I've been thinking about purchasing a Blackberry 7290 just to have as a spare, but i have notice multiple postings about the Blackberry 7290 running into the dreaded FFFFFFFF pin. I was wondering if this could be a design flaw of the 7290?

I think the 7290 is a pretty stable device. Old, but stable.

Multiple?
Uh, OK..

The 7290 is several generations old by now.

That can happen to any BB. I wouldn't go worrying about getting FFFFFFFF. NJB is right...that's a pretty old device and they're mostly worn out unless you can find a pristine one. Good luck.

My trusty 7290 is still reliable. It works fine, but yes, it's an old model. Makes good sense if you're going to use it just for spare, because it's really affordable now.

My friend got one as a refurb from at$t a few months ago. Looks to be in mint condition. he traded me a worn out razor for it. Its not bad but i like my 8700c better. Ive been using it since im waiting on mine to get repaired and haven't noticed any issues.

Wirelessly posted

Referbs on overstock.com unlocked too

hi ive just purchased a blackberry 7290, from ebay it said it has a password blackberry but it wont accept it, its on vodafone any suggestions to get passed the password on it, its in good condition its working with a vodafone sim card, it also says on the screen data connection refused i did however receive it today can anyone help thank you jeanette

You need to have the phone unlocked in order to use with any other carrier of your preference. I had my bb 7290 from (cingular sim card) unlocked a year ago and running on current T-mobile carrier (sim card) just fine.

Not the question at hand.

The phone sounds like it is already unlocked, as they put a SIM card in and it says "Data Connection Refused".

Jeanette - when does the password appear? When you start the BB or sometime after it is running?

The 7290 was my intro to the BB world...it's a solid device! IMO, still has the best keypad of any BB's to date.