[nkuza]

Greetings, how do i block pop ups? Thanks in advance.

[RWWackostu]

It's killing me knowing (but not telling Mrs Wacko that I know) that my new but yet to be opened PB is sitting right there, under the tree, just waiting for me......

Already looking at cases/screen protectors to purchase Dec 26th and apps to get out of the box (After software update of course).

[Bob31464]

Thanks blackjack for getting this thread up and for all your tips.Thanks to everyone for your input and tips, I was already enjoying my Playbook but now I am really able to enjoy it because of your help. Thanks!

[Hgouck]

It is fun learning new ways to enjoy your PB.

[CanadianThomas]

I think this is worth it for mac users, I have it in another thread but it so makes the PlayBook better in a Mac users home I must share it here.

Stream your media from your Mac on your LAN, or WAN if you so wish.

I have this working great on my PlayBook and My Torch 9810 running newest OS 7.0 xxx whatever. lol. The few video files I have tried that didn't work from my iTunes library I think had AC3 audio. But most play. I do not know if this will work with DRM files.

Us Mac users have a little service in System Preferences under Sharing called Web Sharing, go ahead turn it on now and leave system prefs open when done.

Now, in Finder, navigate to your home folder Music folder, right click (or Command -i) and select get info, under Sharing and Permissions, change everyone from no access to read only. [Now as long as you don't have your router configured in any fancy way to enable sharing to the outside world your ok security wise but if you do be informed you are opening ports to your computer to the entire internet, look into what ports are what to make sure you are the only one using this service.]

Normally if you wanted to create a link in Mac OS X, you would use the Finder’s “Make Alias” function. Unfortunately, Web Sharing and Aliases don’t play nice together. Because Mac OS X’s Web Sharing uses the open-source Apache web server, we need to treat it like a Unix program. And Unix programs prefer what’s called “symbolic links” (or “symlinks”) instead of aliases. This involves a quick trip to the terminal, but I promise it won’t be too scary.

Open your Terminal (in Applications->Utilities->Terminal) and type/paste the following command, if it tells you permission denied, type sudo then type/paste the command in.

for your Music folder:
ln -s ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Media/Music/ /Library/WebServer/Documents/music

for your Movies folder:
ln -s ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Music/Movies/ /Library/WebServer/Documents/movies

for your TV Shows folder:
ln -s ~/Music/iTunes/iTunes\ Media/TV\ Shows/ /Library/WebServer/Documents/TV\ Shows

If you need to include another folder this should give you what you need, the important thing is the deal with filenames that have spaces. TV shows = TV\ Shows. as shown above. I didn't get it to work on external volumes yet, but I will.

Now. Go back to system Preferences, and in the Sharing/Web Sharing Pane you will see a link to click and see your computers shared web site. Click it........

WTF. Nothing. Its OK. Now go up into the address bar and add the folder you want. IE: http://10.0.1.2/Music or http://192.168.0.1/Movies You get the idea? Good. I thought you could.

So thats about it. I'll check in from time to time and see if anyone is lost.

Be Cool.

[lethaldose]

If you bought this as a gift or something to resell or hold unopened for a while - it is important to check operation, and things like dead/stuck pixels, an excessively bulging back, other physical defects, plus the inventory in stores is low and it may be difficult to obtain a replacement soon.

Other things to check for is the rubber seal around the edge (rarely) may not be recessed properly, dust trapped under the camera lenses ...

If it seems faulty or dead, it probably isn't.

When batteries lie dead for a while the playbook does funny stuff. That's why its best to keep it charged somewhat,. I don't let mine get below 50% but just as a safety measure. To make it worse the early operating system would not charge if the unit was turned off, so chances are the battery is drained. When you take it out of the box it may seem dead - but likely the battery is - this is tricky because if the OS is not upgraded from an earlier version, it will not charge unless the OS is booted, but will not boot unless charged - catch-22.

The solution I believe is to plug in the charger (be sure its the one that came wit the unit) then do the three button reset - hold the + and - volume buttons and the power button - all three at once for over ten seconds - then release. Then just let it charge before doing anything.

