[gtg]

Just want to let everyone know, some punk stole my blackberry 2 days ago, I installed smrtguard since May. When I log in to my smrtguard account, everything that smrtguard advertised requires native blackberry email. No locate my phone, no audio pin, no track my phone, no remote backup, no remote wipe. NOTHING. I even paid the monthly subscription just to see if there is anything I can salvage, NO, totally useless.

I registered a native blackberry email right after someone stole it and update my smrtguard account, but NO, it requires my phone to setup with a native blackberry email. I even emailed smrtguard support, they can't do anything.

Buyer beware, this is my experience with smrtguard. No helpful at all, at least to me.

[webmastir]

who uses their default provider bb email address for this type of important stuff though?

[icesteve]

Sorry to hear that man, on your next phone try where's my phone, it works from SMS as well as email accounts. Plus its only $2.99 I think, I would of thought smrtgaurd would let you send SMS commands.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[blueyestm]

who uses their default provider bb email address for this type of important stuff though?

exactly my thought, when I had it on mine it explicitly said NOT to use your bb email address. I mean think about it, your phone gets stolen how you gonna get the email when the bb email only goes to the phone??

[MADBRADNYC]

Just want to let everyone know, some punk stole my blackberry 2 days ago, I installed smrtguard since May. When I log in to my smrtguard account, everything that smrtguard advertised requires native blackberry email. No locate my phone, no audio pin, no track my phone, no remote backup, no remote wipe. NOTHING. I even paid the monthly subscription just to see if there is anything I can salvage, NO, totally useless.

I registered a native blackberry email right after someone stole it and update my smrtguard account, but NO, it requires my phone to setup with a native blackberry email. I even emailed smrtguard support, they can't do anything.

Buyer beware, this is my experience with smrtguard. No helpful at all, at least to me.

I'm sorry to hear about your loss. There is nothing more frustrating than to have your property not only lost, but stolen. I also personally sympathize with you as it has happened to me in the past as well. I understand you're frustrated, and you may not want to be receptive at this moment, which I FULLY understand, but I just wanted to let the members here know that there is some incorrect information here.

1) Until very recently (about 60 days ago) SmrtGuard has alway required your BlackBerry email address. They specifically tell you this on their web site. The purpose of this is that if you want to execute remote commands instantly, you need the device email. Using Yahoo or Hotmail etc. does not work instantaneously, and also are handled differently by the BB as well as the application. When these commands are received by the device they are instantly deleted after SG acknowledges them. Other email addresses cannot be handled in this fashion, and are not instantaneous.

2) As perviously stated pretty much just after you had your account set up, they just implemented the use of GMail for this function and it is present in v2.75. This is because GMail has recently been confirmed as being pushed almost as fast as the native device email now, and can be properly handled by the device. But they clearly state that they recommend the device email from your carrier anyway.

3) This email is not supposed to notify you, but just provide commands to the device. This is why they set this email address up for the device, or as some would say "Important Stuff". There is a secondary email that should have been set up with the account for notifications (Important Stuff). This should not be your BlackBerry email, and can be any email of your choice to view from a PC.

So, as I stated, I may get piled on for providing this information, but fault is being placed in SG's lap when it really should not be. TBH, you should have followed their directions and used the BB email addy from your carrier. You may have wanted to stay on top of your account to see that you could have used a GMail account for this recently if you did not want to use, or did not have a BB email addy. You also should have also set up a secondary email address for notifications to be viewed via PC if your BB is lost or stolen.

I feel your pain, and when people are hurting they don't really want to hear "I told you so". I apologize for that and the fact that you have read this post AFTER this incident. But, you should have kept up on your account, been a bit more self informed, and followed directions.

About supported email:
SmrtGuard :: Your Smartphone Guardian™
SmrtGuard :: Your Smartphone Guardian™

Also the manual:
http://www.smrtguard.com/userguide/S..._UserGuide.pdf

I hope you are able to retrieve your device as soon as possible.
All the best..

[jjetson]

MADBRADNYC:

hmmm, gotta say SG was getting a monthly fee. They should have made sure the account was setup properly. Otherwise I'd consider what they were doing stealing...since they were allowing a person to continue to pay for a service that was unusable. If they can force you to submit a BB email...they can force you to submit a seperate email which would have by your account set up the subscription properly.

P.S.

"Using Yahoo or Hotmail etc. does not work instantaneously, and also are handled differently by the BB"

In the context of SG..the emails could be handled the EXACT same as emails from the BB account.

[MADBRADNYC]

MADBRADNYC:

hmmm, gotta say SG was getting a monthly fee. They should have made sure the account was setup properly. Otherwise I'd consider what they were doing stealing...since they were allowing a person to continue to pay for a service that was unusable. If they can force you to submit a BB email...they can force you to submit a seperate email which would have by your account set up the subscription properly.

P.S.

"Using Yahoo or Hotmail etc. does not work instantaneously, and also are handled differently by the BB"

In the context of SG..the emails could be handled the EXACT same as emails from the BB account.

Again, I must apologize, but you are incorrect.

I guess when you pay $10.00 for BerryWeather, or $49.99 for TetherBerry, they should come to your home and make sure you set it up properly.....
If you do not set up a GPS location properly in BerryWeather, are they stealing from you, or is it you that didn't do things right. If you set up TetherBerry with a different BB than the original BB with the registered PIN, who's fault is that? I understand frustration, but clearer heads must chime in.

