Ask A T-Mobile Rep 2.0

[NorrisCell]

The other thread is getting long and messy. Time to start fresh.

Things I don't want to see:

1 - "Can you pull up my boyfriend's/girlfriend's text messages and tell me what they say? I think they're cheating on me" - No. I can't. Care can't. The police can, with a court order. Maybe you should have a talk with your better half.

2 - "How can I get this fee waived?" or "How can I get phone X for less money?" - A fee is pointless if all you must do to get it waived is ask. T-Mobile is the most affordable of the big carriers. They are still a business though, and must make money to offer you service. Don't waste the sales/care rep's time by asking for a discount or waived fee.

3 - Double posting. If you already posted your question in a thread, don't post it here. The reverse applies as well.

4 - Inquiries about if or when coverage will improve or high speed data will be available in a specific area. It's a very valid question, but I have no access to that info.

5 - Any inquiry about circumventing policy, such as "How can I make my phone look like it was never wet?"

Everything else is fair game.

[kaldur]

I'll start with one. Heh. If it is answered in another topic, my bad. Is there an alternative to the Telenav GPS on the Blackberry 9700? I honestly don't use GPS much and would not want to pay the monthly subscription.

[ThaGeNeCySt]

Will T-Mobile be launching their own GPS Navigation program a la Sprint/Verizon Navigator?

[Cleothaj32]

Got a question for you... I have a T-Mobile Pearl 8220 that I'm not using and a storm 2 with Verizon that I am using right now, If I leave Verizon and activate the pearl with a blackberry data plan on even more plus plan can I use that same plan with my storm 2? (I already have the unlock code from verizon.)

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by kaldur

I'll start with one. Heh. If it is answered in another topic, my bad. Is there an alternative to the Telenav GPS on the Blackberry 9700? I honestly don't use GPS much and would not want to pay the monthly subscription.

The only alternative I know of is Google Maps, which doesn't do the turn-by-turn like Telenav. Only the G1 and MyTouch have free turn-by-turn that I've found.

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by ThaGeNeCySt

Will T-Mobile be launching their own GPS Navigation program a la Sprint/Verizon Navigator?

Not that I've heard of. I'm hoping Google Maps will include turn-by-turn on all devices eventually, because it works great on the Android 1.6 devices.

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by Cleothaj32

Got a question for you... I have a T-Mobile Pearl 8220 that I'm not using and a storm 2 with Verizon that I am using right now, If I leave Verizon and activate the pearl with a blackberry data plan on even more plus plan can I use that same plan with my storm 2? (I already have the unlock code from verizon.)

In theory, yes. I say in theory because there are always some hiccups when using a Verizon device with GSM. Also, are you talking about switching back and forth between the 8220 and S2 on the same SIM card? You may want to check out the S2 forums for more info on getting it working properly with GSM

[Phlazm]

I got one for you. I have a 9700 and updated to a more recent RIM OS that Tmo doesn't support yet. Works great, BUT I now have Mobile Backup in my system options. The problem is that even if I turn it off, it still wirelessly backs up all my contacts to the Tmo website and it keeps on duplicating everything and messing up my contacts. Searched the phone and the website to disable it without success. Any suggestions other than downgrading the OS to the official Tmo release?

[rrufast]

Josh-
Will be upgrading to a 9700 next week. Currently use an 8100. Was a former SunCom customer so I have to have the BB Enabler feature on my account on both BB's. I do NOT have the data plan right now. Understand that the data plan (unlimited web and email) is $30. Is that per LINE or does the $30 cover BOTH lines on my account?

I currently pay an addt'l $19.95 for unlimited text/picture msgs becuase I do NOT have a data plan. By adding the $30 unlimited data plan, I would be able to drop the $19.95 plan surcharge, right?

Thanks man.. Appreciate the help you lend. Also, checked out the info in the recent PM. Going that exact route. I found the same info after I sent the PM to you.

Thanks again!

[clos36]

my brother just gave me his bb bold 9700 from at&t..its unlocked so i will be using it with tmobile...em i able to get 3G? ( i live in miami) as of right now i only see EDGE displayed...

