[anon(8063781)]

Introduction

I wrote this guide because, every once in a while, someone asks in the forums whether the Bold 9900 will work without a BIS-enabled data plan. Quite often, the reply is that the device will be crippled without BIS. That’s not entirely true. The Bold 9900 can be set up to use over wifi and with a regular data plan (i.e., without BIS). Most of the information below is out there on the web, but it’s always good to have a consolidated set-up guide.

I try to keep the guide up to date, but I don't use all of the apps listed, so the thread relies on reports from other users. See also http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...-list-1075860/

More information on the apps can be found in post #2.

Optional Step

Before you begin, you should consider installing the latest version of OS 7.1. After I installed the O2 UK version of OS 7.1 my Bold ran cooler, the battery life improved, and the experience was very stable. You can download it by following the link here: O2 UK version. For installation instructions, read post #47 of that thread.

Alternative installation procedures using BlackBerry Swiss Army Knife can be found here, here, and in post #3 of this thread.


The Bold without BIS Guide

Step 1: Set up your wireless network (wifi) connection.

Instructions

Visual Tutorial

Step 2: Set the APN for your carrier.

If you want to use a regular data plan on your carrier’s network, you will need to enter the APN settings. Here are the instructions. A visual tutorial is here, but you must enter your carrier’s specific settings, rather than those in the tutorial. You can probably find the settings here: World Wide Mobile Phone Settings

Step 3: Install apps that work without BIS.

Many BlackBerry OS apps were designed to work only with a connection to BlackBerry’s servers.

Without a BIS connection to those servers, you will not be able to use many of BlackBerry’s in-built applications, including:

• the BlackBerry email client

• BlackBerry Messenger

• MMS (Picture) messaging

• the BlackBerry podcasts app

The BlackBerry web browser works over wifi, but it may or may not work over the cellular network, depending on your provider. You will be able to make phone calls and send SMS (text-only) messages.

Some carriers will push you the MMS service books and you'll be able to send picture messages. Others won't. Ask yours if they will enable MMS for you. If not, see post #10 for a simple workaround. See post #20 for a link to a complex solution for advanced users.

Fortunately, you can install many apps that work well using wifi or a regular data plan, without BIS, and which serve the same or similar functions as the BlackBerry apps.

Here are the essentials:

• Email: LogicMail 2.2.0.85 (OTA, BBW) and PicoMail (OTA) (Tip). There are also paid activesync services: AstraSync (the discount code CB2017 will get you an additional 10% off) and NotifySync. Based on my experience, and that of others in this thread, Smartmail no longer works with SSL.

• Web Browser: Opera Mini 8.0 (OTA, BBW) at m.opera.com, UC Browser (BBW). Alternatively, you can install the Anworm service books to get the built-in browser working over a data connection. See post #9 in this thread.

• Messengers: Whatsapp (beta.whatsapp.com/ota), IM+ 10.5.10 or IM+ Pro 10.5.2 (OTA, BBW) wap.shape.ag, and Trillian (BBW). Facebook Messenger, Kik and Viber no longer work, but see post #2 for an alternative Facebook messaging solution.

• Maps: Google Maps 4.5.1 works on data without BIS, but it seems to be impossible to find online. For links to 4.5.3 (which may or may not work without BIS) and other versions, see this post: http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe.../#post12117264. See post #2 for more details. MGMAPS has offline capabilities: MGMaps - View maps from various sources on your mobile phone!

• Podcasts: Podtrapper 2.6.7 (BBW, OTA) Podtrapper OTA download

• eBook Reader: Kindle 1.0.2.101740313 Beta (OTA) See this thread.

• Forum Readers: CB Forums 1.0 (BBW); Tapatalk 1.4.7.9 (OTA)

• VOIP (Canada / Fongo): Dell Voice 1.0.1 (BBW). Available at BlackBerry World through a hidden link: see this thread.