You may see a green LED pulsing on and off then goes steady green, or you may just see the red LED flash once - be patient.

Re: Not Being Able To Charge Playbook Or Upgrade OS After First Starting It Up + Solution

So, as you may expect, I too have had some issues regarding charging a Playbook. Out of the box the PB had a 0%/"critically low" battery charge. The unit would stay on with the supplied charger, but it would not charge. When shut off with the power button it would turn off and then the red LED would stay on for about 30 seconds and then there would be no the indication of charging while it was plugged in. The same was to be in Stand-by mode and any other mode. When it was on, there was no indication of charging and it wouldn't charge when left for hours.

I came to the conclusion, through this forum, that the OS needed to be updated. However, one can't get through the initial PB set up to update it without at least a 20% charge and one can't charge it without an update. An asinine catch 22, as mentioned above.


Solution:

In my case, I found that I was able to get through part of the setup without any battery charge. However, there is a point where it does stop and tell you that the set up and OS upgrade (loose paraphrase) can't take place without at least a 20% battery charge. However, at this point of the setup process, I found that the PB was indeed charging with the supplied charger. There was a battery symbol (red and empty, at this point) in the middle of the screen and it would have a lightning bolt through it while it was charging. However, this was deceiving for a while because it remained at 0% for at least an hour, which was worrisome, but after an hour it went to 1% and then over the next 30 min, it went up to 8%.

After it reached over 20%, it automatically downloaded and upgraded to the latest OS version (via WIFI, which you MUST connect to to make it through the setup process prior to this) and then it automatically restarted when the OS download/upgrade was complete. After the restart, it continued to charge all the way to 100% and was fully functional during this time.

The process was far from intuitive, but keep at it and you will get there.

[Innovatology]

Here's a quick tip for all the newbies who found a PlayBook in their stocking or under the christmas tree...

Besides this general PlayBook forum there are four other forums on CrackBerry.com dedicated to some specific PlayBook topics:

• Apps and Games discusses 3rd-party apps and games that you can download from App World;
  
• Tablet OS is all about the operating system - the basic software that starts and runs your device. Go here for help with setup, to find out about features, to discuss versions, to solve issues;
  
• Android App Sideloading is for advanced users who have installed the PlayBook 2.0 developer beta (=test version) of the operating system and want to load Android apps onto it;
  
• PlayBook rooting is for advanced users who want to try to bypass the security of the PlayBook.

Be sure to browse the Newbie tips and tricks thread. Also, many newbie questions have been asked and answered before in the forums - a quick search will often find you a good answer. Use this search form for PlayBook-specific answers, or the "Search this forum" link underneath the page numbers. Can't find an answer? Don't hesitate to ask a question, but it's best to do so in the most relevant forum.

Besides these forums at CrackBerry there are also the general, app and accessory forums at blackberry.com. Trouble with App World? Try the App World forum.

Enjoy your new PlayBook and all your new friends here. Merry Christmas!

[Hgouck]

By turning your screen display down as low as usable (swipe down from right top edge and tap the battery) it will help with battery life. Also when you are not using your PB, I tap the option icon (looks like a gear) and turn on airplane mode which turns off all connections will extend battery life as well. One last thing instead of closing your PB and letting it time out tap the battry icon and tap stand-by will also help with battery life. Next time you open your PB again the airplane icon will be at the top right corner. Tap it and turn it off and with in 10 seconds you will be connected again.

[t.schwartz]

great work ... tks a lot

[AlKa]

I transfered my music, pics and vids from my BB to my PlayBook using the bridge connection. Here is how to copy music files:

I bought a program called Files & Folders (F&F). I'm sure there other options but, this app is worth the low price to me for Dropbox alone.

Connect the bridge by running any of the bridge apps. This is needed because, for me, F&F does not establish the bridge connection. It will use it but not make the initial connection.

In F&F swipe down to open the options, select Bridge. Your music is probably on your SDCard so tap that. It should be under Blackberry, tap that. Now tap Music and you should see all your music files.

