Hi all,

I canceled the data plan on my 8900, and as expected, the apps that were installed no longer work.

Is it possible to configure the BB so that it thinks it's still on a BB data plan, and therefore will use the apps when connected to wifi?

Thanks much,

Nope.

No, because you need the active service books and a connection to RIM, which you do not have since there is no BB data plan.

I have an 8820 on T-Mobile without a data plan, and as you say, the Wi-Fi did not work, however, after I switched to another Blackberry with another operator I did a complete wipe of this 20 Blackberry. Low and behold, even with no cellular connection at all, I could search for a Wi-Fi network, enter my Wi-Fi password, and Wi-Fi worked fine, at least with the Hotspot browser.

From what I seen, it doesn't seem like a cellular connection is required for Wi-Fi to work, but there is no question that an operator can prevent a phone's Wi-Fi from working if they want to remotely deactivate it. (And they do if you don't have a data plan.)

Yes, you are correct in this, but the OP was also wondering if the Blackberry applications could be made to work without a Blackberry Data Plan. They can not. The Blackberry applications need access to RIM servers in order to work. You only get access to the RIM servers if you pay for it by subscribing to a Blackberry Data Plan.