Tuesday, July 14, 2009

BoostBerry How-To, Everything you Need to Know

So I do a lot of crazy, obsessive, nerdy things that most of my friends really don't care about. But since I know there are a lot of other people in the world who do care about them, I decided to start this blog and the Boostberry seemed to be the best way to do that!

Here is a guide to the things I had to do to make it work properly.

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ALSO BE AWARE:

Sorry ladies and gentlemen, but currently we CANNOT use BLACKBERRY MESSENGER.

WE CANNOT USE PIN MESSAGING.

WE CANNOT SEND ATTACHMENTS VIA EMAIL.

If anyone has any ideas on how to make this work, great, post it, let's make some magic happen. Otherwise, come on guys...

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EDIT: *This whole time I was more concerned with writing a how-to that had all the FAQ so everyone had a one-stop shop. I didn't even think to thank the person that actually combined my books with anworm's for us!

So anyways, a big thanks to http://forums.crackberry.com/members/ffdk/ for combing the books and making SO many Boosters happy!*



So there were a couple of things I had to do to start with in order for me to get some of my stuff going the way I wanted them to:

1) I had to copy all of my contacts from my SIM card


a) Click on the “Contacts” Icon

b) Click on the Blackberry menu key; Contacts from SIM card

c) Click on the Blackberry menu key; Copy all to Contacts

2) I had to turn off Smart Dialing (+1) dialing to be able to place calls from my phone book.

a) Click on the Green phone icon key

b) Click on the Blackberry menu key; Options; Smart Dialing

c) Change the country code to “unknown”

Then, you need to get all the correct service books installed so you have full access to everything. You can download them here: http://forums.crackberry.com/attachm...-combined3.zip

NOTE: This is a ZIP file. You will have to extract in order to use with BB DM. If you do not know how, read this: How To: Open a Zip file

1) ENABLE SERVICE BOOK COMPLETE BACKUP / OVER WRITE / RESTORE on the Device, like this:


a) On your device, go to Options -> Advanced Options -> Service Books hold Alt and hit {S}{B}{E}{B} let go of alt and it should show a message about how legacy service books are enabled.

2) BACKUP EXISTING SERVICE BOOKS

a) Hook up the phone to the laptop

b) Open Blackberry Desktop Manager -> Backup/Restore -> Advanced

i) On the right side, scroll down to Service Books, then press the <<

ii) Click on Save, and save them some place just in case

3) WRITE NEW SERVICE BOOKS TO DEVICE

a) First, clear your service books by scrolling down on the right side, high light Service Books, then press Clear

b) Check your device now (Options -> Advance Options -> Service Books)

i) If there is anything left besides something that mentions TCP/IP or Browser, delete those also

c) Open BB DM, go to Backup/Restore -> Advanced -> Left Window -> File -> Open -> select the service book file you downloaded, then the >> button to move it over. A pop-up will ask if you want to over-write. Say "Yes."

d) Disconnect phone from Computer.

e) Go to Options -> Advanced Options -> Host Routing Table -> BB Menu key -> Register

f) go to advanced settings -> browser and change the hot spot to browser.

i) Now your browser should be enabled, along with this, you should also be able to send/receive MMS. Now would be an okay time to test this, by sending one to yourself. If you are able to send, but not receive, make sure your phone is updated with the correct IMEI on Boost's "My Account" area and that you have disabled text forwarding. It might also be a good idea to put your SIM in a different phone and make sure your number is receiving texts.

g) If you do not get the browser option restart and try again. You will need to restart with step 1 (holding down alt+sbeb).

Now that you’ve done that, you should also be able to use the BB inbox for email via Shangmail. This is an application that runs in the background and pushes your email to your BB.

1.) Go to Shangmail’s website: Shangmail-Cell phone mailbox, mobile phone e-mail, take with you freely I used the English version but it does go down from time to time. I have heard the Chinese version is more reliable but I do not know this from experience.

2.) From there, you should be able to register, add up to 5 pop3 email accounts, and download the app and install via Desktop Manager.

3.) Once installed, you have to open the application and log in. After that, it should start up instantly and push your email to you instantly.

