Upgrading an 8320

[zapstrap]

Hi All,

1st time poster; new to Blackberries; pretty happy to find this site. I recently purchased a 9780, have been very much enjoying it.

I have a colleague with an older 8320 (no data plan) who is having some problems with text messages. Once a thread gets too long, the device seems to want to freeze up and won't receive texts, or will report a text message is available but won't show it. The only way to recover is to delete the entire thread, or all threads in the most extreme case, in order to get SMS back up and running.

The phone is branded AT&T, but is on Telus; must be unlocked; has SIMM, but no microSD; S/W version #s:

Platform: 2.7.078
App Version: 4.5.0.81(108)

I've read the thread on the latest version of the OS, and am wondering how to go about installing it when there's no data plan. I have V 6.1.0.35 of the BB desktop s/w installed. Can I connect the 8320 to this machine and do it directly through the USB port?

Searching for an existing thread proved fruitless, but if there's one on this or a how-to document, please just point me to it.

Thanks

[SwitchBeach]

Use the LOADER.EXE and you can update without a data plan.

Download and install the device OS to the computer.
Delete the VENDOR.XML file.
Run LOADER.EXE.

Here's the latest OS for the 8320.
Latest Official OS: 8320 4.5.0.188

[zapstrap]

That went well, thanks for the advice. I used the loader program to wipe the 8320 and install 4.5.0.188. I then used the desktop manager to restore the settings backed up with the loader.

I even installed a 4GB microSD card, so now the phone can be used to take a few pictures & hold a little music.

The only bear was that I ran into this error message several times:

Unspecified error encountered [J:0x00000005]

After several attempts, pulling the battery and much other fiddling, I tried another cable. I had purchased a new (non-OEM) USB cable for the job. The second one I tried was also non-OEM, but was nearly twice as thick as the first one. It worked flawlessly on the first try. I guess not all USB cables are created equal.