• Facebook: Facebook (BBW -- web browser shortcut); (OTA -- Wifi Only -- click the Facebook.jad file when browsing from your Bold 99xx)

• Twitter: Twitter (BBW) (wifi-only), UberSocial (BBW), IM+ / IM+ Pro (BBW)

• Instagram: Client for Instagram -- The Jared Company (BBW)

*BBW: BlackBerry World *OTA: Over-the-Air

BlackBerry World apps are installed using the BlackBerry World app on the phone.

The OTA apps are available via websites. For OTA apps, use a browser to search for and navigate to the download links, and click on the link to install.

Some of the OTA software is no longer supported by or available from the creator, but all of the apps listed above can be found online as of February 2015. Searching for the app name with the version number plus “BlackBerry OTA” or “.jad” will usually lead you to a download if you’re persistent. If a download does not install using the BlackBerry browser, you may need to use Opera Mini to download the app.

The usual warnings about downloading software from untrusted sources and compromising your device security apply. If you install apps from websites, you have to take responsibility for the potential results.

Over time, it will become more difficult to find many of these apps. I have had some success locating older software by searching through archived versions of old websites using the ‘Time Machine’ at archive.org.

You can back up your phone settings and some data using BlackBerry Desktop.

You can back up your third-party apps (including the OTA apps) using BlackBerry Swiss Army Knife.

Bonus Step: Backing Up and Synchronizing PIM (Contacts, Calendar, Memos, Tasks) Data

Here are a few options for backing up and syncing your organizer data. If you know of others, please add them to the thread.

The simplest solution:

Use the BlackBerry Desktop software. This requires you to connect your phone to your computer via USB cable or bluetooth, which means synchronization only occurs when you do it manually. It has the advantage of being very secure and private. See this guide. The BlackBerry Desktop software can be downloaded here.

Note that BlackBerry Desktop does not work with MS Outlook 2013 64-bit. You need the 32-bit version of Outlook 2013 if you want to use BlackBerry Desktop to sync your Outlook data with your Bold 9900. BlackBerry Desktop does work with earlier 64-bit versions of Outlook.

Networked wireless solutions:

BlackBerry OS 7.1 can make use of an old PIM sync protocol, SyncML, to sync the calendar and contacts. You have a few options to backup and sync your PIM data wirelessly using SyncML:

1. OneMediaHub (BBW).

This app is available in BlackBerry World, and requires you to make an account with OneMediaHub.com so that you can sync your information to the cloud. The downside is that you’ll be putting all of your data on someone else’s server. Of course, you might already being doing that (on Gmail, Outlook.com, etc.) and it might not matter to you. The upside is that you can sync from anywhere at any time, as long as you have a wifi or cellular connection. There's also an MS Outlook connector, so you can use this service to sync with Outlook (but only the 32-bit version works).

2. Memotoo (OTA).

Memotoo provides a similar service to OneMediaHub, and offers the ability to sync your calendar, contacts, tasks, and memos to the major webmail services, Evernote, and Simplenote, among others. You can create an account and download the app at memotoo.com.

3. Set up your own SyncML server (Advanced).

You can use the OneMediaHub or Memotoo apps, which are both based on the open-source FUNAMBOL client, to sync with your own SyncML server. I’m not going to provide detailed instructions, because you really need to read the manuals and be aware of the security implications if you’re going to do this, but I will point you in the right direction. Setting up your own server requires you to have a Linux system (Debian works well), set up a LAMP server, and then install eGroupWare. If you use Debian, all of the software is in the repositories. It’s completely free, but fairly involved to set up.

Note that you can choose to either operate the server on your own home wifi system only, and sync whenever you’re at home (safer); or open access to the internet so you can sync from anywhere (entails certain security risks). Read up on hardening your server if you're going to make it accessible from the internet.

If you’ve managed to get a different SyncML server running (like FUNAMBOL or Horde groupware), let me know!

[anon(8063781)]

A few notes on the apps:

If you have suggestions, let me know and I'll add them.