1)Whether you paid a one time fee or are paying a montly fee for any application, it is the user's responsibility to read the intructions and follow them properly. If the user is not clear on the instructions, SmrtGuard had also specifically provided a support email addy, and a free support phone line where you speak to a live tech support agent. The latter is virtually unheard of in this day and age, and I think that the OP could have called them directly if there was a feeling of misunderstanding. I don't think developers have to reach out to customers to make sure they are following directions in the set up of an app, and I have NEVER heard of such a practice. I don't think you have either.

2) Also, SG is not "allowing" payments to be made to them. They are receiving payments on a contract basis for a product the end user asked for. This does not mean they have to follow every individual contract to see if they are following directions. That doesn't make sense from a business perspective at all. When you buy a car, and have to make payments, does the car salesman follow you around to make sure you are operating it properly? NO.

3) They are not forcing you to use a BB email addy, because no one is forced to purchase the service. If you want the service, you must adhere to the policy. I don't see what the problem is. If you want to be a beta tester for BBzone, and you don't follow policy and blab about the application, they have the right to pull it from you if they catch you. Those are the terms. No one forces you to keep your mouth shut, but if you get caught, you suffer the terms. If SG states to use your BB email, then it should be done. Period. Or suffer the consequences for not following directions.

-In addition to that point, they also tell you at set up that you should set up a secondary email address for notifications to be viewed via PC. Check the "Options" screen. If you do not pay attention, or choose not to do so, why is it the fault of SG? It is the fault of the user for not doing so. Also if some are so eager and fly by that, it still is the user's responsibility to check their account from time to time. Then they would come across this as well. If the bank is taking $5.00 out from your account every month for a year, do you think you can walk in a year later and blame them for you not noticing it? It is your account! They also will not reimburse you unless you have a very friendly banker, and a darn good reason for you misstep.

4) You are also misinformed if you think the application/device can handle any other email address (other than GMail) as it does the native carrier Blackberry.net addy (or whatever your carrier uses). You should obviously see that it is handled by RIM/carrier via BIS/APN by looking at the domain. That's why it has the instantaneous effect, and is handled by your device differently, and is deleted upon receipt of the application. RIM has no control with other domains except for GMail. This is why there is only GMail Sync provided as an alternative. This is how service books are pushed to your phone. Service books cannot be pushed by Yahoo, Hotmail or any other domain. Please believe me, I would not steer you wrong, I have 5 SG accounts, but you need to be more receptive, and/or maybe talk to your carrier to understand how things work before providing information on emotion rather than fact.

ATB.

[jjetson]

Again, I must apologize, but you are incorrect.

I guess when you pay $10.00 for BerryWeather, or $49.99 for TetherBerry, they should come to your home and make sure you set it up properly.....
If you do not set up a GPS location properly in BerryWeather, are they stealing from you, or is it you that didn't do things right. If you set up TetherBerry with a different BB than the original BB with the registered PIN, who's fault is that? I understand frustration, but clearer heads must chime in.

1)Whether you paid a one time fee or are paying a montly fee for any application, it is the user's responsibility to read the intructions and follow them properly. If the user is not clear on the instructions, SmrtGuard had also specifically provided a support email addy, and a free support phone line where you speak to a live tech support agent. The latter is virtually unheard of in this day and age, and I think that the OP could have called them directly if there was a feeling of misunderstanding. I don't think developers have to reach out to customers to make sure they are following directions in the set up of an app, and I have NEVER heard of such a practice. I don't think you have either.

2) Also, SG is not "allowing" payments to be made to them. They are receiving payments on a contract basis for a product the end user asked for. This does not mean they have to follow every individual contract to see if they are following directions. That doesn't make sense from a business perspective at all. When you buy a car, and have to make payments, does the car salesman follow you around to make sure you are operating it properly? NO.

3) They are not forcing you to use a BB email addy, because no one is forced to purchase the service. If you want the service, you must adhere to the policy. I don't see what the problem is. If you want to be a beta tester for BBzone, and you don't follow policy and blab about the application, they have the right to pull it from you if they catch you. Those are the terms. No one forces you to keep your mouth shut, but if you get caught, you suffer the terms. If SG states to use your BB email, then it should be done. Period. Or suffer the consequences for not following directions.

-In addition to that point, they also tell you at set up that you should set up a secondary email address for notifications to be viewed via PC. Check the "Options" screen. If you do not pay attention, or choose not to do so, why is it the fault of SG? It is the fault of the user for not doing so. Also if some are so eager and fly by that, it still is the user's responsibility to check their account from time to time. Then they would come across this as well. If the bank is taking $5.00 out from your account every month for a year, do you think you can walk in a year later and blame them for you not noticing it? It is your account! They also will not reimburse you unless you have a very friendly banker, and a darn good reason for you misstep.

