file types/codecs to play any video or audio file.

All media-capable BB's only support certain formats and CODECs. Check out the knowledgebase at Blackberry.com. It's not a Verizon-imposed limitation.

Originally Posted by penguin3107

What you want to do is not possible.
The 8830 is not offered by any GSM carriers in the US (At&t, or T-Mobile).
It doesn't support the GSM frequencies used by those carriers.
In the US, you can only use the 8830 as a CDMA device, either with Sprint or Verizon Wireless.

...and your CDMA carrier would have to be willing to activate a device from another CDMA carrier. Most won't IIRC.

[BigA]

Originally Posted by takeshi

All media-capable BB's only support certain formats and CODECs. Check out the knowledgebase at Blackberry.com. It's not a Verizon-imposed limitation.

If this is true then how come all of my videos on my 2gb card work on my ATT 8800 and not on my VZW 8830. Not to mention there are lots of users reporting the same issue.

[takeshi]

Ack -- I'm apparently not reading the posts either... Please ignore that last post of mine.

[brittonx]

I called Verizon yesterday and asked what the end date was for my trial period.
The date the person on the phone gave me did include the 30 day extension. So it seems that part is accurate. (Yes, I have names and ID numbers...)

Now we'll see if the other part about the GPS being free with my current rate plans once it is enabled...

[someonexh]

Originally Posted by brittonx

I called Verizon yesterday and asked what the end date was for my trial period.
The date the person on the phone gave me did include the 30 day extension. So it seems that part is accurate. (Yes, I have names and ID numbers...)

Now we'll see if the other part about the GPS being free with my current rate plans once it is enabled...

nice

[cdw5510]

Who cares about GPS. Get a AVIC or something else...

[someonexh]

Originally Posted by cdw5510

Who cares about GPS. Get a AVIC or something else...

.... did you even read the thread? I don't care too much about the GPS but it's a nice addon / toy.

[DallasFlier]

Originally Posted by cdw5510

Who cares about GPS. Get a AVIC or something else...

Lets try an analogy to that: "Who cares about the built-in, integrated radio in your brand new car. If it doesn't work, get a boom-box or something else...

Sounds pretty silly, doesn't it?

[JRSCCivic98]

While not GPS related, VZW also disables your ability to change TCP settings (like if you wanted to use another WAP). Isn't that nice of them. We seriously need to class action VZW for this crud.

[JRSCCivic98]

Can someone with a Sprint phone use javaloader cmdline program and rip out the net_rim_locationapi.cod file from their handheld?

[alfa]

Originally Posted by TBOLTRAM

I had discussion with Verizon after the email survey about the GPS being crippled on a "World Edition" phone where VZ Navigator would be useless outside of the US.

This makes so much sense.

[brittonx]

Originally Posted by cdw5510

Who cares about GPS. Get a AVIC or something else...

Well, I don't care about Voice Dialing but I do care about GPS.

Every person has different reasons and things that are important to them.

One of the core issues here is that this seems to be a classic example of "Corporate Greed" where Verizon deliberately, via their contract with RIM, had RIM disable the built-in GPS capacity. The assumptions floating around imply that it was for the purpose of Verizon requiring an additional $10.00 per month to enable what is already present in the device. Now, these are all still assumptions. We will see once the capability is released.

[randyman]

Originally Posted by JRSCCivic98

Can someone with a Sprint phone use javaloader cmdline program and rip out the net_rim_locationapi.cod file from their handheld?

I don't think it's that simple.

I believe the internal gps reciever is disabled at the firmware level. I would be looking at the "..\cdma\rim8830.sfi" file. In order to enable the internal gps receiver, we will have to devise a patch for this firmware flash file. This certainly will not be easy as very little is known about the internal structure of this file.

Although the Sprint firmware is not "officially" released, you can still get your hands on it by downloading the Telus or Bell Mobility Device Software for the 8830. These packages are nearly identicle and actually contain firmware for just about ALL 8830 vendors, including Verizon and Sprint.

The Sprint 8330 is currently distributed with device software version 4.2.2.123 (software package is 4.2.2.240) which is already available for download via the links provided above. Although this STILL won't enable the internal gps receiver, you can easily load this version of the firmware onto you Verizon 8830 by modifying your "Vendor.xml" file. There are some good enhancements in 4.2.2.123. To load 4.2.2.123 onto your Verizon 8830, simply add the following XML node to the Verizon vendor entry:

<vendor id="0x69" Name="Verizon">
  ...
  <bundle id="System" version="4.2.2.240">
    <devicehwid>0x04000E04</devicehwid>
  </bundle>
</vendor>

OR

Replace the "Vendor.xml" file with the one i've attached to this post and launch the Application Loader via the Desktop Manager. It should tell you that an update is available for your 8830.

