I spoke to Verizon today to discuss returning my 8830 because of the crippled GPS.

The billing person said that it should be included with my plan so she had a tech talk to me. The tech started by showing me how to get directions in the MAPS application. I said that wasn't what I was talking about. Then the tech had me go into Advanced Options and was going to have me set the "GPS Services" to "Location On" (which I already had set). I informed the tech that it was still not functioning. Then the tech said she would transfer me to RIM. I advised her of the discussions that have been happening on the internet about this and that the other carriers have the GPS enabled. The tech asked if there was anything else and I said now and ended the call.

10 minutes later, I received a callback from the billing person. She said that they had spoken to RIM and there is a patch that is coming out for all 8830 devices in the next two weeks which will enable the GPS capability (without additional charges!)

I am skeptical since the Sprint 8830 is already able to use the GPS.
What is the device software version on the Sprint 8830? Is it available for download?

Now, I am less than two weeks away from the end of my first 30 days in which I can; return the device, get a refund, and not receive the "Early Termination Penalty". I told the billing person that I did not want to risk that the GPS enablement information was wrong and be stuck with the device. She offered to extend me an additional 30 days so that I can see if the GPS gets enabled. I've now got to the middle of August.

So, I will wait to see if their information is accurate. If not, I will be switching over to Sprint's 8830.

I don't know if I should trust Verizon.

Having been with Sprint for some time on an 8703e, I can tell you the GPS works perfectly. I should be getting my 8830 anytime (or maybe tomorrow- who knows), and I will test out the GPS and let you know.

As for trusting Verizon, I can't speak much to that, other than the fact that I've had a few bad incidents with our Business Rep. Telling us one price and charging another.

I will take this information with a grain of salt...

however, thank you for providing it. It would be nice if it were true. It will be very interesting to see what happens in 2 weeks.

There's no way there won't be additional charges to use GPS. No way.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8703e/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/104)

Yea, I agree with blackberryer. Sprint told me they didnt charge for it, but that TeleNav did charge a fee.thats the hook. Verizon won't personally charge you. But TeleNav will pop you witha $10.00 a month charge.

Question: Didnt VZW disable this when they got the phone from RIM? THat is my impression so how can RIM push a update how to enable it...WOuldnt VZW give them that right. That is one reason why VZW didnt get the iPhone as they didnt want to give all rights to Apple, they wanted the control.

C

youre wrong, they had no problem letting apple sell the phone, they had a problem with APPLE not letting them have their 3rd party resellers sell the phone.

Apple told VZW that the only places they could sell the iphone were at official VZW store and Apple stores, but VZW has a lot of 3rd party agents and indirect reps and they didnt want to screw them!

Get that extension in writing!! Why not return it anyway and get one with everything ready to go if/when Vz comes out with it? My Sprint 8830 gps works great, telenav isn't supported yet but is forthcoming soon, it was worth the $10 per month on my 8703e, google maps also has gps now but no talking directions like telenav.

The person on the phone said that Verizon would put out the RIM patch.

I hate to push my carrier opinions on another, but I have to agree with Steve-hose. And definitely get the extension offer in writing.

I dont get it. What is going on here...

Here is the simplified version:

Verizon told me today that there will be an update for the 8830 in the next couple of weeks that will enable the GPS capability without adding additional costs (based on my current plan).

Because of this they extended my 30 day trial period to allow me to see if the GPS gets enabled.

There are some good suggestions that I get the extension in writing do I don't get burned if the GPS doesn't get enabled.

My bad. I missed that. Sorry to make you waste some of your time. Good luck with that and do get it in writing.

C

No Problemo

If this is true, that would be some great news. I have a TomTom in my car, and I love it and would never use my 8830 as a stand-alone GPS device. But it would be nice to have it available as a back-up or while in someone else's car. Handy, too, if I were to be kidnapped and thrown in the trunk of a car.

BrittonX, curious if you have unlimited US or international data plan. I had discussion with Verizon after the email survey about the GPS being crippled on a "World Edition" phone where VZ Navigator would be useless outside of the US.

Well if you get kidnapped, the GPS may be the least of your problems. It was my understanding that there is a transmitter function to help locate you anyway.

I look forward to the patch if it is really coming.

I have the Unlimited US data plan, not international.

Well, All i can say, Lucky you because I told them the same thing and I wanted them to extend my 30 day trail. They wouldn't give me a second thought. So i returned the phone and i have my old i730 and the iphone!

I still need to validate that the 30 day extension is real. I figured I would give them a day then I'll contact them to "verify my trial end date".

Has anyone else heard anything besides brittonx?

I will believe this when I see it. I would welcome it.. but still doubt it

I am certainly quite skeptical myself.

I'll start by attempting to get the trial period extension validated Friday.

also, take names and cust service id's or #'s.. that has burned me in the past. That way when you do go to cancel, call and speak to a manager and go as high as you can and say this person said this and that and you expect verizon to stand by what they are telling you (the customer).

That is the plan!

