i luv tmobile but its time to go....

[razorlocs]

Today after having my pearl for 4months(got it in dec.) my pearl up an died. Its started turning itself on an off. it would turn on and then give me that little hour glass thing for 20 sec. an then off it went to start the cycle all over again. Ive tried everything plugging it up to the charger, attempting to reload the os and software. nothing the phone will not even register as connected because it keeps turning off. I even tried pulling the battery out an attempting to reload, nothing, it gives me an error code.

To make matters worst i call tmobile because im well within my 1yr warranty period, and their telling me that i voided my warranty by running the latest cingular os 4.2.0.71. This is ridiculous!!! Ive been a customer with them since 2000 and they want me to buy a new phone! it sounds to me like their cooking up an excuse to not have to send me a new phone.

Does anyone have any suggestions as to what i can do??? At this point any help would be appreciated.

[Schneider]

did you buy the warranty? i dont have one i think =/

[LunkHead]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry 8100: Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 6.0; Windows NT 5.0) BlackBerry8100/4.2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

Use javaloader or Jl_Cmder and wipe the device.. Put the standard T-Mo OS back on it and call T-Mo back!

I would demand a supervisor if they won't ship you out a replacement.. (refurbished)

[razorlocs]

no i dont have the device warranty just the standard 1yr tmobile warranty. I think i did a wipe because i was able to erase everything using the dtm but i was unable to reload the tmobile software. im trying to get them to send me a refurb but they insisted i speak with RIM and theyve had me on hold for the better part of 2 hrs now. Meanwhile my pearl is sitting on the table, a useless brick blinking on and off like the lights form a cheap 1 hour hooker motel

[NJBlackBerry]

Read Lunkhead's post. Get a copy of JL_CMDER and completely wipe out the BlackBerry. Not via Desktop Manager. Use JL_CMDER and then reload the OS.

[razorlocs]

Thanks just downloaded it! going to give it a try

[razorlocs]

ok ive loaded it. sorry in advance if i sound like nob, but is thier anything specific tht i should see after typing in blackberry to let me know its wiped?

[NJBlackBerry]

Well, it will reboot and show a "507" which means "No operating system found".. It is now ready to have the OS reloaded..

[razorlocs]

no go phone wont stay on long enough to wipe. I even tried taking out the battery an jus pluggin it up thru the usb, nuthin. Thanks everyone for your help looks like im just gonna have to duke it out with tmobile and threaten to run to helio

[NJBlackBerry]

Is it plugged in? Sounds like a dead battery.

[razorlocs]

yeah its plugged in. i just dont know why it keeps turning on and off. This is drivin me nuts

[Malkier]

Do you know someone else with a pearl?
If you do, swap the battery over and see if that helps.
Even see if Tmobile has a battery you can try with.
Atleast then you will know where the fault lies, may just need to buy a new battery.

[razorlocs]

im headin to a friends house to try it now. Thank you everyone for ur help, i really apreciate it and i love the fact that the people on this forum are so helpful.
Tmobile has lost a lot of points with me. Ill try an keep yall posted as to how this turns out.

[Number_44]

so wait,
installing a cingular os version onto a tmobile phone, or vice versa, will void your warranty? WHAT THE ****? Is this really a fact or were they just being bastards to you??

[razorlocs]

i think that they were being cheap bastards, so they wouldnt have to send out a new phone

[tprime]

How did they find out you have the cingular OS on your pearl?
Don't tell them that. Usually they will send you a warranty replacement and You'll have to send the old on back.

[TheGreggers]

This is pretty saddening from my point of view.

I manage a T-Mobile retail store...
and you've pretty much got it all wrong.

YES.. ANY modifications done to your device outside T-Mobile or RIM will in fact void your warranty. The fact that you are toying with the software, and if toying with it is what screwed up the device, they're definitely not going to just send you a brand new one. Lost profit. You can't blame them for this.

BUT.. I definitely would NOT have told them that you modified the software in any way shape or form... They would have done a direct warranty replacement and shipped you the phone for $14.95 expedited 2day, and you just ship the screwed up Pearl back.

Another point is huge on the battery issue.
I came to these forums after being heavily into the Motorola modding community.. you may have seen me around.
The #1 thing to do before ever modifying your phone is to give it a FULL charge. If for some reason during a flash or flex your phone dies.. well, A) there's no charging it until the software boots.. but B) You just corrupted the software. Congrats.. Bricked, until you can get a somewhat charged battery and get to the bootloader.

The fact of the matter is.. phones come and go. They die, they screw up, we'll screw em up.. list goes on.

I bid you good luck on your troubles, however.

[williamt]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8100/4.2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/123)

You did void the warrenty though - all I can suggest is that you could buy an unlocked bb and use your tmobile sim

[williamt]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8100/4.2.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/123)

Oh and next time read the warrenty

[razorlocs]

i understand what everyone is saying, however if all it takes is updating the os then how many of us have voided the warranty on our pearls? Every time we load a program on our pearls thats 3rd party we void our warranty! That doesnt make sense. And yes i understand that i should not have given up the fact that the os was an updated cingular version. that was dumb of me, however i loaded that version on my phone a week after i bought it in december and my pearl worked great for me. its my feeling that it wasnt an os related problem, i hadnt downloaded anything in weeks. It became a convenient excuse to keep from sending me a phone. We were not even 2 minutes into trying to figure out what was wrong and when the tmobile tech support guy realized that the os was cingulars he stopped helping and brushed me off to rim.

[TheGreggers]

Well basically..
Loading Opera Mini onto your phone is not going to void your warranty.. that's no different that buying and downloading a game or something on a regular phone.