Now you should have full use of your BoostBerry! Here are a few additional applications I recommend:


1.) Opera Mini (Opera Mini - Download)

a. You do not have to use this for web browsing since you have the native browser working, but there are some sites that load better with Opera and it’s faster.

2.) Google Maps (You will have to download this via the BB Browser OTA. You have the option to do this when you go to google.com with your BB Browser).

a. You now have the Blackberry Maps application installed but certain functions are blocked out because you do not have BIS/BES so this program will help. (EDIT: go into options;service books and delete 5 click ipppp) There are also other GPS programs out there. I have heard good things about AmazeGPS but I haven’t personally tried it.

3.) VyMail (http://www.joekrill.com/vymail/0.8.3...il-0.8.3.5.zip)

a. This is a third-party App for using YouMail. As of right now, you can only download YouMail via the Blackberry Store Application but you won’t be able to use that since you don’t have BIS/BES. I’ve used both and this works just as well.

4.) “Visible Menus Theme” (Default theme with black menus)

a. A lot of third party pieces of software such as Opera Mini do not support the transparent menus that are utilized in the default them for the 8350. This theme is simply the default theme but with the fix so you don’t have to worry about that anymore.

Now, if you still have the urge to forward your text messages to your email, here is the how-to on that. This is a little more updated than the other one.

1) Go to Sprint.com and where you can sign in, click on “Sign Up.”

2) The rest should be pretty straight forward, just fill out the form. Once you get logged it, it might say “Cannot access your account at this time.” Don’t worry about that, just move on.

3) Go to http://mms.nextel.com/mms and log in with the same information.

4) You will see a red bar that says “Your messages cannot be read. Please try again later.” Do not worry about that, this is made for Sprint customers so you will never be able to read your messages on this page.

5) Click on Preferences, then Forward Messages.

6) At this point, you can choose a place to forward your messages too. This can be any email address, but the most popular is a gmail or msn account b/c you can download the app for the respective email accounts and they poll often enough. Since I downloaded shangmail, I have push email so I just used my favorite email account. I also tested sending it to yournumber@page.nextel.com. This comes in as an SMS message which is instant (sometimes shangmail can take up to 15 minutes). However, it does not show who the message is from. If you get it as an email, it will tell you it’s from “your friends number/TYPE=PLMN@myboostmobile.com” If you want to reply, you will have to send a message to “your friends number@their service provider.com.” It’s a pain, but it’s better than nothing. Anyway, type in your email address and click “add.” If you want to test different ones to see which comes in faster or how they come in, you can add more than one address.

7) Be sure to check the boxes that say “Enable Forwarding Address” and “Keep a Copy in my Inbox until it expires” and then click “Okay” to save everything.

17 comments:

  1. I need help, I can't access internet with my bb unless, I am connected to WI-FI. Boost has unlimited internet access and I want to be able to use that feature with my bb. I bought the Boostberry cd, but when I get to the step of "delete browser" I follow all the intructions, but I cannot delete the browser at all. What can I do to access internet without wi-fi?

    ReplyDelete
  2. What BB do you have? I don't have anything to do with the "Boostberry CDs," and I resent the fact that someone is making money off the hard work of others that is posted in several places for free.

    If you have an old BB, you have to delete the browser, but I am unfamiliar with this process.

    If you have a curve, just follow my instructions exactly. Instead of deleting the browser, you go to options->advance->service books and hold down alt + SBEB and it handles that problem for you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I have a problem! I attempted to update software before going through your steps. A fatal error occurred when updating the software. Now, I get a message 'Reload Software 561' and requires a pin I don't have. Any ideas?

    ReplyDelete
  4. So basically you tried to make your BB an iPhone?

    ReplyDelete
  5. David: That's a new one to me. Have you tried to completely uninstall, and the re-install with the latest version? That would be my first step.

    Jimmy: BB to an iPhone? No, sir. I'm not even sure what that comment means. Do you mean I took away the ability to send pictures messages (haha, I think the new iPhones have that ability though, right?). All we've done is created the BoostBerry.

