[polomare]

Hi Everyone, newbie here. Unfortunately I have found this forum for a sad reason, my beloved BB Pearl Flip 8220 that I had for two years was stolen from me by a group of four teenagers at a local Walmart. I replaced the BB with the identical phone thinking that would make my life easy, but sadly, the new flip has been riddled with software and OS problems, so that's how I found this forum, looking for solutions.

I have a couple of questions, but have no idea what category to post them under, maybe somebody could help me out with answers or suggest which subforum to post them in?

1) If I have the serial number of my phone that was stolen, is there any way to recover/find out what the BB PIN is/was? I never used the PIN service, so don't have this number memorized.

2) Does the PIN messaging feature work independent of the SIM card (in other words, if the thief took my sim card out and put in his own, can the phone still be PIN'd with it's unique PIN number)? Even if he uses a different carrier than mine?


Thanks in advance. Looks like you guys have a great forum here.

[pkcable]

I moved the thread to General Discussion, as more folks will see it here, and can help.

Your Carrier should be able to give you the PIN from the serial number, and may be able to put SOME blocks on the phone. The PIN can be blocked, also I believe they can block the device from their network, BUT the device CAN be used as a phone only (that is NO data at all) with another carrier with a new SIM, BUT like I said, they won't get any data. The phone can still be PIN messaged until you get it blocked by the carrier when you report it stolen, at which point, all data will cease when the carrier and RIM block the PIN.

[grover5]

Are they willing to replace the new flip? It sounds like it might be eligible for a warranty replacement?

[polomare]

Thank you pkcable!

D_March, the only reason why I haven't returned it yet is because I can't afford to be without the phone for the days it will take to perform the swap (I bought it from an online vendor, not my service provider, as TMobile does not sell this phone anymore- and as I said, I thought getting the identical replacement would make my life easier) And I can't help but think the problems are an easy software fix away. Seems silly to return the phone if it is just a matter of dl the right fix . . .
Thanks

[Dragon919]

Have you checked to see if it's using the newest OS for it??

[Branta]

If your phone was setup for email and Blackberry service you should be able to find your PIN online. Login to your provider's BIS website (where you setup email accounts) and go to the Change Device page. PIN is listed under "Current Device" at the bottom of the page. It should also be on the phone's original box labels if you still have the packaging.

Make sure your provider has deactivated the old SIM so you don't get billed for calls made by the thieves, and report the PIN for blocking.

Your software problems should be fixable with a simple software upgrade. Look for the sticky posts at the top of the 8220 forum for a link to the latest release, and a quick guide to the process.

[leafs2k9]

how do you know they stole it did they actually force it from you? Did you get a good look at them? your carrrier can enable GPS to track it

[ridesno159]

how do you know they stole it did they actually force it from you? Did you get a good look at them? your carrrier can enable GPS to track it

No, the carrier can't track the phone. The only way you can track and/or wipe/lock is by having an app on the phone. The app must be installed previously too.

[MobileMadness002]

Are they willing to replace the new flip? It sounds like it might be eligible for a warranty replacement?

Loss is not manufactures defect. Warranty is not an option. Insurance is.

[polomare]

Wow, look at all the replies since I was last here. Thanks everybody.

@MobileMadness: I think DMarch was talking about my replacement phone that I purchased to replace the phone that was stolen. It had a lot of glitches/problems. I was talking about it on another thread . . . You are right, warranty does not cover loss.

@ridesno: I've found out that "track" is a grey area. You are correct they can not track it via GPS unless you have a pre-installed ap that can be activated through the PIN feature by a command you send to the phone. However, phone companies CAN and DO know darn well when a BlackBerry has been activated and is in use (so they know the city) Furthermore, 911 services can specifically triangulate a phone's position right down to the street address with relative ease. I have a friend who is a 911 operator, I know this first hand. The reason why the cell carriers don't employ this technology is because no police officer will respond to a call to go apprehend someone using a stolen phone. They could care less. Furthermore, the cell companies/manufacturers rather enjoy stolen phones, it makes a tidy profit for them in the form of new customers, and old, purchasing replacement phones/parts. There are many confirmed cases of cell carriers reactivating phones with serial numbers that are registered as stolen. Really, they care less. The victim is on their own.

