[Bye Berry]

At work we use our own cell phones. Recently I upgraded from a Tour to a Torch. During the holidays my Torch worked flawlessly. Last week I had the company IT department add my corporate email account to my Torch. Now I have all sorts of problems.

When the IT tech instructed me how to add the account over the phone. He had me wipe the phone, which I thought was odd however I figured an IT guy should know what he is doing. So after backing up my device I wiped the phone. Then went through his instructions to add my corporate email.

Now I have my corporate email. However I lost my other email accounts. I also lost all my passwords in Password Keeper. My contacts, calendar, tasks, and notes where all ok since I sync them with outlook.

No problem I thought. I went to add my other email accounts. It asked for my BlackBerry password. That's when I realized all my passwords were gone. Again, I wasn't worried. I thought I would just go and restore a backup I did a few days before. Desktop manager would not allow me to restore anything. I removed desktop manager and then downloaded it again. Same problem. Now I was starting to get worried.

Shortly after this, I tried to download some new apps. An error would come up saying that there was no connection to Blackberry App World. Then today when I was surfing the web. I got a message saying that the site had been blocked by the network administrator (same message I get on my work computer for blocked sites). So I'm suspicious that the IT guy put some sort of security block on my Torch that isn't allowing me to restore, download, or surf the web freely

. The IT guy asked if my Torch as a personal or company phone before we got started adding my corporate email. I told him it was mine. However, I'm thinking he didn't hear me or didn't know the proper way to add the corporate email to my phone.

Is there anyway to undo what has been done to my Torch so I can have things back to the way they were before? I would ask the IT department. However they are quite busy and I don't really trust them anymore.

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[T�nis]

Sounds like they put your device on their BlackBerry Enterprise Server, and now it's subject to their IT policy. Probably just a mistake ... Tell the IT department you want to go back on your own BlackBerry Internet Service.

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[sleepngbear]

I'm not going to be much help here, but this is exactly why I sh!tcanned BES two phones ago. I just couldn't accept the fact that I was locked out of half the features in my phone (MY phone, not theirs) just to get access to my company calendar and email. The ultimate irony here is that that access is why I got a BB in the first place. Now I stick with it because I just like the phones, and screw BES.

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[jeffh]

... The IT guy asked if my Torch as a personal or company phone before we got started adding my corporate email. I told him it was mine. However, I'm thinking he didn't hear me or didn't know the proper way to add the corporate email to my phone.

Is there anyway to undo what has been done to my Torch so I can have things back to the way they were before? I would ask the IT department. However they are quite busy and I don't really trust them anymore.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

If you don't want corporate email, you can delete the IT policy using this procedure created by Forums Moderator Pete6: Removing an IT Policy from a BlackBerry phone. The procedure will give you back complete control of your phone. It won't restore anything that was deleted, but if you have a backup, you can now restore it. Once you've done this procedure, you MUST NOT reconnect your phone to the corporate servers again. If you do, the IT policy will be pushed back again and you could get in serious trouble for violating security.

[Nophix]

They locked you to their BES. It also sounds like the BES is half-arsed set up or they have some nazi policies.

And don't always assume the IT guy knows what he's doing. I've met some dandies during my time in IT, and some of them were upper management.

[mark-d]

The best bet I'd say is talk to the IT department and tell them you're not happy with your personal device being restricted the way they have.

Follow the procedure above for removing an IT policy, restore your backup and add back your personal accounts.

Ask the IT department for your OWA details for your corporate mail and add it to your device via your BIS. It won't be as fast a push as it would have been on BES and you won't get the calendar sync either but you'd have your mail and full control of your phone too.

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[Tiassa]

I'm not going to be much help here, but this is exactly why I sh!tcanned BES two phones ago. I just couldn't accept the fact that I was locked out of half the features in my phone (MY phone, not theirs) just to get access to my company calendar and email. The ultimate irony here is that that access is why I got a BB in the first place. Now I stick with it because I just like the phones, and screw BES.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Sorry, blaming RIM for this is like blaming Henry Ford because Bonnie and Clyde drove a Model T. If the BES admin doesn't know how to use the tool and screws up your phone that isn't RIM's problem.

[Kellina]

It may have been an honest mistake, like OP said, maybe IT guy mistakenly thinks the phone is a company phone.

In my experiemces companies have "nazi policies" from experiences with unscrupulous employees.

I agree with calling IT, give them a chance to fix it, and if that doesn't work you definitely have the resources here you will need to fix it yourself.

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[sleepngbear]

Sorry, blaming RIM for this is like blaming Henry Ford because Bonnie and Clyde drove a Model T. If the BES admin doesn't know how to use the tool and screws up your phone that isn't RIM's problem.

Not blaming RIM at all ... I know it's totally the doing of the tech access nazi's. (Being that I was part of a bank, it's more like the access gestapo.) And I can appreciate the need for such security capabilities; I just don't want them all on my personal phone. Now I'm on a regular data plan, and I'm very happy.

[oldtimeBBaddict]

Not blaming RIM at all ... I know it's totally the doing of the tech access nazi's. (Being that I was part of a bank, it's more like the access gestapo.) And I can appreciate the need for such security capabilities; I just don't want them all on my personal phone. Now I'm on a regular data plan, and I'm very happy.

I can understand why companies would want to be very careful about their information being stored or accessed by a personal phone. This brings up a question for me:
Would it be feasable or even possible to have both BES with the IT policies intact AND BIS with the freedom of usage installed ao accessible on the same phone? Just wondering.

