Perishable Press

1 • June 13, 2007 at 9:42 pm — Rich Gates says:

I wish this worked. I’ve been trying to get this to work for a few days and what happens is that it tends to work for about a minute and then it starts to time out. Then I have pull the battery out of the phone to get it to connect again.

At first I thought it was a blacklisting problem due to not having a tethered plan but I added tethering and tested it again and it still fails. :( I have full signal too. That is what is odd.

2 • June 18, 2007 at 8:47 am — Benson says:

thanks for posting up such a thorough tutorial. worked for me!

4 • June 19, 2007 at 7:31 pm — Benson says:

been stumbling more around the ‘net for more on this. on at&t it seems to have mixed success. the process is correct, but it seems that whatever is going on server side is making maintaining the connection difficult.

basically what the previous poster suggested seems to be the norm, not the exception. :(

6 • June 20, 2007 at 7:50 pm — Marquezgab says:

I have the same problem as Rich Gates: I can connect a first time and then I have to pull out the battery to get it to work again.

7 • July 3, 2007 at 12:39 pm — MGK says:

I am having the same prob sustaining a connection. Is this issue specific to the 8300 and AT&T? Do Pearl users have the same prob? Could it be a modem config file issue? Is it related to the need for tethering on your plan?

Sure would be nice to figure this out.

8 • July 17, 2007 at 6:08 pm — JEFF says:

It’s working for me…so far.

It’s been running for 5 minutes. Hope this post doesn’t jinx it! (right as I finished writing this it shut off!) :(

But it’s up and running again…

9 • July 18, 2007 at 5:04 am — maher says:

Any idea what the settings are for a Verizon account\? I see Cingular/ATT and T-Mobile, but not Verizon. Can you help here?

11 • July 25, 2007 at 6:27 am — Gautam says:

Can anyone help on how the blackberry curve can be used as a bluetooth modem for a WINDOWS pc?

12 • July 26, 2007 at 10:57 am — Squished says:

My AT&T rep is telling me that she can’t enable tethering on my account. That might explain why I can’t stay connected for more than 2 minutes. Have to pull battery and put it back in to get another 2 minutes. Woo hoo!

Anyone have a tech contact with a clue on how to get tethering enabled on a curve data plan?

14 • August 6, 2007 at 10:12 am — Squished says:

Gautam, to use a curve as a bluetooth modem on a windows PC, you need AT&T Communications Manager 6.3. It was just released and supports the Curve.

15 • August 8, 2007 at 10:03 am — Squished says:

WAHHAAA! AT&T Support fixed the mistakes that the rep made and tethering is finally enabled properly. This was posted from a tethered curve ;-)

16 • August 8, 2007 at 10:52 am — MGK says:

Squished what did AT&T charge you to add the tethering onto your plan? Was that the only thing you changed to get it to stay connected for more than 2mins?

17 • August 8, 2007 at 11:03 am — Squished says:

Yep, that was all I changed. I used isp.cingular with the account: ISP@CINGULARGPRS.com and the password: CINGULAR1

Before that, I could use WAP for about 2 minutes, and ISP wouldn’t connect at all.

It adds about $15/month to the contract… but the office pays for it ;-)

18 • August 8, 2007 at 1:05 pm — Squished says:

Sorry for the comment stacking…

I still have the issue where after one connect, I can’t use it until pulling the battery. I’m going to try and use a serial port sniffer on the PC side while running AT&T Comunications Manager to see what exactly they are sending before and after the connection.

19 • August 15, 2007 at 9:25 am — deseguin says:

I’m wondering if there is a bug in the Curve modem script for OSX. I had no trouble connecting via Bluetooth through my Blackberry Pearl using the original modem script; but now using my Blackberry Curve and the revised script, I am only getting the one or two minute connection others are complaining about.

Any thoughts out there? I don’t know anything about modem scripts to spot an issue.

21 • August 17, 2007 at 9:23 am — Squished says:

deseguin…

I had an 8100 on T-Mobile that worked every time on the Mac. Was your 8100 on AT&T, or a different provider? I’m trying to figure out if the bug is with AT&T or if it is specific to the 8300. There is something that goes catatonic in the 8300 while the Mac is talking to it. The bluetooth serial connection is fine, but it is like the modem emulator in the Curve crashes. If you close the bluetooth serial connection, and then reopen it, the hayes AT emulation runs, and it can connect, it just can’t transmit or recieve anything to the ISP.