4) You are also misinformed if you think the application/device can handle any other email address (other than GMail) as it does the native carrier Blackberry.net addy (or whatever your carrier uses). You should obviously see that it is handled by RIM/carrier via BIS/APN by looking at the domain. That's why it has the instantaneous effect, and is handled by your device differently, and is deleted upon receipt of the application. RIM has no control with other domains except for GMail. This is why there is only GMail Sync provided as an alternative. This is how service books are pushed to your phone. Service books cannot be pushed by Yahoo, Hotmail or any other domain. Please believe me, I would not steer you wrong, I have 5 SG accounts, but you need to be more receptive, and/or maybe talk to your carrier to understand how things work before providing information on emotion rather than fact.

ATB.

wow thats a huge response. All I was saying is if they are going to force you to provide a BB email to setup their sevice they should as well force you to provide a second email to use the service. Since both emails are REQUIRED to use the service properly. Honestly whats the point of only forcing the user to set up half the requirements.

As for handling email. Please refer to:

Listening for email and triggering notifications - BlackBerry Support Community Forums

I said nothing about the speed at which the email would arrive. I only commented on the simple fact that ANY AND ALL email from NO MATTER what account is treated the same once it gets to the phone. Therefore SG can easily use Hotmail/HushMail etc. emails the EXACT same they would BB emails. It's all based on FolderListeners setup in the application on the phone. I don't have 5 accounts on SG but I do know about BB programming and how applications capture emails.

[MADBRADNYC]

wow thats a huge response. All I was saying is if they are going to force you to provide a BB email to setup their sevice they should as well force you to provide a second email to use the service. Since both emails are REQUIRED to use the service properly. Honestly whats the point of only forcing the user to set up half the requirements.

Well... The long response is for those that would be open to information that they are not privy of....

SG does not force you to do anything at all. This is the requirement for it to work properly with expedience. I don't know why you would believe speed is not an issue with recovering a device as well. There can be up to 15 minute delays using alternate email addresses, which means the device is getting just that far away. The option for a secondary email addy for PC notifications is there for it to be utilized. They actually do ask you for this when the account is set up. As I stated, why would you not do this when it is right in your face at account set up, unless you do not want notifications for every command. And, for those who overlook it, or choose not to do so, it is their fault. Not SG's.

As for handling email. Please refer to:

Listening for email and triggering notifications - BlackBerry Support Community Forums

I said nothing about the speed at which the email would arrive. I only commented on the simple fact that ANY AND ALL email from NO MATTER what account is treated the same once it gets to the phone. Therefore SG can easily use Hotmail/HushMail etc. emails the EXACT same they would BB emails. It's all based on FolderListeners setup in the application on the phone. I don't have 5 accounts on SG but I do know about BB programming and how applications capture emails.

BTW. You are again misinformed. The reference page that you refer to is for an application built for a developer for strictly listening purposes and notifications within that said app, NOT for the end handling and command structure of that SG email set up. These are two different things. You can believe what you want, but apparently others are making the same mistake, and are suffering for it. It is not ONLY the BB that the email goes to, but the application that listens and executes. SmrtGuard clearly states that it works with the native BB email addy. I think your best bet would be to ask SG if you could reprogram their application for them. This is where your problem lies. There are TONS of apps that I believe could work in different manners, but I have to deal with what the developer put forth, not my own fantasies. I apparently cannot advise you of the reality of the situation. So I will just leave it as that.

Enjoy! ATB.

[jjetson]

Well... The long response is for those that would be open to information that they are not privy of....

SG does not force you to do anything at all. This is the requirement for it to work properly with expedience. I don't know why you would believe speed is not an issue with recovering a device as well. There can be up to 15 minute delays using alternate email addresses, which means the device is getting just that far away. The option for a secondary email addy for PC notifications is there for it to be utilized. They actually do ask you for this when the account is set up. As I stated, why would you not do this when it is right in your face at account set up, unless you do not want notifications for every command. And, for those who overlook it, or choose not to do so, it is their fault. Not SG's.

BTW. You are again misinformed. The reference page that you refer to is for an application built for a developer for strictly listening purposes and notifications within that said app, NOT for the end handling and command structure of that SG email set up. These are two different things. You can believe what you want, but apparently others are making the same mistake, and are suffering for it. It is not ONLY the BB that the email goes to, but the application that listens and executes. SmrtGuard clearly states that it works with the native BB email addy. I think your best bet would be to ask SG if you could reprogram their application for them. This is where your problem lies. There are TONS of apps that I believe could work in different manners, but I have to deal with what the developer put forth, not my own fantasies. I apparently cannot advise you of the reality of the situation. So I will just leave it as that.

Enjoy! ATB.

Wow, I wanted to be pretty civil here, but you're just being ridiculous.

A) You state they forced him in your first response:

"1) Until very recently (about 60 days ago) SmrtGuard has alway required your BlackBerry email address"

If they're gonna require 1 require them both so people can use the service properly. What a **** poor job at usability. Thats how you end up in this situation. Once a user has been forced to provide some sort of information it obviously implied that they don['t have to supply anything else. What if they started an email server and forced users to only supply a username. Then in the help docs say: "Oh yeah, you can setup a password too". WTF, thats horrible.