    ReplyDelete
  6. i was more reffering to the apps, maps, e-mail, interent, etc. And yes hopefully by the end of the month all the iPhones will be able to send picture messages. Apple just has to stop being retarded.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yea yea yea, apps, maps, e-mail, internet, etc., is native to all BBs! The beauty of all of this is the monthly price tag! Unbeatable!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Verified that Jezghani's procedure is good. Nice job documenting the process.

    ReplyDelete
  9. When you are refering to ... f)go to advanced settings -> browser and change hot spot to browser.... where are you refering to? i do not see that option.

    thank you

    ReplyDelete
  10. Click on the wrench (options). Then click on advanced settings. Then click on Browser.

    Once in there, you should see the words "hot spot browser." Scroll to it and click the trackball, and if you have installed the SBs right, then you you can chance from "hot spot browser" to "browser."

    If you do NOT have this option, you need to start over. Do not forget to the part where it says to hold down "Alt + SBEB," that is where most people make the mistake that prevents them from seeing this option.

    ReplyDelete
  11. i have done this several times and when you are in service books you have to hit "alt + ssbeb" to get the legacy prompt. after doing all the steps all i have in my advanced options is "applications, browser push, enterprise activation, host routing table, service book and sim card"

    i have a feeling that when i followed the directions on howard forums and deleted the browser this may be an issue

    ReplyDelete
  12. I have never heard of this happening? How did you "delete the browser"? Did you follow directions for one of the other BBs and not the 8350?Do you have an icon for the BB Browser at all? At this point, I would try two things.
    1.) Connect your BB to DM and see if you can re-install just the Browser. It might just be in the list of apps under "add/remove applications" and you can just put it on.
    2.) If that doesn't work, I would simply try to wipe your handheld and re-install the OS.

    ReplyDelete
  13. i tried re-installing the browser as you suggested but it didn't take.

    how would you go about wiping and re-installing?

    i followed the directions for the 7100i

    thanks for all your help and patience if you feel it may be easier then posting please feel free to email me directly at cbaines@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  14. Quick question, if you followed the instructions for 7100i, is that the phone you have? I am only familiar with the 8350, so some things might be different for that phone.

    If you have the 8350, let me see if I can find you a link for wiping/reinstalling. There is a setting in the phone somewhere to wipe the phone, then you have to connect to DM to re-install but I haven't done it in a while so I need to find you some solid instructions (without having to wipe my phone and write it up for you).

    ReplyDelete
  15. Here is how to back up 3rd party apps:
    http://forums.crackberry.com/f3/updated-how-back-up-3rd-party-applications-updated-53201/

    Here is how to wipe:
    http://64.211.90.9/iframe/tutview.seam;jsessionid=9A114244B34164E72A73D7B60547AE18?tutorialId=2279&deviceGraphId=3206&deviceId=671&cid=54304&conversationPropagation=nest

    And here is the latest software and how to install it:
    http://forums.crackberry.com/f137/latest-8350i-os-4-6-1-316-aka-4-6-1-204-a-214929/

    ReplyDelete
  16. can you use Vymail without YouMail? I downloaded both apps for my 8350i but YouMail says it doesn't support Bosst yet? how do you get it to work?

    ReplyDelete
  17. Unfortunately, you have to sign up for YouMail. My number was orginally given to me by Nextel (then tmo, then back to Nextel, then MetroPCS, then Helio, then Boost...sheesh!) so when I signed up, it labeled me as a Nextel Subscriber.

    We ported my husband's number from Tmo and we can't get YouMail to work for him. I have heard that their customer support is very helpful, so you can try call them.

    I emailed them months ago and they wrote back "Thanks so much for your interest in YouMail! Unfortunately at this time YouMail does not support Boost Mobile. They do not give us the information we need to identify your account for your callers. We do not at this time have a set date when we will be able to support your carrier. However, we are expanding our services over the next few months, so feel free to check back periodically, and that may change. Thanks for your interest in YouMail!"

    I do encourage you to contact them via email or phone, because it does clearly work with Boost Mobile. I figure if enough of us contact them, they might get it together! I just sent them a follow up email right now. I hope they open this up to Boost subscribers soon!

    ReplyDelete