[~Mark~]

Everyting I've read says tethering is supposed to work on the 1X network also. I'm still waiting for the only store in my area to install the upgrade kit on their machine so they can flash my device. I know if they where charging for this update, they would have installed it while I waited.

[~Mark~]

omkhar, did you get the $100 data package? (250mb tethering). I'm thinking about getting it. $40 more than what I'm paying now but I know I'll be using the BB as a modem, just not sure how much; and $6/mb can add up real fast.

[donsarlo]

Originally Posted by omkhar

Now I wonder when my home will be in the EVDO coverage area

Any one have the "inside track" on Bell's upgrade plans for EVDO enablement in 2006?

I got my 7250 flashed at the Bell store on Cedar Point in Barrie ON yesterday. Took 5 Minutes.

I'm not sure where you are located, but am told that EvDO extends north from the GTA to Aurora/Newmarket area now and full 400 corridor should be covered by the end of summer.

[yirong]

I have updated over 20 units now. There were 2 of them had some weird problems of loosing data connections. It doesn't say "data connection refused", only the icon shows "1x" instead of "1XEV". Spent almost 4 hours with tech support, tried downgrade - upgrade -flash several times, took out battery to reset, everything. Finally we found the solution:

ESN change to another unit, and then change it back.

I think the reason for this is in order to make EVDO available the device need to re-register almost everything with the network. In some cases the network doesn't recognize the register request and bypass it, this causes the problem. ESN change solves the problem like a charm.

If you have ever encountered this problem please try it (ask your rep).

[Jase88]

Originally Posted by omkhar

That's a load of crap c/o Bell. My BBerry is almost a year old. No issues with the 1XEV update, 15mins - 10 of which was spent watching my BBerry reboot

Same here: I bought my 7250 on day one back in Feb '05. No problems with the update whatsoever.

[omkhar]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7250/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/109 UP.Browser/5.0.3.3 UP.Link/5.1.2.1 UP.Link/1.1)

I did get the 250 tether/unlimited RIM data package. It works out to a little less for me due to a corp discount, but it does make it harder to stay in my $150/month reimbursement cap ( I'll just have to chat on the phone less

[omkhar]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7250/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/109 UP.Browser/5.0.3.3 UP.Link/5.1.2.1 UP.Link/1.1)

Originally Posted by donsarlo

I got my 7250 flashed at the Bell store on Cedar Point in Barrie ON yesterday. Took 5 Minutes.

I'm not sure where you are located, but am told that EvDO extends north from the GTA to Aurora/Newmarket area now and full 400 corridor should be covered by the end of summer.

I'm actuall in Newmarket (Yonge & Mulock) so I'm dead between the 400 and the 404. Travelling down either I jump into EVDO by about 16th Ave / Rutherford. I haven't travlled Barrie bound since getting the upgrade so I have no idea where it re-appears

[jatta]

Well I've been a long time reader of this forums, and wanted to provide some insight to my experience.
1) Upgraded my BB 7250 from the Sprint 4.1 to the Bell 4.1
2) Went to my freindly neighborhood Bell World Store, after my Rep called me and said the received the "package"
3) Showed up, the Bell World store was shocked that I was there so quickly, and said that it would take a while. I said no problem and handed them the BB.
4) After 15 mins the Tech comes to me and tells me it's done.
5) I unfortunately have an older 7250 that is 12 months old and has never been updated to the lastest routing tables/prl codes prior to friday.
I looked at the BB and it said 1x on it, he said to give it a while. I informed him that mine was older than most ppl's and to check if anything else needed to happen , the Tech reviewed the "install doc" from bell and told me I had to call Bell at *2355 and tell them to upgrade my package to a newer SOCS value or something like that. I told him to go ahead and call for me, and I'll wait. After speaking to the CSR and validating who I was (There new Privacy policy is ridiculous) They said that they applied the change and to wait 3-4 hours, for it to progress through the network.
6) After dealing with Bell for years, I decided I would call back after 1 hour, because my Blackberry should have 1X coverage either way, while I wait for EVDO to be enabled. Well after speaking to DATA-123 , they told me to re-send my service book becuase it get's corrupted during this flash, hahaha
I said ok.. if you say so.. and went ahead and plugged in my BB onto the BES and updated my service book. At this point no 1X coverage at all.
7) I called back and asked the new Tech to see if he can see my BB , he tried to "ping" it but no response. This is where it gets a little tricky, and want everyone to be aware of this, as I have 30 other salesguys to upgrade.
Because the 1X was not working, he did an ESN swap of my BB to another dummy ESN. Waited 3 hours, then changed it back to the original ESN, (so I had no Cell/Data for 3 hours). Then around 9:00PM I called DATA and said well my cell is working but I got no DATA still, the Tech told me that my plan did not have any BB Data on it, and that I would have to wait until morning.
I asked him if there was anything he /manager could do, he said no, and I said thanks a lot for your help, and put my BB on its charger as I waited for 9:00 AM to come.
8) 1/2 Hour later, BOOM Data was working again and the 1x went to 1X .

