[biff_18]

I received my shiny new black 8820 on Tuesday, and I was full of excitement and wonder. The great possibilities of a Blackberry + Wi-fi. Would it live up to my expectations? Would I have hand held, pocket sized portal to the internet?

The Answer:

not just no, but... HELL NO!

I have read possibly every article outlining problems and "fixes" for connecting my new phone to Wi-Fi... And what did I find??? This phone sux...

Allow me to explain:
I brought the phone home Tuesday evening expecting to hook right to my home network without a hitch. WRONG! At first I thought my router was configured wrong. NOPE. Then I thought possibly the blackberry was being blocked (well, kinda).

So... I tried changing EVERY SINGLE SETTING on my router (until I jacked it up beyond reason) only to find "connecting" to it is not a problem, but the BB's ability to work with the router is a SERIOUS problem.

Next I discovered wide reports of router "compatibility" issues. YES, THIS IS BEGINNING TO MAKE SENSE. I decide to go on a mission and find as many open access Wi-Fi points in the area as possible... Taking my laptop too. What did I find????

10 access points that I could FULLY use my laptop to surf the internet.

8 of 10 would allow the 8820 to "connect." (Connect DOES NOT EQUAL data transmission!)

I found half of those (4) would allow me to ping them and return data & 2, JUST TWO (80%) would allow me to fully connect/use the internet while having the wireless radio turned off. AND NONE OF THEM WOULD ALLOW ME ACCESS TO COMPANY E-MAIL.

so, what does this all mean... I my very small study, I discovered 20% success!!!!

This phone has SERIOUS compatibility problems!!!!!!!!!!

I find that this is COMPLETELY unacceptable. How badly was this phone rushed out the door? How long is it going to take for RIM to push out a patch and fix this. If you search the RIM support database, they admit compatibility issues! What the hell... Compatibility issues are 30-40% failure... I am finding 80% failure! PATHETIC!

For those of you reporting no problems... How many different branded routers are you accessing? Your office and home, OR....

Office, home, local coffee shop, nearby college, bookstore, etc...?

I just thought I would share my findings.

[NJBlackBerry]

** Moved to Rants and Raves **

Home, WRT54G and Linksys Access points
Work - production Aruba security environment
Starbucks (T-Mobile Hotspot)
Borders (Hotspot)
Hyatt (Hotspot)
Continental President's club

Pretty much anything EXCEPT Belkin routers.

[biff_18]

Originally Posted by NJBlackBerry

** Moved to Rants and Raves **

Home, WRT54G and Linksys Access points
Work - production Aruba security environment
Starbucks (T-Mobile Hotspot)
Borders (Hotspot)
Hyatt (Hotspot)
Continental President's club

Pretty much anything EXCEPT Belkin routers.

Sorry if I put that in the wrong location... I just know BB wifi issues are pretty topical right now, and I kinda think this is valuable news for those browsing through, looking for an answer of how to "fix" their BB. There is no "fix." Unless you have a new, "correct" router, it will not work.

[NJBlackBerry]

Many have no problems at all. My BB (8320) has a strong UMA signal at home, and normally does.

You seem to have an extreme case of not getting connectivity.

[biff_18]

Originally Posted by NJBlackBerry

Many have no problems at all. My BB (8320) has a strong UMA signal at home, and normally does.

You seem to have an extreme case of not getting connectivity.

UMA indicates t-mobile, right? I am talking about 8820, which does not use UMA. This is the AT&T branded version. I have yet to find a person reporting zero problems with over 3-5 different routers on the 8820.

[John Clark]

I've successfully connected to:

An old Linksys Wireless-B BEFW11S4 (mother-in-law's)
Linksys WRT54G (mine)
Staples
Best Buy
Starbucks (Hotspot)
My Office (Cisco something or other with PEAP security)
Netgears
Hilton Honors systems at Hampton Inns, Hilton Gardens, Homewood Suites
GlobalSuiteWireless
Many Other open public/private hotspots

I actually can connect to most hotspots that I've tried.

[John Clark]

My router is about 4 years old. I did update it's firmware to the latest and had good success. I then updated to aftermarket firmware (dd-wrt) and it works even better.