Logicmail:

Logicmail can be set up to work with outlook.com accounts with TLS encryption. It can also be made to work with Gmail accounts via a workaround. See the configuration guide in this post.

Picomail:

PicoMail (OTA) (Tip) has a byzantine interface. It was originally made for flip phones and is not the least bit intuitive. Any time you're lost, press the BlackBerry Button. In the setup interface, press the BlackBerry button on every screen, to see if there are more advanced settings. Any time you think you need to save a setting, press the BlackBerry button to see the save option. In short, just keep pressing that BlackBerry button and you'll learn how it works.

Picomail only works over cellular data, unless you set up Aerize WiFiX to route the connection over WiFi. It does not seem to poll your mail. You must open the app and manually refresh your inbox.

If you want to be notified of emails as they arrive, I would suggest setting up your email (through the webmail interface in a browser) to forward to your phone, using your cellular provider's email-to-SMS or email-to-MMS gateway. There's a (dated) list of those gateways in post 10 of this thread.

Opera Mini:

Opera Mini works on cellular data networks without BIS. The work of rendering webpages for Opera Mini is done on Opera's servers, and then the data is compressed and forwarded to the browser. The idea is that this process is supposed to take advantage of off-device processing power and speed up your browsing experience. In practice, it doesn't seem much faster than the built-in browser on the Bold. The system does have an advantage, though: the transmission of compressed information means that Opera Mini uses much less data than a regular browser.

I tend to use the BlackBerry browser when I'm using wifi at home or at work, because the browser's inability to use cellular data is actually a pretty handy data usage warning system: if the browser doesn't work, I realize that my device has dropped the wifi connection and has switched to data (which the other apps are capable of using) and that I'm using my data unnecessarily.

UC Browser is another alternative available in BlackBerry World. It works over cellular data without BIS. If you really miss the browser on your old flip phone, you'll feel right at home. Hello Moto But seriously, if you use it for a bit, you'll come to appreciate its built-in links page and the fact that it notifies you that you're on a wifi or data network.

Messengers:

• Whatsapp: It works well for text and picture messaging. Official support will cease in December 2017.

• IM+ and IM+ Pro: connect with multiple messenger services, although compatibility is diminishing over time. The apps no longer work with Skype, Facebook Messenger, or Yahoo Messenger. They do work with Jabber (XMPP), ICQ, and Google Talk. The unpaid (ad-supported) version has a nasty flaw where it kicks you out of the text-entry box if you receive a message while typing. The paid (ad-free) version does not have this flaw. Both versions tend to disconnect after a while if left running in the background.

• Trillian (BBW): another app that connects to multiple messenger services. Google Talk, AIM, and ICQ are reported to work.

• Facebook Messenger. The dedicated messenger app is now dead, but messaging still works in the old version of the Facebook app, available at theiexplorers.com under "OTAs". It's wifi-only for those of us without BIS.

Maps:

• Google Maps: version 4.5.1 (which is increasingly hard to find) works on a regular data plan and on wifi. See this post by Charles for more information. Version 4.5.3 is still available: http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe.../#post12252564. Many people have trouble running 4.5.1 and 4.5.3 after installation, and the solution is to downgrade to version 3 and then upgrade back to 4.5.x. Follow these instructions: http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...0/#post7819881. The link to version 3 in that thread is dead, but you can get it here.

• MGMAPS: see this post for more information. MGMaps is beginning to lose significant functionality as of January 2016. Yahoo and Google maps no longer work, and the search function is broken.

Podtrapper:

The developer EOL'd this app with style. It's here (OTA) and he provided a free registration code for everyone: 1943BFF87134

The search feature no longer works. You have to add feed url's manually, but once added, there are all kinds of good features and controls. The alternative is to bookmark podcast feeds in the browser, download episodes, and listen to them with the music player. I prefer having everything organized in the app.

Kindle:

It works as expected. You can convert eBooks to .mobi files and add them manually as well.