Let's all hope it doesn't get that far. But if they say something (sales rep or not) they should stand by it. Verizon is responsible for what their sales rep say. (in theory... :( )

Received Tuesday & put it on the work computer. I'm a novice at this BB stuff. Don't know why mine works, but maybe there's hope for the rest. I'm in Montana

?!?! what do you mean put it on the work computer?

I did the support software installation from the LAN at work, not at home. Like I said, just beginning all this, so all the options & terminology are pretty strange to me. So far, the biggest pain & disappointment is the poor voice dialing ability, and the horrible machine voice! My very simple, 2+ yr old Samsung freebie was far more effective!

What makes you think your GPS is working? (not trying to sound bossy just no other way of putting it)

The guys over at this site could probably figure out a way around Verizon disabling the GPS.

Reverse & Фор�аж

Might want to try and contact them.

I was changing the texting option on one of our phones and asked what the status of turning on the GPS function on the 8830. The lady behind the counter said in a rather strange tone that Verizon is working with RIM to get the function turned on as quickly as possible. I asked if there had been a lot of unhappy customers and she said yes and some were rather nasty. So, it appears that there may be some truth to the original comment from BRITTONX. Hopefully this will be worked out soon.

Well DOH, of course it will as soon as VZW releases there firmware / software upgrade to allow the GPS to work with there Navigator service ONLY.

Have they in the past allowed others to share the wealth? Me personally I'm looking at an 8800 from AT&T, a 30 day trial period will tell me whether the network is worth it or NOT. I went to verizon today after work, and all the sales reps were stupid as usual , OH you mean the GPS is disabled, I didnt know that.

Have a piece of hardware / equipment / BB fully functional and NOT crippled is the first thing, a network that will support it to the best of its abilities is the next part.

Hopefully with more and more phones, pda's and blackberries utilizing more data and features. Verizon will stop being a network nazi in the near future.

What is locked down, disabled or limited on the 8830 on Verizon's network.
1. (True for every device, also my number 1 issue) 5GB month cap, go over it and your account will be locked out.
2. GPS. Every other carrier with this phone has GPS enabled.
3. Audio/Video. Verizon has some how locked down to only few specific file types/codecs to play any video or audio file.

Now all is fair in making money on these services but at the same time with no options available, Verizon is making it easier and easier every day for me to make the switch to Sprint.
Nazism - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hi. I'm a new member, and this is a great forum. I've been a VZW subscriber since the days of bag phones (what does that say about me <VBG>). But seriously, I'm not in a position to change networks. I want to get the 8830, as I will be travelling to Europe next month and travel to Asia periodically as well.

I am very concerned about the numerous crippling issues (e.g., GPS, video codecs, etc.) that have been mentioned. Would it be better to purchase an 8830 online that is set for another network (e.g., ATT), and then just go to VZW and have it mapped by them (and get their SIM card)? Would I need to use one of the online unlock services mentioned on this site?

Thanks for any advice!
- Neil

First I've heard of this. Can you elaborate here? I've had no issues with video or music in Media Player, but I've only tried to copy things using the Roxio Media Manager in BlackBerry Desktop.

WOW - I'm not sure who brittonx spoke with at Verizon but I've now been on the phone for more than 45 minutes with a variety of their "customer service" staff. I have gotten a manager named "Lawrence" in their "blackberry escalation" department to admin that Verizon has asked RIM to block GPS capabilities on their phones AND that Verizon is supposedly working on an upgrade to VZ Navigator which will allow it to be used on ALL PDA's & Smart Phones. Of course, there will be a charge for this feature.

When I asked about the use of GPS in BBMaps and other "free" third party features, I was told they (Verizon) could put me in touch with RIM who could provide me with the "receiver" required to utilize GPS-enabled services. Of course, Verizon has no idea what RIM's hours of operation are but they were kind enough to tell me that "every time I've connected with them, they've been in Canada and that's outside the United States so I'm not sure what time zone they're in". OMG!

After only 30 minutes on hold with RIM, I'm giving up but I've been assured my account has been duly noted so, when I call Verizon tomorrow or Monday, they will know to transfer me to RIM immediately - somehow I'm not quite believing that but, we'll see.

More to come!

As for BigA's desire to switch to Sprint - just wait until you need even the smallest amount of customer service from Sprint! The only thing that could make their customer service worse is if they joined with Nextel - oh, wait!

http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...-videos-3.html





00

What you want to do is not possible.
The 8830 is not offered by any GSM carriers in the US (At&t, or T-Mobile).
It doesn't support the GSM frequencies used by those carriers.
In the US, you can only use the 8830 as a CDMA device, either with Sprint or Verizon Wireless.

The SPrint 8830 supposedly comes unlokced, so you can use a European SIM card in it when you travel overseas.
The VZW 8830 is locked and will only accept a Verizon SIM card. So far, no one has been able to unlock the VZW 8830.

I didn't see any messages there about Verizon locking out video content... and it certainly works fine on my Verizon BlackBerry 8830 using Roxio Media Manager and Media Player.

BTW, Media Player is *much* more stable, snappier, and responsive with the new BlackBerry OS firmware that's stickied at the top of this forum.