[thetraveler]

Hello,

First off, yes I'm new to the BB patch. All I can say is where have I been, these things are way cool. I appear to have a bit of a challenge before me. A few days ago I bought a used 8100 (Tmo branded), the gentleman I bought it from inserted my Tmo SIM (prepaid) into the unit, powered it up, gave a brief demonstration and I bought it. He informed me that he had installed upgraded software (v4.5.0.102) which at the time I knew nothing about. Upon getting home I installed a 2 gig micro sd and loaded up some tunes, everything is still fine so far. I had intentionally bought this for a gift for someone. When I attempted to load her SIM all I got was the white screen with the little hand spinning on the little clock thing, an occaisional blinking red light (upper right) and it would continue in that loop. Yes I've tried the battery pull to no avail and when I called Tmo customer service they suggested a new SIM. I went to their store, they provided a new SIM which works fine in her old phone (on a Tmo family plan) but not in the 8100. I tried two other SIM cards from other phones on the same Tmo family plan and they work fine. As I'm sitting here now, the 8100 works fine with the prepaid SIM. I have downloaded the DM, hooked up the BB and they communicate fine. I'm finding the threads on wiping the 8100 and do a reload, but it would be a downgrade if I use the software from Tmo. I guess it just doesn't seem to be a clearcut issue to me. HELP ! Is it possible that it could still be a problem with that one SIM or what other possibilities should I consider.

Thanks for any suggestions.


rb

[reddrvgon]

First off, if the device is working with other sim cards, it shouldn't have anything to do with the OS or with the device connectivity with the DM.

From what I understand, you don't need to change the OS or any such thing.

The question that comes to mind is this... Have you given it a good few mins to boot up after you insert the sim? Because a blackberry will fully boot up and be fully functional (except calls etc) even if there is no sim inserted.

When you insert your friend's sim, just give it a few mins to load up.

Some times a device can take up to 4 mins just booting... (Blank screen with the spinning hourglass)

Let me know how it goes...
~via smartphone wap.pinstack.com~

[rashard]

I was going to mention that, but figured seeing as he had done that a few times, with other sim cards and before he bought it they would already know it takes a while. I thought about this on and off all day but still cant think of anything,

You might actually want to try and take it in to them and try another sim card, there could be something on there corrupt that the blackberry uses but other phones dont..

[reddrvgon]

I just had to go out on a limb n put that it... It seems unlikely that an old sim wouldn't work and then a new replacement sim wouldn't work as well... Twice in a row is too odd... And to top it off, we know that these devices do not need a sim card to boot up...
~via smartphone wap.pinstack.com~

[thetraveler]

Ah wonderful, the small pebble I threw into the BB pond did cause a small ripple. Thank you for the replies. I've only learned a very small amount about these devices so far and I've enjoyed every second, including this situation. It is reassuring to hear that it may not be OS related. I've been reluctant to wipe the OS and do a reload for those same reasons. It REPEATEDLY works fine with my T-mo prepaid sim and another sim from a T-mo plan. When they are installed it consistantly takes two to four minutes with no red light. With the sim in question I get a red light within ten or fifteen seconds and then it will white screen and hourglass for a few seconds then red light and continue to repeat this loop until I abort it. I read a post about too many apps open at a given time, I closed a bunch - nothing. I read a post about a conflict with an sd card, I removed it, tried again - nothing. I read a post about a weak signal causing something like this, made sure I was in an area of a strong signal, tried again - nothing. Now I'm thinking, like you've said, maybe it is in fact a sim problem even though T-mo gave me a new one. I know they did in fact do a copy procedure, I don't know enough about sim cards to know if a flaw in the old sim was just copied onto the new sim and thus the original problem continues. Your comments do help because you all know this stuff better than I, so ANY thoughts or suggestions are appreciated.

thanks again

rb

[thetraveler]

hey, back again. had to share this. i just called T-mo customer service, discussed the situation again (they actually had notes from my two other calls) and they came up with a thought. a floor supervisor suggested that i go back to a T-mo store, get a new sim with phone number activation only. he said tell them NOT TO COPY anything from the old sim card and then try that. now that sounds like it could work. i'll report back with the results.

[RedNightHawk]

You can also go into Options, Mobile Network, Data Services, and turn it off, then see if it'll boot, as well as turning the wireless (the radio) off and seeing if it'll reboot. You can also check your event log (alt-LGLG) to see if it's giving any more information about the cause of the problem.

[reddrvgon]

I just want to confirm what you are saying... When you insert the new sim, insert the battery... And the phone just keeps cycling the white screen with the hourglass? I know my phone blinks the red led several times during a battery pull boot up, so that's not really a red flag. You can try what rednighthawk suggested about turning off the radio first, but what comes to mind is that the radio only turns on after the device has completely loaded...

The log file idea is best... If you can pull the logfile and post it here...

Looking forward tohear from ya...
~via smartphone wap.pinstack.com~

[thetraveler]

Originally Posted by RedNightHawk

You can also go into Options, Mobile Network, Data Services, and turn it off, then see if it'll boot, as well as turning the wireless (the radio) off and seeing if it'll reboot. You can also check your event log (alt-LGLG) to see if it's giving any more information about the cause of the problem.

ok, I can easily turn off the Data Services. I'm a bit lost on how to check the event log. Is that (alt-LGLG) done from the device or is that a DM command ? Hey, I said I was new, be gentle.

Sidebar: after we get her set with this 8100 I'm thinking I should step up. What would be a good unit of choice ?

thanks again

[reddrvgon]

Its the device log, that command will work from the homescreen.

As far as picking up another unit, if you have the finances, go with a bold.

I prefer the bold over the curve 8900 because the bold has 3g...

If you're willing to wait, there's rumors of a bold-like touchscreen codenamed "magnum". I have no ideas as to when it's going to debut, but that's what I'm aiming at as an upgrade from my bold...

Personally I prefer to have a full qwerty keyboard, and a touchscreen would be a plus... But I cannot use a touchscreen as a primary input. Pinstacking to me would be a lot harder that way...

All blackberries esentially work the same. Sometimes you have to decide between devices of near equal greatness and select what's most important to you...

For example, I didn't get the storm for two reasons... 1. No qwerty, 2. No wifi
I didn't get the 8900 because it didn't have 3g.

So just look at your personal needs/desires and choose one that's right for ya...

Just remember... No matter which blackberry you get... You're still the cream of the crop, cuz you got a blackberry...
~via smartphone mobile.pinstack.com~

[thetraveler]

OK, I'll post the progress on this little project. I deleted all user created info from the sim card, tried it and . . . IT WORKED. Wierd part is, We put the sim card back in the old phone and saved some contacts and texts back to the sim, tried it again and it did not work. We put the sim card back in the old phone, moved the contacts off of the sim (left some texts on the sim) and it did not work. We put the sim card back in the old phone, removed the few texts, tried it again and IT WORKED. So basically that particular sim (a new replacement) would not work if it had any user created files on the sim. Oh well, it's working so thanks for the help. Hope this account of our experience helps somebody else with a similar situation.