[biff_18]

Originally Posted by John Clark

I've successfully connected to:

An old Linksys Wireless-B BEFW11S4 (mother-in-law's)
Linksys WRT54G (mine)
Staples
Best Buy
Starbucks (Hotspot)
My Office (Cisco something or other with PEAP security)
Netgears
Hilton Honors systems at Hampton Inns, Hilton Gardens, Homewood Suites
GlobalSuiteWireless
Many Other open public/private hotspots

I actually can connect to most hotspots that I've tried.

With an 8820 from AT&T????????

If so, then my unit is REALLY jacked up!

[John Clark]

With my TMobile 8320.

You should be able to connect to all of the above, with exception of the Starbucks, with not much trouble. I don't think Tmobile hotspots are free for AT&T users. Your AT&T is the same as my TMobile with the exception of the UMA. You should still be able to use the internet off of free wifi's. Many networks require you to open the wifi browser to authenticate via a web page before you can fully connect.

[biff_18]

Originally Posted by John Clark

With my TMobile 8320.

You should be able to connect to all of the above, with exception of the Starbucks, with not much trouble. I don't think Tmobile hotspots are free for AT&T users. Your AT&T is the same as my TMobile with the exception of the UMA. You should still be able to use the internet off of free wifi's. Many networks require you to open the wifi browser to authenticate via a web page before you can fully connect.

I am telling you there is something in the config files that are horribly different from your phone and mine. I know I would have to connect via a web page, but 80% of the time I get failure... Here is a link to RIM's brief acknowledgment of the problem:
BlackBerry Search Results

[John Clark]

Are you on a BES? That KB is regarding BES users.

Also, what OS is loaded on the device? Look in Options >About. It should start with 4.2.x.xxx

[biff_18]

I am on BES IF the router and 8820 will talk to each other... I can connect, but they aren't speaking the same language if you know what I mean...

My OS is 4.2.2.184

[biff_18]

Originally Posted by John Clark

Are you on a BES? That KB is regarding BES users.

Also, what OS is loaded on the device? Look in Options >About. It should start with 4.2.x.xxx

I am on BES IF the BB will connect & Transmit data. I can connect with a IP, primary DNS, Gateway, etc...

But no data flow... only 2 times could the BB hook up with rcp.na.blackberry.com on port 443...

The other times, failure. It is like the BB and routers shake hands, but speak different languages. It is bizarre.

My OS is 4.2.2.184
I upgraded to this on Wed, hoping this would help. It did help increase the stability of connections, but doesn't help the phone and router(s) get along any better.

[John Clark]

Have you called AT&T about this?

[biff_18]

Originally Posted by John Clark

Have you called AT&T about this?

No, I have been discussing this with my company's I.T. dept. This is first real 8820 the company has. (A ton of people with the curve)

I would call AT&T, but I really think that would be a waste of time. I think my best bet is RIM... I just hate dealing with customer service. Lots of waiting and holding, and explaining, and try this, or that... I KNOW it doesn't work, I need a fix.

[John Clark]

You need to call AT&T in order to get escalated to RIM. Unfortunatly, it does take time.

[biff_18]

Originally Posted by John Clark

You need to call AT&T in order to get escalated to RIM. Unfortunatly, it does take time.

I will start the process tomorrow. Blah... I am not too excited about this.

[John Clark]

I wouldn't be either but it's just the process. You could always switch to TMo and the Curve....

UMA is the best thing since sliced bread!!

[biff_18]

Originally Posted by John Clark

I wouldn't be either but it's just the process. You could always switch to TMo and the Curve....

UMA is the best thing since sliced bread!!

The company I work for prefers AT&T... i could throw a fit, but... I will be happy with the half ass phone I have.

[Rev. Po-Jay]

Biff, I will say that my T-Mo 8320 is brand new (~1 week) and I have connected successfully at home on my Motorola router and at my friends house with his Linksys. I had one issue for about 3 hours where the UMA network was too busy, but it connected itself automatically when the connection was available. T-Mo service is awesome. The BB support there is great too. I can't believe that I am happy with a cell provider. I had AT+T/Cingular/AT+T for 7+ years and constantly had issues with a number of devices (non-BB), so I dumped them when they announced the switch in names, AGAIN. I agree with the above post. UMA is the Sh!*!