Now that you navigated to where your music files are, in F&F tap the stacked checks in the upper right corner to enter multi-select mode. For me F&F has a little bug when you want to select all files when using the clipboard. To get around that bug, select 1 file by placing a check to the right of the name. Then uncheck it and tap the select all option in the left pain. With all your music selected, tap copy to clipboard. See the attachment.

With all files on the clipboard, swipe down to open options and tap PlayBook to switch from your BB back to the PB. Navigate to playbook:/accounts/1000/shared/music. Tap paste from clipboard and relax while your music is copied from your BB to your PB.

Try to keep your devices near each other and don't mess with them as the transfer occurs. Bluetooth is a little finicky so just let it be.

Excellent tip! Before I buy F&F, is there another way to copy files from Phone SD Card to PB?

[BlazorBoy]

I guess one can make a copy of your SD card on your PC and use DM to copy them to the PB. I am thinking of doing that.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[CnukRN99]

If you are with AT&T you will have to do some workarounds to make the phone bridge work - because they block it in app world (isnt that nice - no other carrier does this)

I had no problem getting the bridge to work with AT&T. Don't know if this means that problem has been fixed or not, but no problem here.

[drum]

Tetris on the Playbook = Awesome!

How do you exit this game?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[drum]

I transfered my music, pics and vids from my BB to my PlayBook using the bridge connection. Here is how to copy music files:

I bought a program called Files & Folders (F&F). I'm sure there other options but, this app is worth the low price to me for Dropbox alone.

Connect the bridge by running any of the bridge apps. This is needed because, for me, F&F does not establish the bridge connection. It will use it but not make the initial connection.

In F&F swipe down to open the options, select Bridge. Your music is probably on your SDCard so tap that. It should be under Blackberry, tap that. Now tap Music and you should see all your music files.

Now that you navigated to where your music files are, in F&F tap the stacked checks in the upper right corner to enter multi-select mode. For me F&F has a little bug when you want to select all files when using the clipboard. To get around that bug, select 1 file by placing a check to the right of the name. Then uncheck it and tap the select all option in the left pain. With all your music selected, tap copy to clipboard. See the attachment.

With all files on the clipboard, swipe down to open options and tap PlayBook to switch from your BB back to the PB. Navigate to playbook:/accounts/1000/shared/music. Tap paste from clipboard and relax while your music is copied from your BB to your PB.

Try to keep your devices near each other and don't mess with them as the transfer occurs. Bluetooth is a little finicky so just let it be.

Brilliant spent a bit time trying to work out how to do transfers then found your post followed your instructions and it worked a treat! Thanks very much

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[jafobabe]

If you have tried to fix any problems or continue to have a problem with the PB holding a charge, or it shuts off by itself while using, call for Support..

The PB has a one year warranty,and only a 90 day free Tech support.

Rim Support
Tel:
Canada Toll Free: 1-877-644-8405
United States Toll Free: 1-877-644-8410
Puerto Rico Toll Free: 1-855-651-4936
UK: 0-800-096-2805
Twitter: @BlackberryHelp
Email: [email protected]

[BlueRocks]

How do you exit this game?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

You don't exit the game as much as you close the application. That is to say...

When in the game, swipe up from the bottom bezel to go to the main PB menu screen (with the game now minimized). Close the Tetris game by either selecting the (x) to close or by swiping the game/app up and off the screen.

Not obvious, but hey, it works.

[drum]

You don't exit the game as much as you close the application. That is to say...

When in the game, swipe up from the bottom bezel to go to the main PB menu screen (with the game now minimized). Close the Tetris game by either selecting the (x) to close or by swiping the game/app up and off the screen.

Not obvious, but hey, it works.

Thank you thought I'd tried that but obviously not! Thanks again

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[amro]

text messages are transmitted over the cellular phone system, unlike emails and internet access which go over the cellular data system. The bridge cannot pick up phone calls or text messages, just the data services. Until they release a PB with 3g/4g, I don't think you'll be able to get text messages on the PlayBook.

ah, but since you can integrate text messages (and mms, and just about any other message) into the phone's messaging app, in theory a text should be able to appear over bridge onto the playbook. same with all alerts. if they appear on the phone, they should be able to appear on the tablet.