B) What in the world are you talking about. You are so far off here it's not even funny. No matter if they're sending an email from hotmail or BB. The contents of said email can be made THE EXACT SAME. EMAIL IS EMAIL!!
After said email is created (Using who cares what email server) cause again EMAIL IS EMAIL!! wanna know how I know? I can listen for an email to my bb address that says "HEY HOW ARE YOU" and parse that message directly from the email and then get an email from my Hotmail account and parse the EXACT SAME "HEY HOW ARE YOU". And the String will be IDENTICAL! You can refer to:

BlackBerry JDE 5.0.0 API Reference

Look up Message net.rim.api.mail.Message

which is the API of how emails are stored as objects by the operating system. Now if you're trying to tell me that SG decided "hey lets send BB emails differently than Hotmail emails". Thats absolutely ludicrous, why in the world would they double their work when they don't have to. And if they did that has to be the worst developer ever. At absolute most they parse a small message from html email instead of txt based email. Which is maybe 3 lines of code.

[MADBRADNYC]

Wow, I wanted to be pretty civil here, but you're just being ridiculous.

A) You state they forced him in your first response:

"1) Until very recently (about 60 days ago) SmrtGuard has alway required your BlackBerry email address"

If they're gonna require 1 require them both so people can use the service properly. What a **** poor job at usability. Thats how you end up in this situation. Once a user has been forced to provide some sort of information it obviously implied that they don['t have to supply anything else. What if they started an email server and forced users to only supply a username. Then in the help docs say: "Oh yeah, you can setup a password too". WTF, thats horrible.

B) What in the world are you talking about. You are so far off here it's not even funny. No matter if they're sending an email from hotmail or BB. The contents of said email can be made THE EXACT SAME. EMAIL IS EMAIL!!
After said email is created (Using who cares what email server) cause again EMAIL IS EMAIL!! wanna know how I know? I can listen for an email to my bb address that says "HEY HOW ARE YOU" and parse that message directly from the email and then get an email from my Hotmail account and parse the EXACT SAME "HEY HOW ARE YOU". And the String will be IDENTICAL! You can refer to:

BlackBerry JDE 5.0.0 API Reference

Look up Message net.rim.api.mail.Message

which is the API of how emails are stored as objects by the operating system. Now if you're trying to tell me that SG decided "hey lets send BB emails differently than Hotmail emails". Thats absolutely ludicrous, why in the world would they double their work when they don't have to. And if they did that has to be the worst developer ever. At absolute most they parse a small message from html email instead of txt based email. Which is maybe 3 lines of code.

Well I still don't see why we cannot be civil, and I don't see anything in my responses to you that is anything different than civil. I wasn't even thinking that way. Funny that you are.

The point of my posting was to say to the OP that although it is a terrible situation, the points that are complained about are due to user error, and could have been avoided.

You are taking things out of context. People are saying that they are "forced" to use their BB email addy. That's like stating you are forced to charge your battery to use your device. It is a requirement, but you do not have to use the device at all. A requirement is not being forced. 2 different words, 2 different meanings. No one has to have the app in the first place. SG is telling adopters that if they want it to work... This is what should be done for the correct effect. Why would someone expect the correct weather conditions in a weather app for their zip code, by inputting a different one, then say "I'm forced to do it". No one is forced, but common sense would indicate following directions. When the instructions clearly state to use YOUR zip code, why would someone expect the same results by substituting another?

Also, I cannot speak for SG as I am not a direct employee, and I wouldn't be comfortable doing so. But, I can say one thing, the BIS addy is handled differently by this application, as opposed to other applications that also "listen". If an application is written that way, Hooray! But, SG is not, and they tell you what to do. As I stated, it seems you are contesting their way of programming, which I cannot do anything about. This is something maybe you could send to them via feedback. But the bottom line is this is how it works. Period.

There are other applications that have the same functions as SG, but when email commands are sent, they are not deleted from the device, they remain within the inbox. Why is that? Being knowledgeable in programming, I'm sure you have seen this. And they are only as quick as the venue sent. This is why people think they should not be "required" to use their BB email for app notification, and end up with these emails in their inbox for a thief to see.

I am not here to battle about what SG could/would/should have done. I am posting to say what they have done, and this is how it works currently. Some people don't like an umpire's call, and wished they relied only upon video replay, but that is not the case now. So, until feedback is given, and they change things, these are the rules we have to follow to play the game.

If you want different results in the way they handle things, or think they are terrible programmers, let them know via feedback. But, that has nothing to do with what the situation is currently. I am letting users know what to expect, and to look for when they use this application. I am not trying to tell SG what they need to do. I will leave that to you programmers.

[jjetson]

C'mon are you kidding me. forced and required are different?
thesaurus.com seems to think they're synonyms. Which means same or very similar meaning. I have never used this app. But if the setup process is anything like you've described and the underlying code is anything like the scenario you put forward. I won't be getting any where near this thing, and they need to fire whoever the developer is. Cause he/she's doing nothing but costing them money in support by not making it user friendly and also unnecessarily doubling his/her workload requiring separate command structures based on the email server.

The OP has a right to be absolutely fuming about this product. The product he paid for was absolutely horrid if it's anything like it's been described to me here.

[MADBRADNYC]

C'mon are you kidding me. forced and required are different?
thesaurus.com seems to think they're synonyms. Which means same or very similar meaning. I have never used this app. But if the setup process is anything like you've described and the underlying code is anything like the scenario you put forward. I won't be getting any where near this thing, and they need to fire whoever the developer is. Cause he/she's doing nothing but costing them money in support by not making it user friendly and also unnecessarily doubling his/her workload requiring separate command structures based on the email server.

