HOW-TO: Make BlackBerry Internet Service Work With GMail (again)

[Ed. Note - A few people have pointed out that Google just released a Gmail client for mobiles, and BlackBerry is one of the supported devices. I just installed this morning, and yeah, it totally rocks. While it may actually be faster and easier to view and reply to messages via the app, it can't replace the satisfying chirp my BB gives when a message comes in. For that, the instructions below are still useful.] While I'm not sure what the official stance of RIM is, let alone other carriers, it became apparent through multiple rounds of calls with T-Mobile "Customer Care" that they are no longer required to Care when their Customer's Gmail stops being picked up by BlackBerry Internet Service. Phrases like "it might help if" and "it's about 50/50" and "we do not guarantee service" were mixed liberally with "it works on mine" and "I use it all the time." Armed with this knowledge, as well as a fierce determination honed by hours of hold music, hang-ups, and one threatened arrest, I found my own solution. The following procedure has been tested on my device, and on the device of one guy I found on BlackBerry Forums who was having the same problem. I'm planning on posting a link to this in a few places, so if you try it for yourself let me know the results. Step 1 Log in to My T-Mobile (or, well, your T-Mobile to be precise). Click the "Set Up BlackBerry Internet Email" and click it. From there you will be presented with a list of all your email addresses. You'll need to click that little trash-can icon next to each of them, or at least each that is not working. NOTE: You'll lose any filters you have set up, so you may want to make a note of them for later. Step 2 On your BlackBerry, go to Options->Advanced Options->Service Book. (I think the menu location is different for this on older models. Anyone know?) Delete the service books for all email accounts (you'll recognize them by your email address followed by [CMIME]). Yes, even the entries for the ones that are still working. On the Pearl, this is accomplished by highlighting the entry, pushing the menu button, and selecting delete. YMMV. Step 3 Meanwhile, Back On The Web: Log in to your Gmail account and click "Settings" in the upper right corner. Select the "Forwarding And POP" tab. In the "POP Download" section, select the radio button labeled "Disable POP" and then click Save Changes. There, you're done. You've now guaranteed that you will never receive Gmail on your BlackBerry. Oh wait... that's not where we were going, was it. *sigh* Step 4 Now we're on the comeback trail. Go back to your T-Mobile account (I hope you're using Firefox, or at least IE7's tabs) and click the "Service Books" link on the left. Click the little pink button to "Send Service Books" to your phone. This will ensure that any accounts you have no deleted get set up on the BlackBerry correctly, and seems to be an important step in this process. Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times says, "If you follow only one step this tutorial, Step 4 is the one to follow." Step 5 Back to Gmail again. I hope you're still in Settings->Forwarding and POP, as it is time to turn POP back on. Select the radio button that says "Enable POP only for mail that arrives from now on" and click Save Changes. It seems to be important that you select this option, rather than "all mail", even if you really really want your old mail on your device. Trust me, it's gone. It's just gone. Answer it from the Gmail app and move on with your life. Step 6 And hopefully the last one. On the T-Mobile site, go back to Email Accounts. Click "Setup Account" and enter your Gmail address (including the '@gmail.com') and password (twice). A quick click on the Next button and you should be done. For all their talk of not supporting Gmail, they obviously know the IP for the POP server (which they claim does not exist). You should get an activation message on your BlackBerry within a few minutes. If you do not, delete and resend your service books once again - for instructions see Step 2 and Step 3 above. That bit seemed necessary for me, but not for the other user who tried it, so again let me know if you follow these steps what happens for you. So there it is. As I said, let me know if you try this, what the results are, and if I missed or mis-stated. If you're having similar problems but do not use T-Mobile, I suspect that similar steps may work for you, but you'll obviously have to figure out your provider's interface yourself. I have no idea yet how often this process might have to be repeated. I've tried everything I could think of to re-break my Gmail POP access and have not yet had any luck, so I still can't guess what caused the problem initially or when it might recur. Any further data on this would be appreciated.

Midnight In The Garden Of Pumpkin And Squash

It's still nearly three hours until The Great Pumpkin should be arriving, but as always it's getting cold, and boring, and a little bit lonely here in the pumpkin patch. I've been having blog troubles recently, not so much with writing as with not writing. Well, and finishing... that's kind of a bitch too. I wish there was some way I could publish a post in beta. Of course, with no readers it doesn't much matter what I post, let alone whether I post. On the other hand, I kind of expect that sooner or later, I'll pick up a few regulars. I can't possibly be the only person who uses Google Reader to stalk my friends and idols... and if I am the only one, I'm about half-way through writing a primer on setting it up for yourself. I can't be expected to finish any of these things until at least this weekend, however, as I have to stop writing every 10 to 15 minutes so I can play with my new toy. The Pearl is pretty -- too damned pretty, according to this article by Jack Kapica in The Globe And Mail, which suggests that if I was a Real Man I'd buy a RAZR. And perhaps he's right, because I haven't shaved in days. Not to mention the fact that some very sexy, very rich little girls have been shot while holding lately. However, I think this picture of my k-rad case mod should prove that I'm at least a Real Nerd. It seems that my new toy is so much smaller than the old one that it slides right past the sensor. However, through painstaking moments of looking around on my desk, I discovered that the cap from a Sanford Uni-Gel Medium (seen here in stylish red Crimson Dash) is the perfect size to trigger the sensor. And they thought they could make me buy a new case? I feel all MacGyver, like I should send this in to the MAKE blog or something. Probably soon, before the Pearl slides out of this oversized case and I never see it again. I had written a review of Performancing v1.3, which is a Firefox extension designed to make blogging easier. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of using the software to review itself and once it became aware that my opinion was somewhat luke-warm it promptly deleted the post. Prior to hating it with a passion, however, I truly didn't think it was all bad. My problems are almost certainly because I'm using Blogger beta, and a dev build of Performancing that was designed to work with the beta but has not been fully tested. I'll probably check it out again once the Blogger changes stabilize.

The Emergency Blogcast System

This is only a test. Just got my new phone, a BlackBerry Pearl, and it's like learning to type all over again. I like the feel of the keys though. Still trying to decide whether I do better with two thumbs or two index fingers. I have at least eliminated the pinky-nose combination. I'm also trying to set up Blogger for posts from my phone. Not yet sure how successful that's likely to be but if you're reading this it must have worked acceptably. [EdNote: Not as well as I'd hoped, but at least the Message-To-Blog system seems to work. More on getting Blogger Mobile set up if and when I am successful.] Tomorrow I'll try to put up a few links to party pics from last night. Tonight I'm busy trying to fold my way through a HORSE tournament on Full Tilt poker. We're about to hit 60/120 7-stud and I have less than 9 BB's so I'll probably be in bed soon.

Sent wirelessly via BlackBerry.