[cynical2]

I wish there was a "begging for help" icon.

I'm hopeful one of the BB experts can help with this...

I just changed from a Cincinnati Bell 8700g to a T-Mobile 8800 due to reception problems with Cincinnati Bell. These are Blackberries provided by work, and we use BES.

My "port day", where T-Mobile supposedly had my number ported from Cincinnati Bell was yesterday. During the day, both my telephone and data service were activated on the new 8800. However, the process appears to be incomplete, and I'm not sure who to call. The current situation:

1. My new BB shows on the dial screen that my phone number is "UNKNOWN", and but if I call someone from it then the correct number shows up on the other person's Caller-ID.
2. My old BB still had my phone number listed on the dial screen, and it also shows up on the Caller-ID of others when I call them.
3. Incoming calls go to my OLD Blackberry.
4. None of the "DESKTOP" service books are present on my new Blackberry, like they are on my old one.
5. Once I blew away the personal email service books on both Blackberry's and then re-added it to my email configuration on the new one, I am able to get personal email (send and receive) on the new one (yahoo account).
6. All incoming work emails still go to my old Blackberry (not surprising since it has the DESKTOP service books and my new one doesn't).

So, my question is how do I complete this process? My two problems (as I see them, though keep in mind I don't understand the inner workings very well):

1. I need for the 8800 (new) to completely take over the phone service, so that incoming calls come to that unit and that my number shows up on it, rather than saying my number is "UNKNOWN" on the dial screen.
2. I need to be able to use/sync with Outlook (work email), which I assume is accomplished by getting the DESKTOP service books on my new Blackberry.

Is there a way for me to accomplish either of these (e.g. by deleting service books, etc on my old BB...like I had to do to get my personal email working)? Or I am going to be at the mercy of my (mostly incompetent, completely outsourced to a 3rd world country) IT department when I go back to work on Monday?

Thanks in advance for any and all help that anyone can provide. On the upside, I was able to use directions on this forum to get my 8800 to behave as a modem over Bluetooth...that is awesome (and much faster than I expected)! I could never get the tethered modem to work with Cincinnati Bell, so this is a very nice addition.

[John Clark]

First, you'll need to activate the new BB on the BES. This can be done easiest by calling your IT department and having them setup a new activation password. Then enter your corp email address and the password they gave you into Enterprise Activation. That will take care of your BES email and Outlook sync issues.

Your other problem is that (most likely) Bell hasn't disconnected your phone from their system. It sounds like you have two phones with the same number right now. Call Bell and have them turn off your phone. That should route all calls to your new phone.

As far as the number showing under "My Number" you can go to Options >Advanced Options >Sim Card >Click menu key (left of trackball) and select "Edit Sim Phone Number." Enter your phone number with no dashes.

[cynical2]

Originally Posted by John Clark

First, you'll need to activate the new BB on the BES. This can be done easiest by calling your IT department and having them setup a new activation password. Then enter your corp email address and the password they gave you into Enterprise Activation. That will take care of your BES email and Outlook sync issues.

Your other problem is that (most likely) Bell hasn't disconnected your phone from their system. It sounds like you have two phones with the same number right now. Call Bell and have them turn off your phone. That should route all calls to your new phone.

As far as the number showing under "My Number" you can go to Options >Advanced Options >Sim Card >Click menu key (left of trackball) and select "Edit Sim Phone Number." Enter your phone number with no dashes.

Thanks, John! That's kind of what I was afraid of with the BES issue...I guess I'm off to face the IT dept Monday.

The phone issue sounds easy enough. I guess I'll wait until Monday to turn it off, since I assume they'll cut my data plan at the same time. So, if I want work email this weekend it looks like I have to wait until Monday to get the BES issue addressed on the 8800. And, I was able to add the phone number to the new unit...thanks for the instructions on doing so. I don't remember doing that with my old BB, so I assumed it was automatically populated.

Oh, one other thing...please...when I open Desktop Manager, it has "Disconnected" in the status bar at the bottom of the window. When I try to open "Email Settings", it says: "Email settings are not available without an online connection to you messaging system." Is that a result of the BES issue, or an unrelated problem? It doesn't matter if my BB is connected or not, if I'm logged into VPN or not, or if I'm logged into Outlook (via VPN) or not...same message all the time.

Thanks again! I really appreciate your help.

[John Clark]

If you can VPN in to your company email and then get an online connection in DM then your BES activation will start automatically. Make sure that your Desktop Manager is installed for use with BES and whatever email system your company has, Exchange is the most common. When Desktop manager opens it should connect to your email profile. If it doesn't see if you can change it under Options >Profile Settings in the Desktop manager. If you can get an online connection you will get a prompt saying that your old pin is configured with the email account and would you like to change it to the new one. If you select yes, then Activation should start automatically on the new device.