The OP has a right to be absolutely fuming about this product. The product he paid for was absolutely horrid if it's anything like it's been described to me here.

Umm. No, I am not kidding you. Similar does not mean the same. You stated I said forced, but quoted me saying required. They are 2 separate words with 2 separate meanings. Just because people use them interchangeably, which a thesarus does in the context of the language spoken, does not make an equation. They are not equal. That's like saying "terrible" is "worst" You can say an app is terrible, but that does not mean it is the worst, but they are used interchangeably every day in the English language.

Forced | Define Forced at Dictionary.com
forced   /fɔrst, foʊrst/ Show Spelled[fawrst, fohrst] Show IPA
�adjective
1. enforced or compulsory: forced labor.
2. strained, unnatural, or affected: a forced smile.
3. subjected to force.
4. required by circumstances; emergency: a forced landing of an airplane.


Requirement | Define Requirement at Dictionary.com
�noun
1. that which is required; a thing demanded or obligatory: One of the requirements of the job is accuracy.
2. an act or instance of requiring.
3. a need or necessity: to meet the requirements of daily life.

Two separate things. Now... I really feel uncomfortable discussing this with you, since you haven't even used the application to see how it works. Your "not getting anywhere near this thing" just reinforces the point I'm making. When you purchase an application (especially costly ones), the end user should be vigilant, and learn about the product. You are stating exactly what I have said numerous times here,... No one is forced! When you educate yourself on a product, and don't like how it works, don't use the product.

I cannot speak for, or have knowledge of what happens within the realms of the SG support system as you do. You obviously have more insight to their inner workings than I. I will not pretend if I know if they are losing dividends or increasing their workloads. I can only say that the product is a life saver, because my device is my life. Although you may think so, I do not believe the OP should be fuming at SG over his own mistakes. He should learn from them. All of this is clearly stated on their site. A 5 minute browse of the site will give him the opportunity to take it or leave it. Sometimes people have to take a step back and look at the reality of the situation, rather than run on emotion.

The light is red, and the rules say you are supposed to slow down and stop. If you do not follow directions, and you crash, don't blame the city, or the car, or the rain etc. Blame yourself. I believe that the OP, although so very understandably upset about his loss, probably knows within his heart that everything I stated is true. Because it is. I also think there is a difference between what you would like the app to be, as opposed to what it actually is. Download the free version and use it to the full capacity for 30 days first, before you try to start a mob mentality about something you never even tried. I also bet that if you did, you would not have the same problems, because after this thread, you surely would do some homework first, and follow the directions before purchasing.

If you think you can do it better, send them some feedback, but since you obviously have not used it, I don't know what prudent advice you could possibly provide.

ATB...

[gtg]

few more things to add:

1. no where on its website here
BlackBerry Smartphone Services, BlackBerry PDA Services, Phone Services for BlackBerry
says SG requires native blackberry email in order to make its features to work. Talk about misinformed product descriptions.

2. I never receive any email from SG to remind me to register native blackberry email which will benefit me. The only emails I received from them are advertisements ask me to pay subscribe their monthly/yearly service. Again, they all care about money, not about the service.

3. Not until I posted my message here, I never know gmail works with remote commands. Talk about how poorly they educate their customers. Is it too much to ask from them to educate customers how to use their product? I have this service since May, and when they updated the service to include gmail support, I did not receive any email regarding that.

4. Remote backup does NOT work without native blackberry email, which you stated that it works in this thread. The last time backup point before my phone was stolen is Aug 27, someone stole my phone on Sept 6. The first thing I did right after it got stolen is to pay 1 month subscription and remote backup, when my sim card was still in my phone. NO, it didn't work, the last time it updated is still Aug 27. Very frustrated, wasted my subscription.

5. I only know how poor their customer service is when I need them the most. Their customer service phone line is very well hidden, I have to dig out more to find it, and I did, 1 973-856-7725. I called the line, all goes to voice mail. Fine, I will email them, and this is the repay I get on the next day:

This is my email message:

Hi, Smrtguard support:

I have blackberry 9700 on Bell's network, recently got stolen. I did not registered native blackberry email before my phone got stolen. Once I found out my missing 9700, I log in to my smrtguard account and try to locate my phone, realize that I have to register native blackberry email in order to do that. So I registed an blackberry email remotely by calling tech support and able to log in my blackberry email from https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html.

My question is will still be able to locate my phone? If yes please tell me what to do, this is urgent.

Thank you.

This is their reply:

Good day,

The native blackberry email should also be set up on your phone once it is not set up sorry to say but we are not able to locate it.


SmrtGuard Support

Dennis

You see here, they are not at least try to see if there is ANYTHING I can do to at least to get some of my information back, NOTHING. The content of their email makes me feel that they do not care about their customers and no advise provided makes their customer service not helpful at all. I am not impressed. If I can't locate my phone, what else can I do? NO answer.

Again, after dealing with this nightmare, someone stole my phone, paid SG service, no support and help from smrtguard, crackberry forum is the only place to share my experience with blackberry lovers. This is my experience, how you take it is all up to you. If you learn anything from my experience, that's great.