[sleepngbear]

I can understand why companies would want to be very careful about their information being stored or accessed by a personal phone. This brings up a question for me:
Would it be feasable or even possible to have both BES with the IT policies intact AND BIS with the freedom of usage installed ao accessible on the same phone? Just wondering.

Oh, I can understand it, too; it's just more of a p.i.a. than I want or need to deal with. I believe that a solution has been announced (or just rumored?) for Android -- a dual-boot option that will allow for a business and a personal 'mode' on a one device. I think I might have read somewhere that RIM was considering something similar, too. It really makes sense when you see how much the lines are blurring between enterprise and consumer markets.

The irony for me here is that I originally got a BB because it was the only smart phone that I could use that could access my company calendar and email. I didn't need it as part of my job (I am nowhere near important enough to have to be connected 24x7), but it was handy mostly to be able to view my work calendar whenever I was home without laptop. Then I realized what an absolute nuisance it was, particularly the strong password requirements they implemented. Now I have no company access (and I'm glad), but I'm on my second BB without it anyway, because I just plain like the phones.

[oldtimeBBaddict]

@18to12fifty- Thank you for the info. I'll look around and see if I can dig up any info on that.

[jeffh]

...
Would it be feasable or even possible to have both BES with the IT policies intact AND BIS with the freedom of usage installed ao accessible on the same phone? Just wondering.

A BES phone can have whatever access the IT Policy grants it. My IT policy is very lenient and only enforces a password and encryption. It doesn't block any functions of the phone at all. I can even install apps and upgrade my OS. I have heard of IT policies that disabled Bluetooth, disabled the Media Card, and in one extreme case would only allow outgoing calls to numbers in the Contact list, and of course the Contact list was read-only. It all depends on the employer. My employer doesn't allow OWA as a BES-workaround.

[oldtimeBBaddict]

A BES phone can have whatever access the IT Policy grants it. My IT policy is very lenient and only enforces a password and encryption. It doesn't block any functions of the phone at all. I can even install apps and upgrade my OS. I have heard of IT policies that disabled Bluetooth, disabled the Media Card, and in one extreme case would only allow outgoing calls to numbers in the Contact list, and of course the Contact list was read-only. It all depends on the employer. My employer doesn't allow OWA as a BES-workaround.

Thank you for the response JeffH. What I was specifically asking was whther or not BES (with as many IT policies as the company wants) could coexist with BIS on a single BB, sort of a dual mode. The idea would be that the user could boot up one or the other. This would allow the business to protect their info while using BES and freedom for the user while using BIS. Have you heard about this as a possibility?

[jeffh]

I haven't heard anything about a dual mode capability. It seems unlikely to me, but I'm a BES-user, not an administrator, so I don't necessarily know what might be available. A simpler, safer solution for you and your company is just to buy your own phone and never connect it to your work accounts. With BES, you have to be concerned not only with what the IT policy allows or disallows, but also with the records the company has the ability to keep. You have no expectation of privacy for anything other than a voice phone call on a BES device. For example:

Can a BES administrator read my PIN and/or SMS messages and see my phone call logs?
Yes, if the BES is version 4.1 or newer and the device is o/s code 4.1 or later.

• Starting with BES 4.1, the BES admin can log all PIN and SMS messages to the BES server, including the content of those messages.
• BlackBerry Messenger messages and conversations can also be audited by the BES administrator.
• In addition, the administrator can view all phone calls made/received to the device including date/time, number dialed, and the name of the person you are calling or who called you if that name is listed in your contact list.

Source: BES Users FAQ - BlackBerryFAQ

See also this link, originally posted by Joolie, a super moderator at the BES forum port3101.org: What does BES see? What can be tracked?

[CanuckBB]

BES can push a policy restricting BIS emails.

It all depends on the access policies set up by the company.

[rant]
I, for one, am geting sick and tired of people complaining of 'nazi admins' and such. Grow the h**l up. Those policies are there to protect the company's data. And admins don't set them. I have input as to what is possible, but at the end of the day, I implement what the company as a whole decides is required to keep their network and data safe.
[/rant]

[sleepngbear]

BES can push a policy restricting BIS emails.

It all depends on the access policies set up by the company.

[rant]
I, for one, am geting sick and tired of people complaining of 'nazi admins' and such. Grow the h**l up. Those policies are there to protect the company's data. And admins don't set them. I have input as to what is possible, but at the end of the day, I implement what the company as a whole decides is required to keep their network and data safe.
[/rant]

Yo, easy, champ. It was a joke and wasn't meant as a personal attack; and I said I do understand the need for such security measures. I just found it an unnecessary intrusion on my personal phone.

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[qbnkelt]

It's not a good policy to have BES on your personal device. Aside that they can view every action you perform on your device with the possible exclusion of BBM, BES can really harm your ability to use the device as you want.
I'm sorry this happened. Your IT person should have informed you. However, not everyone has the same retrictions.

[oldtimeBBaddict]

I haven't heard anything about a dual mode capability. It seems unlikely to me, but I'm a BES-user, not an administrator, so I don't necessarily know what might be available. A simpler, safer solution for you and your company is just to buy your own phone and never connect it to your work accounts. With BES, you have to be concerned not only with what the IT policy allows or disallows, but also with the records the company has the ability to keep. You have no expectation of privacy for anything other than a voice phone call on a BES device.

Thank you again for your response. I was actually asking from a user perspective and more as a hypothetical. I think it is really not a good idea to use BES on a personal phone. That's why I was curious about the dual mode feasability. Company data is protected using BES, user (and phone owner) has ability to use phone the way they want to.

[T�nis]

Then I realized what an absolute nuisance it was, particularly the strong password requirements they implemented ...

Just curious ... How strong were the passwords? Were they changed often?

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