[Kirkx]

I want to be better prepared in case of another major outage, and I'm wondering if there is any place somewhere under "options/settings", or some magic keyboard shortcut, that would allow a quick check of BIS connection status?

The closest thing I have found is in Bloomberg Mobile (a third party stock market data app):

menu - about - menu - settings - connection settings

During the current N.American outage the window showed:

- BIS-B: connection error
- Direct (TCP): can connect
- Direct WAP: can connect

Is this kind of information available anywhere directly on BB device? Using Bloomberg app for this is not very efficient, as you need to wait for all preset stock quotes to load first.
Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile

[Dubdub]

Why not just check the data outages section on BBF? Or call your carrier.

No email? Do a battery pull. Still no? Resend service books. Still no? Register via host routing table. Still no? BBM work? Internet? Call carrier.

Outages like this is very rare, so I wouldn't consider it such a big deal

[Kirkx]

"Call carrier, send email, check BBF", etc. are not effective solutions in my case, as I'm on the go 24/7. I was subject to the outage on Wednesday just after midnight New York time (6 AM in London). There was nothing mentioned on BBF or CrackBerry forums at the time. I did a few double soft resets and pulled battery twice. In the end I got so mad on my Bolt browser that I uninstalled it, a foolish move, considering that an hour later complaints about the outage started to trickle in.
That's why I'm trying to find an effective technical solution to check connection status.
Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile

[Dubdub]

Did you have the RIM symbol displayed on your device?

[tsac]

7/24 connected generation

[Motorcycle Mama]

I had the BlackBerry symbol and the 3G symbol displayed on my BlackBerry for the entire 9 hours that I didn't receive any emails during the outage today.

[Dubdub]

Mine didn't come back until just before email arrived.

[Kirkx]

Did you have RIM symbol displayed on your device?

No, I don't have RIM symbol. It's an older Berry (8830 WE), it only shows carrier's network symbol (1XEV in my case).

[Motorcycle Mama]

Well, that's a clear sign on not having a BIS connection.

[rambo47]

Battery pull.
Resend service books.

[Kirkx]

My BIS connection now, after RIM has fixed problems with their servers, is perfect.

Older BlackBerry models, like my 8830 WE, just don't have any "RIM icon" in their GUI, so there is no way to see at a glance on home screen if BIS runs ok or not. That's why I was wondering in my OP if there is somewhere else in "options" that BIS service status can be checked.

PS: I have no intention of upgrading to a new device until QNX os has been rolled out, especially that my 8830 works like a charm.

[penguin3107]

Originally Posted by Motorcycle Mama

Well, that's a clear sign on not having a BIS connection.

The user has an 8830. They'll never see the BlackBerry symbol. That was added in newer devices.
1XEV (in all caps) indicates an authenticated BIS connection.

[Kirkx]

1XEV (in all caps) indicates authenticated BIS connection

Thanks, this looks like the right answer. I've seen all those codes (1xEV, 1XEV, etc) for both CDMA and GSM explained somewhere, but I have never paid much attention to them. I'll google the codes to get the complete list. Thanks for help.
Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile

[Kirkx]

For the record, here is the list of RIM's connection identifiers (ntw = network).

CDMA
1x: 1xRTT (carrier's ntw, no BIS/BES)
1xEV: EVDO (carrier's ntw, no BIS/BES)
1X: 1xRTT (carrier's ntw + BIS/BES)
1XEV: EVDO (carrier's ntw + BIS/BES)

GSM
gprs, edge, 3g: carrier's ntw, no BIS/BES
GPRS, EDGE, 3G: carrier's ntw + BIS/BES
Posted via BlackBerryForums.com Mobile