Of the ATT 8320, Unlocking and Wi-Fi
 

Heyas,

Obviously, I'm a newbie, let me say that first so there is no shock when I ask a newbish question.

Just in the last week I purchased a Blackberry 8320 from ATT.

Now, long story short, I was grossly misinformed about what this BB can do without a data plan. (I was promised I could use my Home WiFi without a Data plan [I am -NOT- interested in a data plan], for example. At two stores. And by Customer Service.)

I may end up returning the phone, but before I do that, I wanted to ask a few questions to see if there aren't any fixes. Afterall, I'm growing attached to the thing. :P

First off, I'm curious about unlocking the phone. The only reason this is of interest is that I'd like to be able to use my home WiFi. Does anyone know if unlocking the phone would enable this? Or, for that matter, if anything can be done to start using my home WiFi, that information would be priceless to me. I am not, absolutely not, interested in paying for a data plan. (Why should I pay 30 to use the 80 Broadband service I already buy from ATT?)

Just to say, I have read a number of posts involving the 8320 and WiFi, but it seems almost all the posts are about T-Mobile and not ATT. Hence my frustration and curiosity.

Secondly, on my old Verizon phone (Razr3cm), I could simply receive text (SMS) messages from AOL Instant Messenger (AIM), they'd simply be forwarded to my phone. It seems that my Blackberry doesn't allow this. The frustrating thing here is that I'm paying 30 a month for unlimited texting. I've been told that "Because the 8320 is a 'data centric' phone, you must buy a data plan for this service." Is there a way around this?

Yes, I know, I can use OZ messenger. Which may be the sole saving grace in this mess, but I much prefer not having to be logged in on a client, be it SMS or data oriented. The automatic fowarding was invaluable to me in the past and I'd greatly like the service returned to me.

My sincerest apologies if these problems have been tackled elsewhere, I've read post after post but I'm left only more curious. I can't thank you folks enough for any information you can provide me, my appreciation would be beyond words.

Thank you,
-JustAnotherNewbie

I'd suggest reading up a bit more here first. I'm pretty sure there are people using WiFi w/o a BB data plan. However I don't own a BB with WiFi so I can't speak from first hand experience.

No. The only thing that removing a subsidy lock does is allow you to use other carrier's SIM's. That's it. It's the same as any other GSM device.

Confirm that you can receive SMS. I don't know how SMS from AIM works but if you can send and receive SMS on the BB then that's all there is to do on the BB to get it working. If you can't SMS then call at&t and have them check your provisioning. You don't need data to SMS. SMS isn't data.

Rambling Reply
 

Well, admittedly, I've never been great on homework. :P I jumped into the world of Blackberry when I'd narrowed down my options between the LG Incite and the BB 8320. My research was limited and I put too much trust in sales reps. Lesson learned.>.o

Anyhow! As far as AIM text messages go,I'm left quite baffled. Yes, I can receive and send both SMS and MMS messages without a flaw. And I'm quite certain that the problem isn't on AIM's side. I know the service works just dandy with my family's Blackjack 2 and Razr2 V9x.

Now, if I log into OZ Messenger, it works fine. Its just annoying that I could forget to turn it on and thus be left out of the loop on developments. Its not so much a problem, but the potential for one, I guess.

Just to say, I think its absurd that I should pay 30 a month for the Edge network, the same price as the 3G, when I already buy ATT broadband at home. Muchless that I should pay that fee for a service that works freely on other phones. (As I said before, ATT swears that to receive AIM SMS text messages, I must pay that $30 a month ransom.)

Rambling aside, I do appreciate the help. If you've any other ideas, just let me know. ^.^ I can't thank you enough for aiding me.

In the meantime, I shall be looking into answers on the WiFi issue. If this cannot be sorted, I shall return the phone and rejoin the ranks of the Blackberry-less. :P

Kindly,
JustAnotherNewbie

You can unlock it at HorizonWirelessOnline.com - Horizon Wireless, The World’s Cellular Repair Center ß but if you get a data plan, you can do so much for little $.