If you update your software off T-Mobile's website OTA, or
if you were to go to one of the tier's of Tech Support T-Mobile offers and had a problem with your OS, they would have helped you reinstall the OS, etc etc.

But taking a T-Mobile branded phone and flashing to a Cingular branded OS/firmware is completely different.

Not saying that's what caused the issue or anything, but
that's where T-Mobile is protecting themselves... It's essentially me purchasing an unlocked phone from overseas and trying to get T-Mobile to aid me in it's settings, or trying to get them to support my phone via warranty/device protection.

It's just not "legal" in their books.

[masters2010]

The exact same thing happened to me, but it was on an unlocked phone and I had no hopes of exchanging it under warranty. I hadn't updated the os or downloaded anything recently but it kept on just restarting and hourglassing. I would turn it on, move the trackball, and it would shut off and blink red. I wish I had known more about javaloader. Once I tried all day to reload the os with desktop manager and failed, I just went to cingular and bought a new pearl. Hopefully your outcome is better than mine and you don't have to shell out 300 more dollars. I just hope to know what causes this so it doesn't happen again.

[TheGreggers]

That's always the biggest risk with buying unlocked phones.

Always absolutely unsupported by the service provider.

[razorlocs]

Well after pleading my case to 2 supervisors and explaining in detail how i felt i was treated after 7 yrs of loyalty, tmobile agreed to send me out a replacement phone. I feel as if this would not have happened had i not been a long time customer. Like i stated earlier tmobile has lost a lot of credit in my book. As soon as the contract is up the time may come to part ways....

[stealthx32]

And you expect any other carrier to treat you differently? T-Mobile's consistently rated highest in customer service. I don't think you'll find anything better in that dimension.

[razorlocs]

Thats what saddens me. I used to walk around bragging about how tmobiles customer service is the best. I dont know if its that i just called on a bad nite but every person i spoke with tried to blow me off and dump me on some one else. Thats never happened before. Ive never had to threaten to leave or so much as ask for a supervisor.

[razorlocs]

side note has anyone else had the blinking on and off problem or even heard of it other than myself an masters2010?

[MythmbHurts]

Well first off I hope you learned your lesson about talking to much about what you have done to your phone to your provider rep. Second installing a RIM aproved OS does not void your warrenty period. True they don't support 3rd party apps and such an OS upgrade is different all together. I guess point being the less T-mobile or any other provider knows the better. I am not sayong commit fraud by any means I'm simply stating do not supply information that is not prudent to your issue

[TheGreggers]

The reps are withheld to a certain degree of their standards, company's standards, guidelines, rules, and restrictions that all play a part in what each rep is actually able to help you as a customer accomplish..

I've never had one issue with Customer Care.. and I deal with them several times a day to say the least.

It boggles my mind to hear such things, but every one is entitled to their opinions.. just like my hate for Verizon haha.

[gunner4187]

side note has anyone else had the blinking on and off problem or even heard of it other than myself an masters2010?
I had the exact same problem. Took it into T-mobile and they said it was a bad battery. A few weeks later the same thing started happening. Called T-mobile and stated that I had already had been into the store with this problem and they gave me a new battery. I also told him that I had v4.2.0.71. When he said they didn’t support that version, I went into a short story about how RIM writes all the software (something I read on the forums):smile: . Without much hesitation, I was sent a new phone, only with squeaky keys. So, I called again and they are sending a new phone. Hopefully without annoying keys.

[Donna]

Please keep in mind that there are rules the support folks are trained to follow - as long as you keep your story on the same path as the procedure, you will have a pleasant experience. The JL_CMDER completely wipes the device, deleting any evidence that you may have been mucking around with the OS.

[mrpg]

<sarcasm> this reminds me of once when i got pulled over for doing 80mph on a 30mph road. Law enforcement lost points with me for issuing a ticket even though I had been a long standing obeyer of traffic laws. I instead had to goto court and plead my case for a reduced no-points fine</sarcasm>

Seriously razorloc, you can't hold that against T-Mobile. OS flashes specifically can brick devices, period, plain and simple. Their rule of voiding warranties for people like us, like to tinker on the bleeding edge is sane logic man and does not make them any less of a decent company. The fact that you had to go the extra mile to get a new phone on TMO should have been expected. TMO support is sexy man, the customer is always in the position to bargain, just have to get supervisors on the phone and plead your case calmly and keep threats (of leaving) to a minimum if at all. 1st level support's hands are tied and they can't make decisions on cases like yours.

[mayoke]

side note has anyone else had the blinking on and off problem or even heard of it other than myself an masters2010?

Me!
I had it happen once or twice.
The WEIRD part is it happened when I was playing back a video.
Only one particular video.
If I downloaded it and tried to play it, the LED would flash red and the phone would reboot.
If I tried another video from the same site, no such problem.
I verified it by trying it 5 times.
That's the ONLY time it's happened to me though so I just figured it was some bad code that made my phone hiccup.

Stil love my Pearl.

[WyldRyd]

it was your frist mistake to tell them that you changed operating software but then as well this software you have on there really must not be everything it is cracked up to be purely on the fact that your pearl doesn't even turn on now! But you still have the choice of placing a warranty exchange and you really shouldn't have a problem at all the pearl is not working and aslong as your water mark is white and there is not damage to it then you will get a new one in the mail and the problem is done. Can't expect people to bend over backwards when you don't work with them. T-Mobile has great customer care as long as you are not a jerk to them and then they will help you fix the problem.:-o