[MADBRADNYC]

I truly am sorry for the loss of your device. I had my device stolen about 3 years ago, and it killed me. I wish I had SG back then. I am happy that you responded to this rather than everyone else who wants to talk about the coding of the application rather than the facts reported as you see them. I just wanted to let you know how it works so for the future, you would not encounter these problems again. But, being a new day, I hope you could get past your anger at the moment and look at things in a different perspective.

1. no where on its website here
BlackBerry Smartphone Services, BlackBerry PDA Services, Phone Services for BlackBerry
says SG requires native blackberry email in order to make its features to work. Talk about misinformed product descriptions.

Ok. I tried to touch on this subject several times with you and the other member. It is on their website! I provided you a link, and you still say it's "nowhere" on this website. You may disagree, but it appears that you made your purchase while misinformed, or in haste. This is the general SG link I provided in this thread. You say that this is the page you looked at correct? Why would you not educate yourself on an application at this cost level? You seem to state that you saw this page, and made a purchase. This is not being an educated consumer. You should alway check a support page or FAQ page, and fully understand what they are offering before your purchase. Do you not agree with that? Also, the first two links I provided before this link is from the Support->FAQ page. So it is there, you just did not choose to look for it.

2. I never receive any email from SG to remind me to register native blackberry email which will benefit me. The only emails I received from them are advertisements ask me to pay subscribe their monthly/yearly service. Again, they all care about money, not about the service.

I'm not sure why you need a reminder, when they ask for this when you set it up. Again, you obviously disagree, but I cannot fathom why you don't understand that you have a responsibility to monitor your own account. I never received a separate/distinct email about their use of GMail as well. However, when I checked my account, it was clearly visible, and ready for me to read. This is because I monitor my account. You will never know what changes are there unless you are pro-active and see what is happening with your account. Also, you need to monitor the company itself. They are on FaceBook, and Twitter, and post their updates there as well. In addition, if you open the application, there is a "Check for updates" feature. With all of these avenues of information you did not choose any of them. Finally, whenever there is an update, they provide a change log to those updates on their site when you click on the update link. So... Notification about the use of GMail is there, but you did not take the responsibility to find anything out. The developer cannot/should not have to hold your hand. And, even if you knew you could have used GMail earlier (which you never stated that you wanted to use GMail), they specifically tell you that the native BB email is preferred anyway.

3. Not until I posted my message here, I never know gmail works with remote commands. Talk about how poorly they educate their customers. Is it too much to ask from them to educate customers how to use their product? I have this service since May, and when they updated the service to include gmail support, I did not receive any email regarding that.

Well, one of the purposes of my first post was to point out that you actually can use another email (such as GMail) with the application currently. But, again... Read the segment above. You are not monitoring the applications on your device. You need to take some responsibility yourself.

4. Remote backup does NOT work without native blackberry email, which you stated that it works in this thread. The last time backup point before my phone was stolen is Aug 27, someone stole my phone on Sept 6. The first thing I did right after it got stolen is to pay 1 month subscription and remote backup, when my sim card was still in my phone. NO, it didn't work, the last time it updated is still Aug 27. Very frustrated, wasted my subscription.

I NEVER stated that the app would work with ANY email other than the native email, or Gmail. I would like for you to point this out and quote me. You need to monitor the applications you put on your device. The back up options are for never, daily, weekly, monthly. Your last device back up was ten days before that. There is not 10 day setting. There obviously was something wrong. You probably never even updated to the latest version (2.75) because it now has an icon in the notification area that tells you when there is a problem with the back up as well.
-Another note... If you did have a backup from August 27th, what email was you using then? Very confused by that one.
-There are also two other things I want to point out. SG services are paid in advance, so it seems to me that you were not current on your bill. They also do not immediately discard your information. It is retained for at least an additional 30 days, and anyone who has let their bill lapse while using SG can tell you that. So many threads about "Why does SG still have my information?" Secondly, how do you know your SIM card was still in the phone AFTER a theft? Most criminals are dumb, but one who takes a BB surely knows to replace the SIM card so it can work for them. The SIM was probably not in the device, hence your inability to backup .

5. I only know how poor their customer service is when I need them the most. Their customer service phone line is very well hidden, I have to dig out more to find it, and I did, 1 973-856-7725. I called the line, all goes to voice mail. Fine, I will email them, and this is the repay I get on the next day.

I think you mean to say that they could not provide the assistance you were hoping for, because you did not follow the instructions when setting up your account. What can they do? They tell you set up a certain email address, but you don't. Now you blame them. Their customer support land line is not hidden. It is where any customer support email or phone line would be on any site... On the support tab. The very first link I provided to you clearly has the support phone number listed. Look again. I get the feeling that you will not take the time to actually read anything else on the site except the home page, and you will not take responsibility for your own actions. I apologize for your loss, but I call 'em as I see 'em.

This is my email message:.....

Again... Read the segment above. I realize this is not the response you were hoping for, but what can they do, if you do not use the correct email address, do not pay your bill on time, do not immediately report (Track/Remotely wipe) your device before the SIM can be removed. Also, I realize that it may have not been possible to immediately track your device because you may have found out later, but what I still don't understand is why you rush to pay a bill, unless you are late doing so.

Again, after dealing with this nightmare, someone stole my phone, paid SG service, no support and help from smrtguard, crackberry forum is the only place to share my experience with blackberry lovers. This is my experience, how you take it is all up to you. If you learn anything from my experience, that's great.