[Cleothaj32]

Originally Posted by NorrisCell

In theory, yes. I say in theory because there are always some hiccups when using a Verizon device with GSM. Also, are you talking about switching back and forth between the 8220 and S2 on the same SIM card? You may want to check out the S2 forums for more info on getting it working properly with GSM

I wasn't planning on switching back and forth I only mentioned the 8220 because I figured if I added the BIS on my plan I'll receive the proper service books, Does it make a difference which bb phone is used? should I say I have a bb bold as apposed to saying I have a pearl?

[CharredPC]

My wife and I have had T-Mobile for years when we lived down in Utah. 3G wasn't very important to us then, since we had "dumb" flip phones. Then last year, we moved up to southern Idaho (area code 83318). We also upgraded to BlackBerry Bold 9700's.

This area has spotty T-Mobile Edge service (three to five bars), and inside most houses signal drops immediately to GPRS. We took this as just a fact of life living in a rural community, though it was annoying and makes using our data plan difficult. It's probably just a bad spot for all cell reception, right?

This weekend some relatives came to visit. At dinner, I showed them a website on my Bold which I built. Of course, it took a minute or two to load on my weak GPRS signal. They thought it was cool, so wanted to bookmark it; they pulled out their Verizon Droids, which had solid 3G connections!

Did we make a make a mistake keeping T-Mobile? They seem to be the cheapest, but is it worth the trade-off of poor reception? Is there any way to check if they plan on improving this area, or requesting it? I know we don't count for much, just being two customers, and that Verizon is known for having the largest service area... but we have to drive for over an hour to come anywhere near a T-Mobile 3G area. Is there any hope, or should we just pay the $15 extra to another carrier if decent data speeds are important to us?

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply!

[Cleothaj32]

Well from my own personal experience Verizon's 3G service is fast but that doesn't matter when you cant complete a single phone call without the call being dropped atleast 3 times!! I left T-Mobile (8520 Curve) for Verizon (Storm 2) and although 3G is nice the $140.00/mo bill isn't and all I have is 900 minutes the standard BIS and 250 text messages!!! So I'm seriously considering coming back to T-mobile and using my storm 2 (which I paid a $400.00 deposit for) and trading superfast 3G for a smartphone that does with any type of phone is suppose to do... Be a phone 1st or capable of completing a single call. P.S. I live in the middle of chicago so there's no reason why my calls should be dropping like that (Verizon says it's the phone)

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by Phlazm

I got one for you. I have a 9700 and updated to a more recent RIM OS that Tmo doesn't support yet. Works great, BUT I now have Mobile Backup in my system options. The problem is that even if I turn it off, it still wirelessly backs up all my contacts to the Tmo website and it keeps on duplicating everything and messing up my contacts. Searched the phone and the website to disable it without success. Any suggestions other than downgrading the OS to the official Tmo release?

Unfortunately not. I don't have a ton of experience with Mobile Backup on a BB, only on dumb phones. My recommendation is to go back to a TMO OS and possibly use Google Sync to pull contacts down. Of course, you will be sacrificing whatever you gained with the new OS

[NorrisCell]

Originally Posted by rrufast

Josh-
Will be upgrading to a 9700 next week. Currently use an 8100. Was a former SunCom customer so I have to have the BB Enabler feature on my account on both BB's. I do NOT have the data plan right now. Understand that the data plan (unlimited web and email) is $30. Is that per LINE or does the $30 cover BOTH lines on my account?

I currently pay an addt'l $19.95 for unlimited text/picture msgs becuase I do NOT have a data plan. By adding the $30 unlimited data plan, I would be able to drop the $19.95 plan surcharge, right?

Thanks man.. Appreciate the help you lend. Also, checked out the info in the recent PM. Going that exact route. I found the same info after I sent the PM to you.

Thanks again!

I am going to assume that you are updating to a new Even More plan. If that isn't correct, let me know.

On any T-Mobile plan, internet is an individual line charge. $30 web means web on your line only. Text is not included, and can be done on one line only for $10 or all family lines for $20. On the old grandfathered plans, there was a $25 web only, or a $35 web/text bundle.

Glad you got the other thing sorted as well. Let me know if I left anything out.