[nb_mitch]

Originally Posted by The Truth

and have run into a small snag that I cant seem to find the answer too.

The problem that I have now however is that my IMEI is still attached to the Cingular plan that I had originally. I just cancelled the Cingular account today so maybe the answer might simply be that the cancellation hasnt taken into effect yet. But the "snag" is that I cant register the blackberry online with T-mobile because I get an error message that says the device is already attached to another account (obviously).

I think you skipped a step and not sure you can go back. Before you cancelled your service, you needed to go into the webclient and remove the handheld from your Cingular account. I am not sure if it requires a valid new EMEI in order to change or if you can just delete the existing handheld from your account. Maybe you can still log on since you only cancelled today?

[BVI Beach Bum]

I went to a Cingular store today to buy an 8700 here in Chicago and then was planning on getting it unlocked from gsmphonesource.com, but was told by the salesman that in no way would the 8700 work with TMo's web or email. He said he would be happy to sell it to me for full retail price, but it would definately not work because he has had one returned that the customer did what I was going to do and it did not work. He said the phone would work, but Cingular "burns" there software into the motherboard and thus would have all of the Cing icons and would only look to Cing web or email. He said that I would get a bunch of data connection errors. Sounds like crap because people on this forum and others said there 8700 works just fine. He also said that it would not be able to be returned if it is unlocked. So my question is will it work seemlessly once it gets unlocked? Are there Cing icons that will not work with Tmo that can't be removed? Please help I really like the 8700 and am pretty happy with Tmo here in Chicago and I can't wait to get rid of my BB 7100 (reception is horrible).

[nickp]

Originally Posted by BVI Beach Bum

I went to a Cingular store today to buy an 8700 here in Chicago and then was planning on getting it unlocked from gsmphonesource.com, but was told by the salesman that in no way would the 8700 work with TMo's web or email. He said he would be happy to sell it to me for full retail price, but it would definately not work because he has had one returned that the customer did what I was going to do and it did not work. He said the phone would work, but Cingular "burns" there software into the motherboard and thus would have all of the Cing icons and would only look to Cing web or email. He said that I would get a bunch of data connection errors. Sounds like crap because people on this forum and others said there 8700 works just fine. He also said that it would not be able to be returned if it is unlocked. So my question is will it work seemlessly once it gets unlocked? Are there Cing icons that will not work with Tmo that can't be removed? Please help I really like the 8700 and am pretty happy with Tmo here in Chicago and I can't wait to get rid of my BB 7100 (reception is horrible).

Well, good news my friend. The Cingular rep is incorrect, whether intentional or not.

I went to my local Cingular store, told the rep I needed to buy an 8700 for one of my people, and walked out with a brand new device for $449.00. I sent Adam at GSMPhonesource $45 and my IMEI, and 6 hours later, I had an unlocked 8700 running on T-Mo.

I already had a BlackBerry account set up with T-Mo. I was using a 7290 and then a 7105t. Once the service books were transfered to the 8700, the unit was up and running with NO Cingular anything on it. (except for the logo on the front of the screen). The browser works, e-mail works, T-Zones works, voicemail works ... well you get the idea.

All of the T-Mo stuff showed up when the service book was downloaded, without having to manually set anything up.

I logged on to mytmobile.com and selected the 7290 as my active device. One thing I noticed in my Milwaukee area, is that the 8700 indicates EDGE now. I was in Lansing earlier today, in a T-Mo coverage area, and it only showed GPRS. The download speed and web browsing seem much faster than with the other BBs I have owned. So I am wondering if Edge is really here in MKE. Google Local kicks butt and does not load slowly at all.

Anyways, back to the original topic, negotiate your best price on a new 8700, get it unlocked by Adam, and PM me if you have questions. You will need the BB plan from T-Mo and once the device registers with the network, you will need to confirm the new PIN number on mytmobile.com.

Enjoy it Dude...it is an awesome device. And I have tried them all...Treo600, 650, BB7290,7105, several PPC devices.... anyway, enough for now. Go nuts and enjoy. The Cingular rep knows not what he says.

[nickp]

I neglected to mention that I did change the theme to something other than the default Cingular theme. When the service books come over from T-Mo, you will have two browswer icons. One labeled T-Zones and the other labeled Browser. I use the Browser option exclusively and changed the emulation to MS IE. I am able to download and save ringtones, surf all of the popular forum sites, etc... If you use the T-Zones browser, you are limited on content, can play but not save ringtones, and get various error messages when attempting to access certain sites.

One other thing, when you open the T-Zones browser, the Cingular splash screen comes up. When you select the Browser option, the BlackBerry splash screen comes up.

Later .... and good luck !!

[deezmfnutz]

Originally Posted by nickp

One other thing, when you open the T-Zones browser, the Cingular splash screen comes up. When you select the Browser option, the BlackBerry splash screen comes up.

Later .... and good luck !!

I get the BlackBerry splash on both browsers on my 8700c unlocked on tmobo.

[BVI Beach Bum]

Thanks everyone for the help, I am going to get the 8700 and get it unlocked and give it a try on tmo. The best I can do here in Chicago is $450 without a contract any other ideas? Also, when I get it do I have to make any special settings or just follow the unlock codes and pop my sim in? Thanks in advance!

[The Truth]

Originally Posted by nb_mitch

I think you skipped a step and not sure you can go back. Before you cancelled your service, you needed to go into the webclient and remove the handheld from your Cingular account. I am not sure if it requires a valid new EMEI in order to change or if you can just delete the existing handheld from your account. Maybe you can still log on since you only cancelled today?