The hayes emulator in the 8300 also appears to have a bug in that it doesn’t consistantly respond to the +++ command, nor does it properly hang up with ATH. I can replicate that with Z-Term on the Mac. Hmmm… That reminds me to tinker with hardware flow control in ZTerm to see if the Mac is losing track of a CTS or RTS transition over bluetooth.

I have read that 10.4.11 may make changes to the modem driver… I’m curious if it will help us out.

It drives me nuts that on the PC, it works fine (from bootcamp.)

Next up to try… limit the number of simultanious connections in the browser. I think the PC has a lower number of simultanious connection by default, and I can simulate that with Firefox on the Mac.

I wonder if Perishable uses Firefox???

23 • August 29, 2007 at 9:16 am — August Klotz says:

Thanks for the sweet toot. Here are some gems harvested from comments left in forums and other blogs:

1. wap.cingular sometimes works as an alternative to the default number, *99***1#, especially when experiencing the error message that says: “Could not negotiate a connection with the remote PPP server..”

2. If you are having difficulties connecting with the default AT&T access credentials, an alternative is available for GPRS Internet service:

Access: ISP.CINGULAR
Username: ISPDA@CINGULARGPRS.COM
Password: CINGULAR1

3. If you are tweaking the modem script on a mac, it is possible to remove the .txt file extension by summoning the file’s Info panel and deleting the extension via the Get Info > Name & Extension window.

Hopefully, this information will help people in their efforts to stay connected..

24 • September 18, 2007 at 9:03 am — ebb says:

I’m having the same problems others have reported. I’ve followed all the instructions above. In the past I had no problem using my T-Mobile Pearl with my MacBook. Now I’m using my new AT&T Curve and I can only get it to connect for a few min. then it drops. In order to reconnect the only way I can get it to work is to pull out the battery and then it only stays on for a few min. AT&T and BlackBerry tech support have been no help to me. Any ideas are more than welcome!

25 • September 23, 2007 at 5:43 pm — JC says:

I followed the instructions and were able to connect to my Curve but after it was connected on the “Select the services you want to use with your mobile phone” screen, I get a red “There were no supported services found on your device”message instead. On my blackberry it says my PC is connected. What am I doing wrong? Thanks.

26 • September 24, 2007 at 12:18 pm — David Sanders says:

I recently purchased the T-Mobile Curve and am having the same issue as reported by ebb in port #24. The issue occurs when connecting via Bluetooth from my Mac as well as via USB from Windows XP. Any suggestions are most welcomed.

27 • September 27, 2007 at 4:01 am — Paul Thomas says:

Could anyone please tell me how fast the connection is compared to tethering to a 3G phone? Also, would tethering the Curve with a cable be faster than Bluetooth (and can it be done)?

Thanks in advance.

28 • October 1, 2007 at 7:48 pm — hobageeba says:

Just as everyone else here, I’m experiencing the “one-time connect for 2 mins” deal. So has anyone figured out where exactly the problem lies? Is it the wireless company servers? (I think this is not so likely because it’s happening on several different wireless networks, plus I had a pearl on the T-Mobile and could connect with no problem) So is it the script? Or is it some software, or worse yet, hardware issue with the Curve?

29 • October 2, 2007 at 9:56 am — Bobboya says:

I, too, have had problems using the Tmo Curve as a modem for my Mac. I am pretty sure it is a script problem. The reason I think that is that most of the scripts being used for the modem purpose originate here

http://www.taniwha.org.uk/gprs.html

If you check the website the guy wrote: “These scripts may have bugs in them- I can’t test them myself as I don’t have a Blackberry”. If anyone figures out how to get a Tmo Curve to work as a modem for a Mac, please let me know!

30 • October 4, 2007 at 7:37 am — Brooks says:

I have not gotten to work but once, I wish I was as far along as yall are and just getting it to connect for two minutes. But I have found in the past that if you tell your configuration not to send ppp packets that the two minute thing goes away. From bluetooth preferences, click show all, network, ppp options, uncheck send ppp echo packets, ok, bluetooth modem, uncheck enable error correction…, apply, then re attempt to connect. It worked for windows mobile, so we will see.

31 • October 4, 2007 at 9:15 am — Bobboya says:

Hi, Brooks, I wish it were simply a matter of turning off “send PPP packets”. Unfortunately, no such luck. I was aware of this potential problem and I switched off that feature. What I did is I wrote to the person at taniwha.org.uk who wrote the original modem scripts and asked if he had any idea of what is wrong. He had me log what happens during an attempted connection and send it to him. I am waiting for his reply. He doesn’t have a Blackberry, and he just wrote the scripts based on common principles.