Forum Readers:

The CB Forums app is a version of Tapatalk restricted to the CrackBerry site only.

Tapatalk 1.4.7.9 lives again! The forum search function stopped working properly some time ago, but it is possible to add forums using the URLs. See this post for instructions. Kudos to @goodayeh for the tip!

Dell Voice:

It works well for voice only (not texting), and if I remember correctly, works with fongo.com accounts, but not those created via freephoneline.ca. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Facebook and Twitter:

BlackBerry's Twitter client works on wifi.

Over cellular data, you can use UberSocial for Twitter (the Facebook functions no longer work). You can also set up your Twitter feed in IM+. Facebook account setup does not appear to work with IM+.

For Facebook, the app in BB World is just a link to the mobile website. You might be able to use the old version still. There's a link at theiexplorers.com under "OTAs." That version only worked on wifi for those of us without BIS.

Instagram:

There are two apps called "Client for Instagram" on BlackBerry World. The free one, by the Jared Company, is a web-based client. It's a little clunky, and ad-supported, but it does work. has been updated (May 2016) and is now native. How cool is that?

[iRetired]

*bookmarked*

Amen.

And Thank You!

[Nelson514]

not true about browser mines work just fine with my data plan

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[anon(8063781)]

not true about browser mines work just fine with my data plan

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

Which carrier are you on? They're probably pushing you service books for free or your phone had the service books already.

[Nelson514]

i have att i had a used rogers that work just fine sold it brought a new att 9900 sam thing internet works fine on 45.00 prepaid

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[anon(8063781)]

Cool. Thanks for the information. I'll update the guide.

Sent from my BlackBerry 9900 using Tapatalk

[anon(8063781)]

Update: if the built-in browser does not work over your cellular data connection, you can install Anworm's Service Books. I didn't think they would work anymore, but they do. You can find them here: https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B_rM...BPUi1mc1E/edit. If they go missing, search for "Browser_via_TCP_all_network_beta_V1.1.ipd" and you should be able to find them. I'll make a guide and add it in shortly. Thanks to Nelson514. If you hadn't reported your browser working, I wouldn't have tried this.

[anon(8063781)]

How to make the BlackBerry Browser work on a Regular (Non-BIS) Data Plan

You should back up your device and apps. There is a step at which you could erase a lot of important stuff!

You can back up your phone settings and some data using BlackBerry Desktop.

You can back up your third-party apps (including the OTA apps) using BlackBerry Swiss Army Knife.

The process:

1. You need to have BlackBerry Desktop installed on your computer. If you don’t have it, get it: BlackBerry Desktop.

2. Download the Anworm service books here. If that link breaks, search for "Browser_via_TCP_all_network_beta_V1.1.ipd" and you should be able to find them.

3. Connect your BlackBerry device to your computer with a USB cable. If BlackBerry Desktop does not start automatically, start it.

4. On your BlackBerry, go to Options > Device > Advanced System Settings > Service Book

5. Hold down the “Alt” key and press S B E B. You should see a message that says, “Legacy SB Restore Enabled.” Press Okay.

6. On your computer, in BlackBerry Desktop, go to Device > Restore.

7. Press “Change” and navigate to the folder with Browser_via_TCP_all_network_beta_V1.1.ipd file in it. Press “OK.” You should now see the file “Browser_via_TCP_all_network_beta_V1.1.ipd” listed in the Restore window.

8. Click on "Browser_via_TCP_all_network_beta_V1.1.ipd" to select it.

9. Under the heading “Select Data to Restore,” select “Select Device Data and Settings” and then tick the box for “Service Book.” Step #9 is really important. Make sure it's done right. If you screw it up you could end up wiping a lot of settings and data, but then, that’s why you did the backup, right?

10. Press “Restore” and answer “Yes” to the confirmation dialogue.

You’re done. Your browser should work over your cellular data connection. There is no need to reboot the device in order for the new service books to take effect.