[jafobabe]

If you get stuck and your OS does not finish the update, and you have ruled out any wifi issues..
THIS WILL TAKE IT BACK TO FACTORY SETTINGS - and you will lose all your data.

The Security Wipe will only wipe your personal data, like BBID and wifi settings.

Try the Debrick method....

1) Turn your playbook off by holding down the power button
2) Let your playbook sit for about 10 minutes as earlier suggested.
3) After letting the PB sit (and still powered off) open up the Blackberry Desktop Software (the latest version)
4) Once the Blackberry Desktop Software is opened, use the USB Cable and hook the PB to the PC.. THEN power on the Playbook
5) A screen will show on your computer showing that the device cannot be found
6) Click on Update. It will take around 20 min.

For Auditing: If OP can find a better solution, please modify for me. Thanks!

[JeepBB]

By popular demand... OK, Jafobabe asked me and it would be churlish to refuse a lady, here's some hopefully helpful words about Bridging and Tethering on your Playbook.

Tethering and Bridging are different.

A tethered connection uses your phone (BB or any other) as a tethered modem and the connection can be detected by your network provider and may be charged for in addition to your existing BB Data Plan. The UK networks don't seem to charge for tethering though I believe some NA ones do.

A bridged connection also uses your BB phone (only a BB phone will do bridging) to connect, but does it in a clever way so that the network only sees the BB phone, and not the Playbook sitting behind it. As the network cannot tell that the browsing isn't happening on your BB phone, and because this connection goes through your pre-paid BB Data Plan, you won't be charged any extra by your network to use the internet via the bridge.

Though, as some have commented, if you decide to use a bridged playbook over an international roaming network, it certainly won't be free regardless of the fact of going through the BB Data Plan! Unless you have a very expensive international plan in place, you'd be charged the same additional roaming costs as you would if you used your BB phone in the same circumstances.

For ATT users, the network goes so far as to provide a special (aka crippled) version of Bridge via AppWorld that forces you to tether - so that they can charge you for the BB data plan and a tethering plan. There is a simple solution to this, download the version of Bridge that RIM provide to all the other networks from: RROYY - APPLICATIONS

AFAIK the browser connection is "intelligent". In the absence of WiFi, the "normal" browser on the Playbook will automatically use the bridged connection (though your BB Data Plan). So I always use the "normal" browser, never the bridge browser, and let the connection selection magic just happen.

Browsing and general internet usage using the other apps (facebook, weather, etc) is probably safely within the allowances of any data plan but don't do what I did.

I tried streaming radio on my Playbook over the Bridge... and after a (very) few short hours, I'd used 90% of the pathetic 0.5GB monthly data allowance that VodafoneUK gives as the default.

So don't stream video or radio over the Bridge unless you have one of those rare unlimited data plans. LOL

Several (most?) internet-enabled Apps on the playbook will use the Bridge connection in the absence of WiFi. It's a feature that came in unannounced in one of the 1.07 updates. Previously, any App that used the internet would give a "network not found" error when no WiFi was present... now it simply connects over the Bridged phone.

Ironically, one of the very few Apps that won't connect over Bridge is AppWorld!

There seems to be a hierarchy of connections: WiFi > Bridge > no connection. I suspect Tether replaces Bridge in that hierarchy if you've connected it. Bridge connections are "free" (strictly pre-paid under BB Dataplan), tethered connections may not be (network policy decides). There were some posts suggesting tethering was slightly faster than bridging (or maybe the other way round LOL) - either way, I doubt the speed difference is significant or noticable to a user.

HTH

These links may help too.

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...estion-657736/

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...0/#post6740990

Enjoy!

[DoctorNeutron]

Very Helpful, BJ !!

[Bob31464]

By popular demand... OK, Jafobabe asked me and it would be churlish to refuse a lady, here's some hopefully helpful words about Bridging and Tethering on your Playbook.

Tethering and Bridging are different.