32 • October 9, 2007 at 7:55 am — deseguin says:

Bobboya,
As soon as you hear anything from Taniwha, please post. It drives me crazy that I could connect so easily with my Pearl and not at all with the Curve. But my Pearl got wet and died so there’s no going back. You know it’s got to be something [relatively] simple.

33 • October 13, 2007 at 10:57 pm — hobageeba says:

Yes yes, please do post once you hear back from Taniwha. I wrote him as well, hoping he could solve this problem but haven’t heard anything back. Deseguin, I’m in the same boat as you. Had the Pearl and LOVED the tether feature and am so bummed it’s buggy with the Curve. I travel a lot so it’s a pretty key feature for me. Someone has got to figure this out!!

34 • October 14, 2007 at 10:31 am — David Berman says:

Wow! I am posting this using my 8300 connection! Spent half of last night and some of this morning trying to get scripts from another site to work but, I just kept getting kicked off. This script works for me - I have been online for 17 minutes.

Thank you for the clear and concise directions!

David

36 • October 14, 2007 at 11:37 am — Bobboya says:

David, When I saw your message #34, I was inspired again to try to use my Curve as a Bluetooth modem for my Mac. No luck — just the same transient connnection, and then no further data transfer after about 20 seconds. Which Blackbarry do you have and who is the carrier? I am using a Tmo Curve 8320. I am wondering whether there are subtle differences among the difference Curves from Tmo vs other carriers, like AT&T.

37 • October 21, 2007 at 6:06 am — don says:

Thanks to everyone for your useful comments. I have a TMO curve with the hotspot@home function but no data plan. It works at TMO hotspots. Can I tether the curve to my mac so I can use the internet via the wi-fi internet connection (as I understand it, the above discussed option uses the EDGE connection)? I spoke to Blackberry - they thought it should be possible but said they do not support this function. thx

38 • October 22, 2007 at 5:06 pm — Yuri Cataldo says:

I have been trying to get my ATT blackberry to work and it keeps telling me that my connection was rejected because the other side is not responding. I called ATT and RIM and they said they could not help because it doesn’t support mac. Did anyone have similar problems and know how to fix it?

39 • October 23, 2007 at 8:15 am — Lindsay Kintner says:

MOving from a Nokia e62 to a Black Berry 8300. I used this functionality with my Nokia e62. The instructions were clear and simple. Works like a charm.

40 • October 23, 2007 at 10:16 am — sal says:

Thanks ! This managed to work !! Managed to get this to work for Etisalat UAE if anybody is interested. APN / user name / pw are all ‘mnet’.

41 • October 23, 2007 at 3:32 pm — David Sanders says:

I just installed v4.2.2.180 on my T-Mobile Curve and was hoping that it would work better that v4.2.2.177. Unfortunately it seems that my problem persists. I can connect initially for about 3-4 minutes then the connection stops responding (although Internet Connect says it’s still connected). Once I disconnect I cannot not connect again until I pull the battery.

If anyone has a solution, please pass it along. I swapped to the Curve from the Pearl on the promise that Bluetooth tethered modem worked on the Mac.

42 • October 23, 2007 at 5:02 pm — deseguin says:

David,
You say you swapped from the Pearl? Do you mean that it didn’t work your Pearl or that you were hoping for even more speed? Because the Pearl worked perfectly for me. I wish I had it back. Here’s hoping Bobboya hears some good news.

43 • October 23, 2007 at 5:55 pm — David Sanders says:

The Pearl worked well on the downlink but the best uplink speed I got was about 10 kbps, which was less than useful. I was hoping that the Curve would perform better on the uplink. At this point it seems I’m stuck using my old Motorola when faced with having to fall back to EDGE for connectivity. Overall, Im still very pleased with the Curve and have no plans of going back to the Pearl.

44 • October 23, 2007 at 6:02 pm — deseguin says:

Agreed, The Pearl is a bit too small, a bit slow and I couldn’t quite find a rhythm with the predictive text. I’m a journalist and it never seemed to anticipate my word choice. Maybe I use too many $5 words.

