[Bones Justice]

I've been "lurking" on this site for years, including the time I "nuked" my Pearl and T-Mobile told me it was dead (they were wrong, of course, I fixed it with the help of Crackberry). You guys always seemed to have the answer posted without my having to ask.

Until now. Or at least, I couldn't find it!

So I have a Pearl and someone offered me their 8900 (both are T-Mobile) after they upgraded. Same carrier, so I thought I could just switch SIM cards. After switching, I was able to make and receive calls, MyFaves works, and internet (BIS) works okay. I have not tried my e-mail yet. When I tried syncing to my PC (Windows XP), I cannot connect; it says "Device PIN: none".

I tried all of the fixes that I could find here and elsewhere online. I was using Desktop Manager 4.2 but I tried 4.7 and 5.0 also. I did complete uninstall and re-install with no success. I also tried uninstalling my USB drivers with no success. I know my USB is working because my Pearl will connect with no problems. I'm not using a USB hub or anything like that and I'm connecting directly to the USB on the back of the PC.

The 8900 didn't come with a data cable (previous user didn't know where or even what it was, never used it). At first, I bought a "Brand X" cable which showed something happening with the PC but not Desktop Manager and it wouldn't charge at all. I thought it might be a bad cable so I bought a cable from T-Mobile (Universal USB & Wall Charging System); this cable charges but even my PC does not recognize that anything is connected. The package for the T-Mobile cable mentions nothing about it being a data cable but the T-Mobile guy said that it's also a data cable.

I've seen comments in other threads about "provisioning" the phone on T-Mobile's website. I don't know what this means or where to find it on T-Mobile's website. I don't know if this would have anything to do with my syncing problem.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Laura Knotek]

You will need an OEM BlackBerry micro USB cable to be able to transfer data as well as charge your 8900. Once you have it, you can use Desktop Manager device transfer wizard to transfer your contacts from your old device.

[JRSCCivic98]

Your email won't work until you run EMail Setup and answer "yes" to "move" your BIS email accounts to the new Blackberry PIN on the 8900.

As for your PC connectivity issues, chances are good that the driver for the 8900 is not loaded properly. What version of DM are you using? The 8900 is a much newer device then your Pearl and if you're still using DM4.2 or lower, the driver for the 8900 won't be correct. Go to Unsupported Browser and get the latest DM for your 8900 model. Uninstall the old DM version off your PC (answering yes to delete all user config data) and then install the new DM version you downloaded off that site. Then plug in your 8900 and let the driver load. Once that happens, start DM and you should see it link up.

MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT UNINSTALL AND INSTALL DM WITH THE BB ATTACHED/PLUGGED INTO YOUR PC.

[Bones Justice]

You will need an OEM BlackBerry micro USB cable to be able to transfer data as well as charge your 8900. Once you have it, you can use Desktop Manager device transfer wizard to transfer your contacts from your old device.

I think I have that. At least, I have the "official" cable from T-Mobile. The cable for my Pearl doesn't even fit so I had to get a different one.

Your email won't work until you run EMail Setup and answer "yes" to "move" your BIS email accounts to the new Blackberry PIN on the 8900.

As for your PC connectivity issues, chances are good that the driver for the 8900 is not loaded properly. What version of DM are you using? The 8900 is a much newer device then your Pearl and if you're still using DM4.2 or lower, the driver for the 8900 won't be correct. Go to [see previous post for link] and get the latest DM for your 8900 model. Uninstall the old DM version off your PC (answering yes to delete all user config data) and then install the new DM version you downloaded off that site. Then plug in your 8900 and let the driver load. Once that happens, start DM and you should see it link up.

Thanks. I have upgraded to Desktop Manager 4.7 from T-Mobile's website then even tried the update to 5.0. Neither helped, though.

MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT UNINSTALL AND INSTALL DM WITH THE BB ATTACHED/PLUGGED INTO YOUR PC.

Okay, I haven't done that. But I'm curious now, what would happen if I did? Is it possible that the original owner did something like this and that's why I'm having the problem now?

[Bones Justice]

So I tried the "clean uninstall" instructions that I found on the na.blackberry website. Then I installed Desktop Manager 4.7 that is listed as the latest versison for the 8900 on T-Mobile's website. Unfortunately, I still was unable to make a connection.

I am starting to think that this cannot be a software issue unless there is some setting I'm missing on the 8900 itself. I mean, with the cable I got from T-Mobile (USB & Wall Charging System), the 8900 charges from the PC's USB port but the PC acts as if there is nothing connected at all. Shouldn't the USB report something connected even if the software is wrong? In other words, connected with errors? Is it possible that this cable is nothing more than for charging and not a data cable at all?

Or could there be something wrong with the 8900? I can't see anything physically wrong with the 8900's port and it charges just fine. I've tried all of the Memory settings in the options with no luck, either.

I just don't think there is anything physically wrong with my PC's USB port. My 8100 connects with no problems, as does every other USB device that I own. I even tried unplugging all of my other USB devices to see if any were interfering but that didn't work either.

I guess my next step is to try a different brand cable. Unfortunately, I haven't found any retailers that sell them locally.

Again, any advice is appreciated.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Jiggavel]

welcome to crackberry

[Laura Knotek]

So I tried the "clean uninstall" instructions that I found on the na.blackberry website. Then I installed Desktop Manager 4.7 that is listed as the latest versison for the 8900 on T-Mobile's website. Unfortunately, I still was unable to make a connection.

I am starting to think that this cannot be a software issue unless there is some setting I'm missing on the 8900 itself. I mean, with the cable I got from T-Mobile (USB & Wall Charging System), the 8900 charges from the PC's USB port but the PC acts as if there is nothing connected at all. Shouldn't the USB report something connected even if the software is wrong? In other words, connected with errors? Is it possible that this cable is nothing more than for charging and not a data cable at all?

Or could there be something wrong with the 8900? I can't see anything physically wrong with the 8900's port and it charges just fine. I've tried all of the Memory settings in the options with no luck, either.

I just don't think there is anything physically wrong with my PC's USB port. My 8100 connects with no problems, as does every other USB device that I own. I even tried unplugging all of my other USB devices to see if any were interfering but that didn't work either.

I guess my next step is to try a different brand cable. Unfortunately, I haven't found any retailers that sell them locally.

Again, any advice is appreciated.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

They sell the cables in the CrackBerry store.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

[Laura Knotek]

I recommend an OEM cable from RIM, not any other brand.

Posted from my BlackBerry using BerryBlab

[Bones Justice]

Solved my problem. I had both a software and hardware problem. I got a hold of USB cable for a Verizon LG phone that connected immediately; my PC automatically downloaded new drivers after that. I had no luck with the Roxio Media Manager but Desktop Manager 4.2 worked fine. I've since upgraded to DM 4.7 again without Roxio, which works well.

I am getting a refund for the USB that T-Mobile sold me. T-Mobile's USB & Wall Charging system is NOT a data cable, despite what the T-Mobile salesman told me. I'm sure an OEM cable would have been the best choice, as some of you advised, but the T-Mobile store did not have any.

Thanks again to everyone for their advice!

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com