So in conclusion, be aware that it's not 100% seemless for all users, esp those who have older versions of the BB 7250, also try to do this when you are not concerned with losing coverage/cell phone , as it may take 3-8 hours for it to come back. Gotta love the way Bell isn't using BREW or OTA updates, Bell is behind the 8 Ball on overall usage of technology, but kudos to the Bell(Sprint actually) Hardware Team for making a smart business decision and reversing there plan of keeping the 7250 1X only. Be wary of making this upgrade available to all your users if you are BES Admin, as this will cause you a headache if not done properly. Only Users that ask about the EVDO upgrade I would upgrade first. The rest hold off on until Bell iron's out the upgrade path

[jefwic]

Can anyone on EVDO give us speed ratings (both upload and download)?

Thanks.

[Jase88]

Originally Posted by jefwic

Has anyone managed to get tethering working outside the EVDO area, or is it only supported in these areas?

Works fine on 1X for me here in Kitchener/Waterloo (after the update).

[omkhar]

A little history

1. First I upgraded to the Telstra 4.1 7250 OS
2. Then I upgraded to the Sprint 4.1 7250 OS
3. Finally I upgraded to the Bell one


When I upgraded to the Bell 7250 OS I lost my old functionality of being able to hold down "1" from the Home screen to dial voicemail (Invalid voicemail number would popup). The number appeared fine under options. Finally I had to assign voicemail to the "W" speed dial key.

Anyone else experienced similar issues?

[jefwic]

Hi,

Check the Options in the Phone section. Somewhere there you can enable holding 1 to dail voicemail.

Regards,
Jeff Wickenheiser

[sheamorris]

I am looking to upgrade my BB 7250. I am a Verizon Wireless customer and I was told that it would give me the capability of tethering my device to my laptop and utilize it as a modem. Has anyone out there tried this, and how do you enjoy it? I'm kind of on the fence about the whole thing.

[KonTiki]

Tethering will cost you an additional $15 a month from Verizon you have to call in to request it, Just getting EVDO does not activate it. As far as being worth it the bottom line is what and how often will you use it for. If it is something you must have then of course its worth it, if you on the other hand just want to have the ability for when and if you need it its your call if you just want to spend the extra money for it.

[yirong]

Originally Posted by jatta

I looked at the BB and it said 1x on it, he said to give it a while. I informed him that mine was older than most ppl's and to check if anything else needed to happen , the Tech reviewed the "install doc" from bell and told me I had to call Bell at *2355 and tell them to upgrade my package to a newer SOCS value or something like that. I told him to go ahead and call for me, and I'll wait.

Please see my post #184 on this thread. It should be solved in 5 min by switching the ESN.

[jefwic]

The reason I was enquiring about the network speeds was this:

If the upload and download speeds are decent (above 100 kbps each way), the quality is good enough for VoIP. Any chance we might see a VoIP solution for the blackberry?

It seems possible to me, and would eliminate the need for the voice plan.

What do you think?

Regards,
Jeff Wickenheiser

[802networks]

Originally Posted by bandera

Same answer received when I called their data call center. I asked them if they had the same problem with other customers and they told me that unfortunately it happens 1 in 100 (so I was the 100 customer).

Be careful with this upgrade even if it is done on a Bell store.

I have heard if you are on a specific data plan (not the BB unlimited) there can be an issue. The Bell tech had the same problem with the customer before me... over 1 hour.... but he "claimed" he had solved the problem and it was because of the "type" of data plan this person had.

[omkhar]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7250/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/109)

Originally Posted by jefwic

The reason I was enquiring about the network speeds was this:

If the upload and download speeds are decent (above 100 kbps each way), the quality is good enough for VoIP. Any chance we might see a VoIP solution for the blackberry?

It seems possible to me, and would eliminate the need for the voice plan.

What do you think?

Regards,
Jeff Wickenheiser

Well, I see a couple of issues with it.

1) As a home VoIP subscriber I can attest the bane of VoIP is jitter. This will play a larger role than bandwidth.
2) Horsepower - will the meek procs in the 7250 which struggle with CSS laden HTML have the power to run any VoIP codec.
3) I don't belive any provider (esp Bell) would support this on their network.

[omkhar]

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry7250/4.1.0 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/109)

Originally Posted by jefwic

The reason I was enquiring about the network speeds was this:

If the upload and download speeds are decent (above 100 kbps each way), the quality is good enough for VoIP. Any chance we might see a VoIP solution for the blackberry?

It seems possible to me, and would eliminate the need for the voice plan.

What do you think?

Regards,
Jeff Wickenheiser

Well, I see a couple of issues with it.

1) As a home VoIP subscriber I can attest the bane of VoIP is jitter. This will play a larger role than bandwidth.
2) Horsepower - will the meek procs in the 7250 which struggle with CSS laden HTML have the power to run any VoIP codec.
3) I don't belive any provider (esp Bell) would support this on their network. Can you imgaine how much profit they would loose?

I have tethered my 7250 in an EVDO area and used VoIP progs on my laptop with reasonable success (Cisco Softphone, and Skype)

[jefwic]

Just an idea - you never know what may happen with this advanced technology.