45 • October 24, 2007 at 8:22 am — Bobboya says:

Hi, Dave,
Unfortunately, I did get a reply from the person at taniwha.org.uk who wrote the original modem scripts that everyone is using. He still doesn’t have a Blackberry, so he still can’t test them out himself. I did log all that happened with the modem and emailed him. He made a few more suggestions. I just haven’t had time to test all the ideas out, because I am facing a deadline, and, once I get playing with my Blackberry, I can use up hundreds of hours. So, I will get back to it later… After Nov. 5th… You could just write to Ross yourself, if you want to. If he knows enough people are having the same problem, he might take a closer look.

Ciao! Bob

46 • October 24, 2007 at 8:08 pm — Stephen says:

I got it to work with the Curve on the Mac using t-mobile. Updated to 4.2.2.180. Make sure your apn is programmed into your BlackBerry Settings>Advanced>TCP. The apn is wap.voicestream.com. Leave the user and password blank.

47 • October 25, 2007 at 4:56 am — David Sanders says:

Bob and Stephen,

I tried posting last evening, but for some reason my attempts didn’t make it onto the page. I started fresh by redownloading the modem scripts just in case they’d changed in the past year (I downloaded them last when I got my Pearl). My first attempt to connect was successful and the connection lasted for just over 10 minutes. Unfortunately the connection died (still connected but the link was dead). After I disconnected all subsequent attempts to connect failed until I popped the battery.

Bob, since you already have a dialog going with Ross, I’ll let that play out. If there’s anything I can do to assist your investigation please don’t hesitate to ask.

David

48 • October 25, 2007 at 8:04 am — Stephen says:

David,
I have had the same problem that you are having. I was able to fix it, by adding the apn settings into the BlackBerry. options>advanced options>tcp

apn: wap.voicestream.com
leave the username and password fields blank.

Regards,
Stephen

49 • October 25, 2007 at 8:05 am — Stephen says:

Bob,
I guess I should ask which provider are you using?

Stephen

50 • October 25, 2007 at 8:19 am — Squished Squirrel says:

I gave up on the Mac side and if I need to use tethered, I boot into bootcamp and use ATT Comm Manager.

All I can figure is that the comm manager is doing some out-of-band communication with the phone, and that is keeping the connection alive.

I’ve captured the initial communication between the computer and the phone while using comm manager, and it isn’t all that different than what the scripts do.

I find it just as frustrating as others that SOMETIMES it will stay alive for 10-15 minutes, but most of the time it will kick you off before you can even get to the speed test on http://www.pcpitstop.com.

Who knows… Leopard? Blackberry OS 4.3? Maybe one of those will fix it.

51 • October 25, 2007 at 6:19 pm — Bobboya says:

Hi, Stephen
I use Tmo, have a Curve 8320. I had already tried entering “wap.voicestream.com” for the APN, but that didn’t work either. That is one of the things suggested by Ross Barkman (who wrote most the scripts we are all trying out). He also suggested that I try using “internet2.voicestream.com”. No luck.

Anyway, I am working on a deadline, and I will return to this afterwards. I have an Intelmac, and I will try using the PC side for tethering, too. Won’t that be interesting, if tethering works with the PC side, but not the Mac side, using the same hardware! Usually, I have the reverse experience.

Ciao!
Bob

52 • October 25, 2007 at 7:50 pm — David Sanders says:

Stephen,

Thanks for the suggestion. I’d seen that in your earlier post, but I’d already configured the APN since it’s required for Opera. Unless Bob comes up with something with Ross, I’m with “Squished Squirrel” — I give up. Guess I’ll just have to continue to carry my old Motorola V360 for those times where I must use my cell phone to connect to the Internet.
David

53 • October 31, 2007 at 12:18 am — Robbie says:

I have a T-Mo 8320 and had similar problems: modem would appear to connect, then wouldn’t do anything, then would disconnect itself in 20 seconds.

I just read the latest entries, added the APN to the phone, and voila–it works!

Thanks.

54 • October 31, 2007 at 4:59 am — David Sanders says:

Robbie,
Once you’re connected, can you disconnect and then reconnect? What’s the longest you’ve stayed connected? What script did you use? Sorry for the 20 questions, but I still cannot get things to work reliably and I’m hoping that you may be using a different script.

David

55 • October 31, 2007 at 10:56 am — King says:

Anyone gotten this to work with Leopard? I really need a solution and I dont want to have to buy AT&T’s USB dongle.

56 • November 1, 2007 at 5:29 pm — Rolland Baker says:

Same problems here with TMO 8320 Curve — no connection unless battery reinserted, even with APN field completed, and “Send PPP echo packets” and “Use TCP header compression” unchecked.