Important Note: It would be a good idea to check afterwards that your browser is still defaulting to wifi when you're connected to a wifi network. You wouldn't want to be on data all the time.

If you have problems, you can use BlackBerry Desktop to restore just the service books from the backup you made using the BlackBerry Desktop software before beginning. The procedure is almost identical to the one above (on step 8, use your backup file instead of Browser_via_TCP_all_network_beta_V1.1.ipd, and on Step 9, tick only the box for service books).

[anon(8063781)]

An Ugly MMS Workaround

The absence of MMS (multimedia) messaging can be annoying for those of us without BIS.

There are alternatives: you can send picture messages via Whatsapp, Viber, or regular email, if the person you want to send the picture to has one of those options on their phone.

Fortunately, if you just HAVE to send an MMS, there is a workaround. You can use email-to-text for MMS messages. Most cell carriers will let you send SMS or MMS messages to their users via email. For example, if you want to send an MMS picture message to a number at Telus Canada, you open LogicMail, and write an email with a picture attachment to [10digitnumber]@msg.telus.com. The recipient can respond, and it will show up in your email.

If someone wants to send you a picture message, instruct them to enter your email address in their text message client's "To:" field. You'll get the message in LogicMail.

What I've done is go through my contacts, and entered [10digitnumber]@their_carrier_message_address, so that I can email them a multimedia message easily from LogicMail. It's obviously not perfect, but better than nothing.

I'm not sure that all of these work for MMS (some may be SMS only) but here are the addresses for Canada:

[10digitnumber]@txt.bell.ca (Bell and Solo)
[10digitnumber]@pcs.rogers.com
[10digitnumber]@sms.fido.ca
[10digitnumber]@msg.telus.com << definitely works for MMS
[10digitnumber]@vmobile.ca (Virgin Mobile)
[10digitnumber]@mobiletxt.ca (PC Mobile)
[10digitnumber]@msg.koodomobile.com << definitely works for MMS
[10digitnumber]@sms.sasktel.com and [10digitnumber]@pcs.sasktelmobility.com
[10digitnumber]@text.mts.net (MTS Allstream Inc./ Manitoba Telecom Services Inc.)
[10digitnumber]@txt.windmobile.ca

Here is a link for similar addresses worldwide: List of SMS MMS gateways for phone companys - kossboss

Note: I've been hacking away at service books, and I have MMS working to send, but it's really slow (10-40 minutes before the message arrives). I have not had as much luck with receiving MMS messages. A message arrives with a download link/button, but the picture never opens when you press "download". If I ever get this working properly, I'll post a how-to.

Edit: the how-to is posted over at the BlackBerry Support forums. The link is in post #20 of this thread.

[cinemac]

Shuswap let me first thank you for your wonderful guide. I knew some of the things you wrote but not all of them. Your instructions about the browser, particularly, worked like a charm on my Bold 9900. Personally i find Opera very ugly and i thought that the native browser without BIS is a lost case.
I read many times before that all the apps written by RIM can not be used without BIS (Browser, BBM, Facebook, Twitter, Messages etc). How can you use Facebook and Twitter ( i don't really care about twitter, i don't have an account). Whenever i try to use the Facebook app with my regular data plan it says: "You are currently on a data plan that does not support this application blah blah"
But you clearly write: "BlackBerry's Clients work perfectly" What am i missing? Did you do anything in particular for the Facebook client to work?

Thank you so much!

[zocster]

Moving this to 'tips and tricks' and removing the 9900 .. as it should work with most BBOS devices.

[anon(8063781)]

Shuswap let me first thank you for your wonderful guide. I knew some of the things you wrote but not all of them. Your instructions about the browser, particularly, worked like a charm on my Bold 9900. Personally i find Opera very ugly and i thought that the native browser without BIS is a lost case.
I read many times before that all the apps written by RIM can not be used without BIS (Browser, BBM, Facebook, Twitter, Messages etc). How can you use Facebook and Twitter ( i don't really care about twitter, i don't have an account). Whenever i try to use the Facebook app with my regular data plan it says: "You are currently on a data plan that does not support this application blah blah"
But you clearly write: "BlackBerry's Clients work perfectly" What am i missing? Did you do anything in particular for the Facebook client to work?

