[hrbuckley]

There are four states for the Wi-Fi icon:
1. Icon not visible: Wi-Fi radio is off.

2. Icon is gray, no access point name is displayed: Wi-Fi radio is on but not connected.

3. Icon is gray, access point name displayed: Wi-Fi is connected to the named hotspot, but is not (yet) connected to RIM via the Wi-Fi. There are a number of reasons for this, but not having a Blackberry data plan with appropriate SIM is a big one. In this state the Hotspot Browser (and some other applications) can use Wi-Fi to connect to what ever the hotspot allows, hopefully the Internet but maybe an internal corporate network.

4. Icon is white, access point name displayed: Wi-Fi is connected to the named hotspot and a connection has been made to RIM. In this state all BIS/BES traffic will use Wi-Fi/Internet for the leg between RIM and the Blackberry instead of the wireless provider's towers. There is also a special case for this state. If the Blackberry is activated on a BES, and it is able to connect to the BES through the hotspot, the Icon will also be white.

Clues as to why a Blackberry is in a particular state can be gotten from the Wi-Fi Diagnostics. Select Manage Connections -> Wi-Fi Options, Menu -> Wi-Fi Tools -> Wi-Fi Diagnostics. There is also Site Survey, Ping and DNS Lookup available for your investigative pleasure.

Enjoy.