A tethered connection uses your phone (BB or any other) as a tethered modem and the connection can be detected by your network provider and may be charged for in addition to your existing BB Data Plan. The UK networks don't seem to charge for tethering though I believe some NA ones do.

A bridged connection also uses your BB phone (only a BB phone will do bridging) to connect, but does it in a clever way so that the network only sees the BB phone, and not the Playbook sitting behind it. As the network cannot tell that the browsing isn't happening on your BB phone, and because this connection goes through your pre-paid BB Data Plan, you won't be charged any extra by your network to use the internet via the bridge.

Though, as some have commented, if you decide to use a bridged playbook over an international roaming network, it certainly won't be free regardless of the fact of going through the BB Data Plan! Unless you have a very expensive international plan in place, you'd be charged the same additional roaming costs as you would if you used your BB phone in the same circumstances.

For ATT users, the network goes so far as to provide a special (aka crippled) version of Bridge via AppWorld that forces you to tether - so that they can charge you for the BB data plan and a tethering plan. There is a simple solution to this, download the version of Bridge that RIM provide to all the other networks from: RROYY - APPLICATIONS

AFAIK the browser connection is "intelligent". In the absence of WiFi, the "normal" browser on the Playbook will automatically use the bridged connection (though your BB Data Plan). So I always use the "normal" browser, never the bridge browser, and let the connection selection magic just happen.

Browsing and general internet usage using the other apps (facebook, weather, etc) is probably safely within the allowances of any data plan but don't do what I did.

I tried streaming radio on my Playbook over the Bridge... and after a (very) few short hours, I'd used 90% of the pathetic 0.5GB monthly data allowance that VodafoneUK gives as the default.

So don't stream video or radio over the Bridge unless you have one of those rare unlimited data plans. LOL

Several (most?) internet-enabled Apps on the playbook will use the Bridge connection in the absence of WiFi. It's a feature that came in unannounced in one of the 1.07 updates. Previously, any App that used the internet would give a "network not found" error when no WiFi was present... now it simply connects over the Bridged phone.

Ironically, one of the very few Apps that won't connect over Bridge is AppWorld!

There seems to be a hierarchy of connections: WiFi > Bridge > no connection. I suspect Tether replaces Bridge in that hierarchy if you've connected it. Bridge connections are "free" (strictly pre-paid under BB Dataplan), tethered connections may not be (network policy decides). There were some posts suggesting tethering was slightly faster than bridging (or maybe the other way round LOL) - either way, I doubt the speed difference is significant or noticable to a user.

HTH

These links may help too.

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...estion-657736/

http://forums.crackberry.com/blackbe...0/#post6740990

Enjoy!

Thanks for the info. Will this download simply overwrite the Bridge app already on my Torch? Will I then have to go through the setup process again? Sorry for the simple questions, but I'm not very techie.

Edit: I just downloaded the Bridge from rroyy and it was super easy. A big thanks to Jafobabe for all your help.

[pallav_gupta]

its one of the best thread on the site.

i learned things about my new playbook in an hour that would have taken me a month maybe.

[rossyl]

Hi

Many thanks for this great thread but I would appreciate a bit more guidance in relation to rooting, android apps, sideloading, web apps and a movie store app!

- Can you install an Android App converted to a BAR file on a NON-rooted Playbook?

- Is there a guide for installing Android Apps?

- How do converted Android Apps run? Do they launch as if native?

- Is there a guide to rooting, with why you would do it, how stable is it, are Blackberry able to block roots over the air?

- Can a Android App download directly? I.e. if I manage to install Amazon Mp3 App will it download mp3s direct to the Playbook?

- What are "web apps" is this just using a website?

- Is a movie store app available, either Android or Blackberry, so that I can download or stream movies/TV shows, like Amazon Instant Video? (I'm aware that blackberry are meant to launch one)

Thanks so much
R

[indradevil]

hi
I am from India and have just bought a playbook 32 Gb device. Loving it however I am concerned that while lying flat the device is not flat and keeps rotating . I can discern a bump centered around the blackberry logo. Is this normal?