[dandaman1111]

recently I've been looking into getting a new phone because ive been using the one i have for about 3 years(nokia 3220)-- its obsolete in every way except for one(it beats every other phone in this aspect), its paperweight feature.

I'm pretty savvy with computers and know the technology that is out today. The main thing i was looking for in a new phone was wifi access and a qwerty board. In comes the blackberry curve that has wifi on it.

I'm with tmobile and after some research i find out that in order to connect to a wifi network i need to buy the tmobile hotspots plan. If I'm at home, and i want to connect to my own wireless network, i need to pay monthly to do so($20). (This is information I received at the Tmobile store and by calling Tmobile customer service)
why?

tmobile blocks the capability because they want you to pay for it, the phone receives the signal, tmobile doesnt put it on specially when you buy the plan, they are doing extra work to block you from being able to use free wireless signals(hotspots).

Take for instance the ipod touch, you pay 300 bucks for it and it picks up wifi hotspots and you can browse the internet on it, no monthly fee. Imagine apple decided to make you pay to use the wifi on that ipod touch...thats whats going on here.

so why are people over-paying for this "service" with a smile on their face when it is a feature that is on the phone and not something provided by the cell company.

thoughts? concerns? way to hack the blackberry's wifi?

in reality, the wifi feature is something that is on YOUR phone so you should legally be allowed to hack it to use the wifi(however, you'd lose your warranty).

EDIT: please let me know if any information i have is wrong

[dasunst3r]

I have a BlackBerry Curve 8320 on T-Mobile with the "BlackBerry Feature Enabler" (free) and I'm on a family plan. I am able to turn on the wifi antenna and surf the web using the built-in browser. However, in order to do so, I had to go through the browser's Options. Under "Browser" in "Browser Configuration," choose "Wi-Fi Browser," save, and you should be good to go.

As for the other apps, you just need the service books pushed to you. Call customer service and they should be able to take care of you.

[dandaman1111]

well then the people at tmobile dont know sh*t because that's not what they told me, no wonder it made no sense to me...they're imbeciles

[mrpeez1490]

um...you're almost completely wrong in every aspect. i have a blackberry curve 8320 on t-mobile and i dont have the data plan or the hotspot plan, and i can connect to my home network with no problems whatsoever, i've been doing so since the very first day i got it. a lot of what they say is to make you pay extra when unnecessary. you would only have to pay for the hotspot wifi service, if u plan on using wifi at starbucks or barnes and noble or other hotspots. but if it's a private network you're trying to connect to, all you need is the passkey, if the connection is under security, otherwise if it's an open connection, you can connect without any problems

[TroyDBrown]

Originally Posted by dandaman1111

well then the people at tmobile dont know sh*t because that's not what they told me, no wonder it made no sense to me...they're imbeciles

Or you were not clear on what you were asking. I have seen people ask, what do I need to use HotSpots, well that is $19.99 a month.

[dandaman1111]

Originally Posted by troydbrown

Or you were not clear on what you were asking. I have seen people ask, what do I need to use HotSpots, well that is $19.99 a month.

no i asked it very clearly, i even gave them the example.
"If im at home and i want to use my own wireless network, do i need to purchase additional service?"

im just glad i came by here for clarification because this made no sense to me at all

[John Clark]

First, you DON'T need the Hotspot plan in order to use wifi. You can browse the internet with standalone wifi, even without a sim card installed. Some applications can access the wifi connection and use it for data but not many have been written this way yet.

Second, you DON'T need the Hotspot plan in order to use wifi/UMA. I don't subscribe to the Hotspot plan and I use UMA all the time. Minutes used over wifi just come out of your minute bucket (rate plan.) If you add the $10 Hotspot plan you get unlimited voice minutes over wifi/UMA.

Third, you DO need the proprietary Blackberry Data Plan ($20) if you want email and other Blackberry services. This service goes through the RIM data center and you have to pay (i.e subscribe) to the service in order to get full features out of a Blackberry (any Blackberry, including wifi BB's.) Wifi just provides a faster conduit to connect to the service as opposed to EDGE network..

[WillJitsu]

Originally Posted by John Clark

First, you DON'T need the Hotspot plan in order to use wifi. You can browse the internet with standalone wifi, even without a sim card installed. Some applications can access the wifi connection and use it for data but not many have been written this way yet.

Second, you DON'T need the Hotspot plan in order to use wifi/UMA. I don't subscribe to the Hotspot plan and I use UMA all the time. Minutes used over wifi just come out of your minute bucket (rate plan.) If you add the $10 Hotspot plan you get unlimited voice minutes over wifi/UMA.

Third, you DO need the proprietary Blackberry Data Plan ($20) if you want email and other Blackberry services. This service goes through the RIM data center and you have to pay (i.e subscribe) to the service in order to get full features out of a Blackberry (any Blackberry, including wifi BB's.) Wifi just provides a faster conduit to connect to the service as opposed to EDGE network..

Just for clarification... what is the advantage of making calls over Wifi if you don't have the Hotspot plan? It still pulls from your minutes, so is having a better signal the only advantage?

[John Clark]

Maybe you have weak signal, no signal, etc. It's just another option to connect. Also, sometimes if there is an issue with a local tower, the connection over wifi works fine. Really, there is no other advantage. Its just a nice option.

[WillJitsu]

Thanks for the response.

Do the T-mobile blackberries allow you to use Wifi for web browsing while on a call either using a cell tower or UMA?

[monkeypaw]

For those traveling internationally, there's huge advantage of finding an open wifi and calling as if you're in the US.

[John Clark]

Originally Posted by WillJitsu

Thanks for the response.

Do the T-mobile blackberries allow you to use Wifi for web browsing while on a call either using a cell tower or UMA?

Yes....

Originally Posted by monkeypaw

For those traveling internationally, there's huge advantage of finding an open wifi and calling as if you're in the US.

Yes, I forgot about that. I've used it for that, as well, and have saved quite a bit of money making calls back to the US with UMA. But, generally, under normal circumstances with no H@H plan there's no real advantage.

[gun123]

Originally Posted by dasunst3r

I have a BlackBerry Curve 8320 on T-Mobile with the "BlackBerry Feature Enabler" (free) and I'm on a family plan. I am able to turn on the wifi antenna and surf the web using the built-in browser. However, in order to do so, I had to go through the browser's Options. Under "Browser" in "Browser Configuration," choose "Wi-Fi Browser," save, and you should be good to go.

As for the other apps, you just need the service books pushed to you. Call customer service and they should be able to take care of you.

How did you get the "blackberry feature enabler"? i have the bb curve 8320 too, but i dont see "wi-fi browser" under browser configuration, just "t-zones" and "hotspot browser"