Canadian BB won't connect to T-Mobile (UK) BIS

[bbpandy]

Quick History: - You don't need to read this part, if you want, you can skip down to "The Problem"

My mom needed a new phone & I was eager to get her onto BB's away from her old feature phone.
So in November I purchased a 2nd TELUS BB Pearl 9100. Living in BC I plugged my TELUS SIM card into it & set it up for my mom. A few weeks later I flew to NS and using a borrowed BELL card showed her the advantages of BB (mainly she can BBM with her kids for free as we now all rock the BBs) She wasn't convinced so I got a ROGERs card & let her use that phone for a week. After a week of using the BB she loved the phone. We went to TELUS & set her up with a voice & data plan. Last month she flew to Qatar to visit my sister. She brought her BB with her & used a SIM from Qatar.

The Problem:

She is now in the UK with a T-Mobile SIM. However it will not connect to the BIS. She got an email saying "Registered...." but then whenever she tries to do anything, she keeps getting messages saying "unable to connect to BlackBerry Internet Service" To the best of my knowledge this is the 7th SIM card that phone has had from 5 different carriers in 4 different locations & have never had an issue B4.
Anyone have any idea what the problem could be & how to fix it? MY first thought was Radio Frequencies, but I have confirmed that T-Mobile UK does sell the 9100. Have also tried Battery Pull & Routing Tables.


Btw we need a specific “help” forum here. I searched for one, & (unless I missed it) we don’t have one
Oh & I didn't post this in the Pearl 3G 9100 forum because I don't think it's a model specific issue.

[blue_k]

Do you have a BIS plan for the T-Mobile SIM?

[bbpandy]

Originally Posted by blue_k

Do you have a BIS plan for the T-Mobile SIM?

YES they do

[blue_k]

Have you tried updating its network profile in the options?

[NFLPLAYBOOK]

Just because they sell the same model phone there, it doesn't mean that it has the same Bands. T Mo is using the 1800 and 900 Bands in the UK. Try a provider that uses the 2100 3G Band.

[bbpandy]

Originally Posted by blue_k

Have you tried updating its network profile in the options?

yes...That didn't work....What makes this even harder is that I'm doing it all remotely giving directions to my mom over the phone.

Originally Posted by NFLPLAYBOOK

Just because they sell the same model phone there, it doesn't mean that it has the same Bands. T Mo is using the 1800 and 900 Bands in the UK. Try a provider that uses the 2100 3G Band.

It doesn't? From my understanding every Pearl 9100 supports:

Tri-band UMTS networks:
(800/850)/1900/2100MHz and 900/1700/2100 MHz

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz


I had accually told my mom to pick up a SIM from Vodophone, but she went T-Mobile instead. If we can't get T-Mobile to work we will have to try a different provider ....but I can't see why it can't work

[NFLPLAYBOOK]

Originally Posted by bbpandy

yes...That didn't work....What makes this even harder is that I'm doing it all remotely giving directions to my mom over the phone.






It doesn't? From my understanding every Pearl 9100 supports:

Tri-band UMTS networks:
(800/850)/1900/2100MHz and 900/1700/2100 MHz

Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks:
850/900/1800/1900 MHz


I had accually told my mom to pick up a SIM from Vodophone, but she went T-Mobile instead. If we can't get T-Mobile to work we will have to try a different provider ....but I can't see why it can't work

No there are two different phones. One is 850 1900 2100 UMTS for ATT Bands and the other is 900 1700 2100 UMTS for T Mo USA. She should be able to get GSM bands though. Check the settings. She might be set to UMTS only.

http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_p...g_9100-3032.ph

[bbpandy]

Originally Posted by NFLPLAYBOOK

No there are two different phones. One is 850 1900 2100 UMTS for ATT Bands and the other is 900 1700 2100 UMTS for T Mo USA. She should be able to get GSM bands though. Check the settings. She might be set to UMTS only.

http://www.gsmarena.com/blackberry_p...g_9100-3032.ph

hmm good to know. Checked her settings...that's not it

[Silverfern]

i think its 1900/2100 OR 1700/2100, i figured out the same thing too, after ordering a AT&T 9860 that i was going to use on wind in canada

[bbpandy]

I also read somewhere that sometimes the Carriers lock out bands via software. I know Apple does that, but havn't heard of it being done to BlackBerrys....has anyone else heard of that?

[Klotar]

Originally Posted by bbpandy

Originally Posted by blue_k View Post
Do you have a BIS plan for the T-Mobile SIM?

YES they do

I know that you know the difference between a BIS (BB) data plan and a generic data plan, but your mother might not. Perhaps navigate her to the Options / Advanced Options / Service Book area and confirm that the PROVISIONING ones are there.

The only time I was completely stumped with a similar issue where we were convinced everything was set right, it turned out that the home provider did not allow international data roaming (yes, I know that using a local SIM should theoretically bypass the whole issue). A quick phone call resolved that issue. Probably not related but possibly worth mentioning. Good luck.