Yeah, it required a new IMEI and PIN, I couldnt just delete it myself. I actually managed to completely switch over to T-Mobile this weekend and register with their online network though. I ended up having to call Cingular and have them "release" my IMEI from the blackberry account. I guess canceling your service doesnt already do that automatically.

[rgoodwin]

Unlocked 8700c on Tmo, and boy do I love this thing (so far!) 10 minutes after package was opened I was takling to a TMO rep, who added the 19.99 BIS plan to my current voice plan. She gave me the standard "this may take up to 48 hours to take effect". I literally just rebooted the BB after I hung up and it connected, got the service books, and I was off and running (maybe 2 minutes!). It took a few more minutes before I could do the email setup, but not more than 30.

As prevoius poster mentioned, switch off the Cingular theme and you won't see anything "branded" except the faceplate and a small splash when you go into configure the email (and the boot screen, but hey!).

The web browsing is fantastic; it really lets you feel "EDGE" more so than I ever did on the Treo. The kboard does take some getting used to, but I don't foresee a huge issue.

The screen and battery life seem great so far (55% battery with constant playing, rebooting, browsing for 3 hours). I loaded the Tmo messenger which does seem to suck but is at least free

Berry411 and Google local friggin rock! BBtoday on the other hand is very finicky, may have to take it off for now.

Some neat free stuff from mobile.blackberry.com, need to explore more. Tried to grab mp3 ringtones from Walmart.com w/o success (downloaded but wouldn't play?), but I need to read up on that.

Desktop sync is finally working (Intellisync kept crashing with an old appointment in my calender) over both BT and USB.

It doesn't seem to 'lock' like other cell phones (i.e. you have to manually click the lock icon, and even then the screen will turn on when a key is pressed?) which is annoying as I'll be pocketing it, but ah well.

So far, the "out of the box" experience with this phone has been so pleasing compared to the various Windows mobile, Palm, and other smartphones. The closest other phone would be the Sidekick 2, and this is a "good thing", because what I wanted was a phone with the stability and integration of the SKII, but smaller, and (most importantly) the ability to install apps!

[RDSChicago]

Hey Guys,

I have the 7100T on T-Mobile. I want to get the 8700, and Amazon is offering it for free with a 2-year contract. Figuring they have a $150 termination fee, it looks like a great deal to buy it, cancel, and immediately unlock it and use it on my t-mobile contract. Can someone give me complete instructions, presuming I am not tech saavy, as to what I should do from start to finish in terms of ordering it from Cingular, which service plan to order assuming I will unlock immediatley and switch to tomobile, etc.?

Thanks in advance.

[rgoodwin]

I believe you only get the rebates after having service activated for several months... otherwise everyone would be getting free phones

[mas90guru]

Yes the Amazon deal requires you send them in a copy of your bill with activation fees -- -but only after three or four months of service...by the time you pay for the service AND the termination fee -- it may be easier to bit the bullet and pay full price.

[map]

Why not do this? Buy the phone from Amazon for the $149 list price and forget about the rebate. Then, try to cancel the plan w/in 30 days for no termination fee and, if that does not work, just pay the termination fee. Still comes out less that the full retail price, right? Am I missing something?

[gfunkdave]

All right, I added the International Blackberry option to my account on T-mobile.com. I ordered the BB 8700 from Amazon. When I get it, I'll get it unlocked by gsmphonesource.com. What else do I need to do?

[rgoodwin]

SHouldn't have to do much of anything else...

---REQUIRED---
1. Unlock
2. Pop in SIM

---OPTIONAL---
3. Setup Enterprise Email (there will be an icon on your BB)
4. Put "wap.voicestream.com" into your Settings\Advanced\TCP\APN
5. Get cool themes and ringtones from threads in the forum (MacBerry is neat )
6. Get some free stuff from mobile.blackberry.com
7. Figure out how to use it as a USB modem since none of the directions are working for me (and then tell me how) Mine just sits at "Dialing *99#" and doesn't get any further.

[gfunkdave]

Cool. Thanks. People mentioned downloading service books - what's that?

[rgoodwin]

They "tell" your BB what it can do sort of For example, I have service books for browsing, MMS, etc. etc. They come down automatically (generally) and enable features on your BB.

[deezmfnutz]

Originally Posted by rgoodwin

....
7. Figure out how to use it as a USB modem since none of the directions are working for me (and then tell me how) Mine just sits at "Dialing *99#" and doesn't get any further.

Make the search button your friend.

Read the following thread that I started a while back, read it carefully and change your init string to the one I specified..good luck.

http://blackberryforums.com/showthread.php?t=21417

[rgoodwin]

Ouch! You can see I have been reading a ton, and read MANY threads about getting DUN working but missed yours...

I'll have to go listen to some CDeez in shame

[BlackerBerry]

This is what i figured too. I just ordered from Amazon; however, I'd like to see how Cingular service works here in the NY Metro area. If it's poor and Tmo is better, then I'd like to switch over to Tmo and just pay the ETF to Cingular.

Can anyone confirm there are no additional charges to the purchaser other than $149 (Amazon) + $150 (ETF) + pro-rated voice/data usage?

Thanks in advance!

PS - first post (moving over from Treo 650! Lets throw a party!)

Originally Posted by map

Why not do this? Buy the phone from Amazon for the $149 list price and forget about the rebate. Then, try to cancel the plan w/in 30 days for no termination fee and, if that does not work, just pay the termination fee. Still comes out less that the full retail price, right? Am I missing something?

[mas90guru]

With the $149 you'll have to sign up with Cingular and be sure to read the fine print because I would worry that Amazon has the right to charge you the difference or you'll get popped with a termination fee somehow if you don't return the phone.