All of what you went through is a terrible experience. I sympathize. I also hope others can avoid your problem by reading this thread.

ATB.

[jjetson]

Man, you need to quit posting novels with random highlighted words. You want people to get use out of this thread...but no one is gonna read your million lines of jibberish. You're trying to defend SG using the argument that users should go out of their way to read any and all documentation before purchasing and using an app. Which is nonsense. The application should inform the user of all necessary setup procedures and not allow the app to function unless these procedures have been followed. Which means every time the app is opened say: "You don't have a blackberry email setup on this phone. SG will not work properly until this is done. See www.blah.com for setup instructions.". Then another one that says: "You don't have a secondary email setup properly. SG will not fucntion properly until this email is setup. See www.blah.com for setup instructions.". If SG uses any sort of email notifications. It should send emails stating that the product is not properly setup. This is all Basic Application Programming Usability 101. Any application I've ever used on my phone or my laptop/desktop has told me how to set it up and also alerted me if it wasn't setup properly.

SmrtGuard wants to charge for use (Monthly even LOL). Make an app people can use then. @$$holes

[EnergyPlus]

I have to agree with MadBrad with all of this. He has gone to great pains (do you work for SG?, LOL) to explain this all out very thoroughly.

I have had SG for about a year now. When I first set it up I instantly noticed that a BB email account was required. At the time, I wasn't even sure I had one and if I did, what it was. So, I went ahead and created a new one, only to discover at some point that now I have TWO. Anyway, it was no big deal and my primary email address (a private domain email that is hosted by GoDaddy) is where I get most of my information, but the BB email is on my phone in the event it's needed. I of course also went ahead and have, several times, tested the Locate feature, as well as the "Phone Home" feature and all back up info and everything works exactly as advertised. So, I gotta say, as tough as this is, if you did not read the info supplied on the SG website when you set your account up, it's not their fault.

I can't imagine losing my phone or having it stolen, that's terrible, but SG's not at fault here. Good luck and I hope by some luck, you're able to recover your phone.

And Slant, that info was VERY CLEARLY displayed to me when I set my account up over a year ago, so not sure what you mean about haaving to go through any extraordinary measures to learn procedures and proper setup.

[rlmesq]

Moral of the story:

If you're going to install emergency software on your BB, test to make sure it works before you need it!

[MADBRADNYC]

Man, you need to quit posting novels with random highlighted words. You want people to get use out of this thread...but no one is gonna read your million lines of jibberish.

Ummm... At this point I have to say that what you mention above is your problem with the whole situation here. You do not want to read anything, or educate yourself. The same way you don't want to read and comprehend what I am explaining, it is evident you did the same on the SG website. It seems you will touch a hot stove twice in succession with no prior thought. The fact that you mention "random highlighted words" tells me you also did not read the same highlighted words when SG specifically told you to use a BB native email addy. Lmao!

You're trying to defend SG using the argument that users should go out of their way to read any and all documentation before purchasing and using an app. Which is nonsense.

I am not defending SG as much as I am showing you that you choose to be irresponsible, an uninformed consumer, and got burned for it. But, you stand steadfast in incorrectness, and got what you deserved. Really not my problem. I am able to follow easy to understand directions, it works for me, and I pay my bills on time. I also stayed informed enough to find lifetime deals for all of my accounts at half price. Because I chose to read through all of their "jibberish".

The application should inform the user of all necessary setup procedures and not allow the app to function unless these procedures have been followed. Which means every time the app is opened say: "You don't have a blackberry email setup on this phone. SG will not work properly until this is done. See www.blah.com for setup instructions.". Then another one that says: "You don't have a secondary email setup properly. SG will not fucntion properly until this email is setup. See www.blah.com for setup instructions.". If SG uses any sort of email notifications. It should send emails stating that the product is not properly setup. This is all Basic Application Programming Usability 101. Any application I've ever used on my phone or my laptop/desktop has told me how to set it up and also alerted me if it wasn't setup properly.

Ummm... I am far stretched to find any BB application that does what you think it should do. Fantasy and fact are two different things. The ONLY one that comes to mind is BerryBuzz, when it warns you to set up your profiles. There may be others that I can't think of right now. But I bet you can't name three, out of all the BB apps you have. I also still don't see the quote where I stated SG would work with ANY email addy.

SmrtGuard wants to charge for use (Monthly even LOL). Make an app people can use then. @$$holes

Thousands already use it just fine. Believe me, it's just you... I believe any developer has the right to charge for their hard work at any price point they choose. If you didn't want it, or didn't like how it worked why did you purchase it? Or you never tried the 30 day trial either? Most apps give you a 3 day trial, but what SG offered was not enough for you to do some homework. As for your last comment (If you are referring to me), it seems you are describing yourself, because only an @$$hole like yourself could come in here starting an uninformed thread like this. Reading is fundamental (see the mental part of the word?). Don't take it personal though. He He He!

I wanted to help you understand how it works, and I was sympathetic, but now I just want you to understand that you appear to be "simply pathetic", very "special", and should be on the yellow school bus. You didn't have to take it there. Go play with yourself instead with your empty "BB-less" hand.

[MADBRADNYC]

I have to agree with MadBrad with all of this. He has gone to great pains (do you work for SG?, LOL) to explain this all out very thoroughly....