Also, there are some other cool things that can be done to the 8830 that are not "publicly" known or posted anyware. One of them providing the ability to use your Verizon 8830 as a high speed dial-up modem a.k.a. "Enabling DUN".

To do this, check out my post on HowardForums. Just be sure to have the BlackBerry Device Manager running first.

How to enable EVDO DUN on ANY EVDO capable phone in 10 easy steps!

This method works on ALL EVDO capable phones built on Qualcomm chipsets. Thats just about EVERY Verizon phone (including other BlackBerry models!) with the exception of a few that are built on Non-Qualcomm CDMA chipsets.

If anyone has been trying to unlock the internal gps reciever for the Verizon 8830 and feels they have valuable information to share, PM me. Maybe we can work together to devise a patch.

Cheers,
randyman

[JRSCCivic98]

Originally Posted by randyman

I believe the internal gps reciever is disabled at the firmware level. I would be looking at the "..\cdma\rim8830.sfi" file. In order to enable the internal gps receiver, we will have to devise a patch for this firmware flash file. This certainly will not be easy as very little is known about the internal structure of this file.

Humm, well, if that file is the same throughout each carrier OS release (which apperently it is because loading up the Bell OS does nothing), then I'd be willing to bet that the file (if it is the one controlling the GPS capability) is written in such a way that it looks at the phone's internal config to figure out what "carrier" it's for. So, that being said, the only way this is apperently controlled is via the carrier ID... for testing purposes why not just change the carrier ID on the phone? Is there a way to do this? Technically speaking the phone would load up the OS options for whatever test carrier you set it as, some things may not work properly, but at least GPS functions can be tested. Once it's verified that this is really what it is, then it's just a matter of finding a way to change the carrier ID lockout in the sfi file. Even a single digit edit on the "exclusion" statement from 105 to something else would render the statment useless. That is, if that's the file that really controls this.

[randyman]

Originally Posted by JRSCCivic98

Humm, well, if that file is the same throughout each carrier OS release (which apperently it is because loading up the Bell OS does nothing), then I'd be willing to bet that the file (if it is the one controlling the GPS capability) is written in such a way that it looks at the phone's internal config to figure out what "carrier" it's for. So, that being said, the only way this is apperently controlled is via the carrier ID... for testing purposes why not just change the carrier ID on the phone? Is there a way to do this? Technically speaking the phone would load up the OS options for whatever test carrier you set it as, some things may not work properly, but at least GPS functions can be tested. Once it's verified that this is really what it is, then it's just a matter of finding a way to change the carrier ID lockout in the sfi file. Even a single digit edit on the "exclusion" statement from 105 to something else would render the statment useless. That is, if that's the file that really controls this.

Exactly.

I have also been trying to gain some insight into the locking mechanism by contacting various BlackBerry enthusiasts who have a niche for reverse engineering cod files. Hopefully they can provide me with some hints as to how receiver is disabled.

I will be sure to post my findings.

Cheers,
randyman

[randyman]

Just read this post from Hexx in another forum:

RimOS is based on AMX. The system messaging system, tasks, memory all was like AMX in 6xxx models. In 7xxx it was changed a bit, then in 8xxx they totaly refactored the code and used the other compiler so the quality of code has changed dramaticaly. The firmware and ramloaders used to update the firmware are digitaly signed. There's no way to hack the signature it's RSA- 2048 based. So, you can't patch it. The firmware updates usually consist of one file with arm code and mutiple .cod and .alx files.
The arm code file for GSM device is placed at path like this:
C:\Program Files\Common Files\Research In Motion\Shared\Loader Files\7100-vesion\GPRS\
There's a file named rimYYYYx.bin
where YYYY - model, x - Generation (g - gsm, i - iden, c - Cdma)
For example:
rim7100g.bin - Firmware for Blackberry 7100, it's a GSM model.

When the device starts it runs bootloader (the device lights the led), then it checks the signature of the firmware, starts the firmware, firmware code setups the hardware and runs the system task. The last task that starts is RIM_TASK it's a JVM task. Then JVM loads all the .cod files checks their validity and starts running the "java" code.

See the full thread here:
BlackBerry OS - RCE Messageboard's Regroupment

Looks like patching is out of the question.

-randyman

[JRSCCivic98]

Only if the disable code is in the bin file. It may or may not be. Until we know exactly what controls it it's useless to say it won't be unlocked.