Thank you so much!

Damn. Sorry cinemac. My error. Neither work off wifi. I'll make the required changes. I signed up for accounts and tested them one day, and must have had wifi on by mistake. Again, my apologies for the error. I guess you can use the clients on wifi, and for Facebook, the browser when away. Twitter would still work through the alternative clients in the list.

[anon(8063781)]

Moving this to 'tips and tricks' and removing the 9900 .. as it should work with most BBOS devices.

Thanks. Appreciated. I put it in the Bold 9900 section because I don't have any of the other devices to test things on.... but I thought about putting it here first.

[anon(8063781)]

[Removed because it didn't fully work. It's one of those days.]

[cinemac]

Oh no! And i just downloaded Magicberry! Good thing i refreshed the page. LOL

BTW no need to apologise for Facebook

[anon(8063781)]

The maps work, but only on wifi. I need to get a voice and text plan only, and then a tablet plan for my other old phone and use it as a hotspot for the bold. Then I could use everything over wifi all the time.

[barbarianthemadserb]

Not only should this great thread be on he "Tips" section but it also should remain on the BB9900 section! If I were looking for BB9900 info I would first look under BB9900 area (exhaustively at that), then I would look at other areas such as "tips etc".

[anon(8063781)]

Just added a minor update. UberSocial works pretty well over cellular data for Facebook as well as Twitter.

[anon(8063781)]

Major update: how to enable MMS messaging without BIS: http://supportforums.blackberry.com/...S/td-p/3067590

[barbarianthemadserb]

Major update: how to enable MMS messaging without BIS: How to Enable MMS without BIS - BlackBerry Support Community Forums

Thank you for this new info. It is very important to know for when BIS finally becomes unsupportable by Blackberry (?).

[BlackB_Sam]

This will work with the BB 9720 as well, isn't it?

[anon(8063781)]

This will work with the BB 9720 as well, isn't it?

I really think it should all work with the 9720, but I don't have one to test. If you try different things, you should post here to let people know what does and doesn't work.

[BlackB_Sam]

Ok. Thanks for the quick response. I might go back to OS 7 on the Blackberry 9720 and then I could try that out. I'd let y'all know.

[anon(8063781)]

A Facebook App that Works over Cellular Data without BIS

UberSocial works for Facebook over a regular cellular data plan, but it has limitations in terms of functionality, and it has this nasty little requirement that a status change on Facebook goes out over Twitter too. The Facebook mobile site works over cellular data, but the experience isn't the greatest.

Edit: Facebook for Every Phone no longer works.

One of the nice things about BBOS is that you can make use of J2ME apps (search for an app name plus "J2ME" or "jar"). A few years ago, Facebook released a J2ME app called "Facebook for Every Phone." It works with a regular data plan on a BlackBerry, and it's better than the mobile website. Here's the link: Facebook for every phone - mobile9

A few notes:

1. It's very touch-centric. You have to use the touchscreen for everything but text input.
2. When you go to enter text in a field, the screen goes white. This will happen when you go to enter your username and password, your status updates, etc. You might think you've crashed it. That's the text entry field. Type in your information and then press the BlackBerry button. You'll get a menu of options where you can press "Done" or "Enter" or "Save" or whatever.
3. After you've used the app for a few minutes, you'll see that an update is available. Unfortunately, the update link takes you to Facebook via the browser, where Facebook correctly identifies your device as a BlackBerry and offers you the BlackBerry client instead of the J2ME one. If anyone figures out how to update this version, or finds the latest one, please update the thread.

Edit: Here's a link to what appears to be the latest version: Version 3.4.1