So, I gotta say, as tough as this is, if you did not read the info supplied on the SG website when you set your account up, it's not their fault....

And Slant, that info was VERY CLEARLY displayed to me when I set my account up over a year ago, so not sure what you mean about haaving to go through any extraordinary measures to learn procedures and proper setup.

He He. No, I'm not an employee or affiliated with SG at all. I am just an informed consumer like you, trying to educated someone else who clearly does not have the capacity to follow directions, and doesn't want to even learn how. This thread is meaningless with those who do not even use the app, or those who have (had) it and refuse to learn how it works.

A thirty day free trial is still not enough for some.

[MADBRADNYC]

Moral of the story:

If you're going to install emergency software on your BB, test to make sure it works before you need it!

+1 ! x1000 !
Enuff said!

[EnergyPlus]

Well said, Rimesq! Really, how difficult is it to test things out? I honestly cannot remember exactly how I learned about setting up a BB email, but I do remember that I read it immediately when I visited the site, chose to ignore it, then went back a few days later and read it all again and decided to go ahead and set it up. THEN, I tested all the features out.

BTW, Mad, you did not mention to our challenged colleague here, that he CAN choose to use the FREE version of SG. Gee, then he'd have to complain about "free."

You know, we see an increasing number of gizmos these days, that do not come with instruction manuals. I know that most of my friends are like me, we HATE reading instruction manuals! I paid nearly $700 for Photoshop several years ago and it came with a gazillion page manual that to this day, four upgrades later, I've never opened. I guess that's the nature of the beast. But, when I'm working with something like SG, that serves as an emergency app, as Rimesq said, I read the instructions (all of the one or two pages that it required) and then tested. A good friend just bought Photoshop this week and he's been calling me twice a day to ask for help. We hate reading instructions! But I'd never blame Adobe for failing to tell me something important, even though my living depends on my understanding of Photoshop

[jjetson]

Huh?

I told you before I don't even use SG....never downloaded it. The whole idea behind it sounds useless to me. I back my phone up myself when I want to. And if it gets stolen/lost what? they get to call my numbers.

What I'm arguing is you putting the blame on this user saying it's their fault for not going out of their way to read FAQ's etc. 95% of users aren't tech savy and don't want to read a bunch of documentation.

And honestly when theres 2 things that need to be setup throw the user a bone SG without making them run around a Setup/Install guide or FAQ pages. Just outright tell them.

SG developer receives the worst programmer ever award.
SG itself receives most non-user friendly app ever award.

[jjetson]

Well said, Rimesq! Really, how difficult is it to test things out? I honestly cannot remember exactly how I learned about setting up a BB email, but I do remember that I read it immediately when I visited the site, chose to ignore it, then went back a few days later and read it all again and decided to go ahead and set it up. THEN, I tested all the features out.

BTW, Mad, you did not mention to our challenged colleague here, that he CAN choose to use the FREE version of SG. Gee, then he'd have to complain about "free."

You know, we see an increasing number of gizmos these days, that do not come with instruction manuals. I know that most of my friends are like me, we HATE reading instruction manuals! I paid nearly $700 for Photoshop several years ago and it came with a gazillion page manual that to this day, four upgrades later, I've never opened. I guess that's the nature of the beast. But, when I'm working with something like SG, that serves as an emergency app, as Rimesq said, I read the instructions (all of the one or two pages that it required) and then tested. A good friend just bought Photoshop this week and he's been calling me twice a day to ask for help. We hate reading instructions! But I'd never blame Adobe for failing to tell me something important, even though my living depends on my understanding of Photoshop

Are you kidding me?

Talk about over exaggerating. This analogy may be the stupidest I've ever heard. Photoshop is absolutely huge and can be setup tons of different ways, depending on the users preference. We're talking about SmrtGuard not informing a user they need to setup 2 email addresses for the app to function correctly. No need for a huge user manual or setup instructions. Just tell the damn user they need to set the 2 things up.

BTW If you had read this thread you would have not only known how easy a resolution would have been...you would have also known I don't use SG.

[MADBRADNYC]

I told you before I don't even use SG....never downloaded it.

Hey Slant... I just wanted to let you know that when I am wrong, I can readily admit it. When I saw your reply, I made the mistake of not actually reading the member name, and quoted the post as if it was from the OP. Because it was filled with the same old garbage, and could be readily applied to you anyway. So what....

TBH, I didn't think you would be back here again with that nonsense.

But on the contrary, I guess you are not man (woman) enough to admit when you are wrong. If you would have read the thread yourself as well, in a previous post, I already acknowledged that you don't have SG, and have no idea how SG works, so you should not even be a factor here. In addition since you have made the same error I have, you should go back and read where it has been stated several times... Upon set up SG clearly tells the user to use a BB native email addy. There is no need to go to a FAQ page. It is in your face already. But, again, you would not know diddly squat, because you have never even seen the interface. Correct?

As far as your programming ideas, why don't you take it to SG via feedback? Why do you want to keep coming in here about this? You don't like something...Tell them, not us!!! We are not programmers of the app, and don't care about your programming fixes. If you don't have the app, don't know about the app, why are you comlaining about it.

Please give your feedback to SG regarding their programming and staffing needs.

Enjoy.