@leafs: Yes. It was stolen. Police are calling it a "distraction theft". Four bumbling (appeared to be bumbling) teens/early 20-somethings came bouncing down a crowded aisle @ walmart. They were pretending to be punch drunk, laughing and joking and making a nuisance of themselves, talking about some hot chick they met. Two of them bumped into me, with the appearance of it just being a rude accidental mistake, they then took an in-ordinate amount of time apologizing to me. I had been crouched down, looking at something on the bottom shelf, so had moved my phone (in a clip case) to my back pocket so it would not poke me in the hip. One of them used their foot to hook the phone and lift it out of my pocket at the same time another kid knocked something off a shelf, so I would not hear it fall. They then kicked my phone under the shelving, all the way through to the other side, and then they ran around to the other aisle, grabbed it, and ran out of the store. They were wearing hooded sweatshirts and knew to hide their faces from the cameras. I found out from the sheriff's office this happens all the time, especially at this particular walmart. Walmart security is no deterrent. They may even have someone on the inside that looks the other way when this stuff happens.

@Branta: Thank you! I will try your advice about looking it up online. I work weird hours and have not been able to call my carrier about looking up the pin yet. So, the online tip is a help. I do have the original box and serial number and there is a "pin" number on the box, but it confuses me, as the last 3 digits are alphabetic letters, not numbers. Everyone else's PIN I have seen is just numbers. Can PIN's have letters in them too?
And, yes I did a sim-swap to a new cheapy nokia (emergency temporary solution) within 45 mins of it being stolen. I was loathe to do so, because I was clinging to the hope that someone would get a conscience and pick up the phone when I was madly calling it. I even sent a text message "$100 CASH reward to whoever returns this phone to the customer service desk @ Walmart, no questions asked." Two more phone calls after I sent that text, they turned off the phone (it had a *very* loud, annoying ring, as I have a loud job). I figured I had my answer to my offer and deactivated the sim. Phone records confirm. Nobody made an outgoing call, nobody answered an incoming call, and there was no data use during the last 45 mins of my phone's "life". The last thing my records show was delivery of the text message I sent. I guess whoever stole it wanted the whole $35 a used BB Pearl Flip brings on eBay. *eye roll*

@dragon & Branta: I was originally told by the vendor I got the phone from that my problems stemmed from the newer, buggier OS and the solution was to downgrade the phone. Solved some problems. Caused others. I'm happy to report everything is now in functioning order. So, those brats caused me two weeks of effort to restore what was taken. I'm never shopping at Walmart again.

Another question for anybody out there. The only thing that still seems not "right" about my phone, is when I try to use the video camera, it says the feature is unavailable and that I have to insert a media card. I don't remember this with my original BB Pearl Flip. I'm pretty sure the video camera was plug & play out of the box. Anybody know anything about this?

Thanks again everybody. Great forum you got here.

[BoldtotheMax]

Yes, you can have alphabet letters in your pin.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[JRZLocal]

If you had your old blackberry for over 2yrs you probably qualify for an upgrade. Maybe its time to try a new bb on tmo.

[polomare]

@BoldtotheMax: Thank You!

@JRZLocal: I already got the replacement Pearl flip . . . so it's a moot point. I liked the BB Style Flip, but was told it is exclusively a Sprint product.
I work with horses, I'm outdoors, and in barns all day. I need the tiniest phone possible. Sometimes, I need to stick it in my jeans pocket to keep it safe from flying mud or the sudden rain shower. And I need to be able to crouch down and work around a horse's legs without being jabbed in the hip by a giant flat phone on my belt. No other BB qualifies for what I need. If RIM did not make the Pearl Flip, I never would have bought a BB at all.
And just so you know, my contract is up in a month and would have been eligible for an upgrade. I called Tmo twice, both times the sales rep heavily pushed me to get a new Android. They dismissed BB as old school and on the way out technologically. I asked what BB's they had. They wouldn't even talk about them. All they wanted to do was push the Android.