57 • November 1, 2007 at 6:15 pm — David Sanders says:

Roland,
Welcome to the club! Sorry I don’t have any positive news, but please let me know if you find the magic.
David

58 • November 8, 2007 at 7:25 am — Craig says:

I too am scrounging around the web looking for a solution. Anyone? Please? ;-)

59 • November 13, 2007 at 9:46 pm — Bob Jackson says:

Sucks in Leopard too. Apple should rename it Snail. No reason to run out and buy it. Very sluggish OS. I have noticed a BB user on another blog complaining that his Pearl is acting the same way after he received a warranty swap. Possibly this is a BB software bug. Maybe the newer BB release in his newest Pearl is the same version as the Curve and that is the issue.

Has anyone noticed that the Console reports this error repeatedly “79 kernel[0]: E:[AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController][BulkInReadHandler] WARNING - ACL packet larger than expected: 0×194.”

It seems like a bluetooth error, not modem.

60 • November 14, 2007 at 8:33 am — Nick says:

I ran into a little problem. When I get to this section below when I click on the “open internet…” it opens my airport box. Not sure how to get the bluetooth tab up or open? Any suggestions, as all went well until this point.

Connect to the Internet via BlackBerry

With everything properly connected and configured, we are ready now to connect to the Internet. Click on the small ‘Modem Status’ (telephone) icon in your menu bar and select “Open Internet Connect…” [ Screenshot ].

Within the Connections dialogue box, select the Bluetooth tab and populate the form fields with the following information:

* Telephone: wap.voicestream.com (T-Mobile) or wap.cingular (Cingular/AT&T)
* Username: guest (T-Mobile) or WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM (Cingular/AT&T)
* Password: guest (T-Mobile) or CINGULAR1 (Cingular/AT&T)
* [ Screenshot ]

All set? Click “Connect”! If everything went according to plan, your Mac should be using your BlackBerry Curve as a Bluetooth modem and you should now see the “Connection Status” dialogue box, indicating connectivity [ Screenshot ].

61 • November 14, 2007 at 11:23 am — Craig says:

That’s the problem Nick. It doesn’t work with OS 10.5 and the Curve. RIM has confirmed this.

62 • November 14, 2007 at 11:57 am — idealist says:

I have a MB duo running 10.4.8 and it doesnt work for me on TMO. I believe this is because of the new OS on the curve, I had a 8700g running 4.2 and it worked perfectly. I now have to re-insert the battery which is a complete waste of time.

If the 8300 script is the same as the 8100 besides the one line change I believe its an OS problem, there is no way my 8700g should work better than the curve.

If someone resolves this post it EVERYWHERE!

63 • November 14, 2007 at 12:51 pm — Nick says:

Thanks Craig,

I thought I was getting close because I figured out where to set the phone number *99***1# and the account: WAP@CINGULARGPRS.COM and the password CINGULAR1. When I try to connect it gets hung at authenticating the user. Hopefully someone will figure to out at some point.

Thanks a bunch.

64 • November 21, 2007 at 9:49 am — Scott says:

This worked like charm. I actually have sprint as my carrier. I just used wap.sprint.com as the telephone number and left the username and password blank. Worked like a charm! Thanks!

65 • November 21, 2007 at 10:38 am — Bob Jackson says:

Scott. Are you using a Curve? If so, what software version? What OS is your Mac?

Thanks

66 • November 21, 2007 at 5:19 pm — Craig says:

Scott,

Please let us know your Mac OS version and confirm if you have a Curve. Thanks!

67 • November 27, 2007 at 7:17 am — Squished Squirrel says:

Alas, all will return with head bowed after they realize it works for a few minutes… maybe a half an hour if Mars is in retrograde, but then they come back.

“WTF… I have to pull the battery to make it work again…”

68 • November 27, 2007 at 8:40 am — Scott says:

Well, I just checked, and alas, I am on the 8830. But I am using the 8300 Modem Script and it’s working like a charm. I drove from Jacksonville to Orlando, and it stayed connected just fine (there was traffic, so it was a 2+ hour drive).

Also, i am using OSX 10.4.10

69 • November 27, 2007 at 8:47 am — Craig says:

Scott,

Thanks for letting us know. I don’t think that it really helps though because the problem has never been with OS 10.4.X. The problem is with OS 10.5.X. As far as I can tell, nobody has had any serious issues with 10.4.

Oh well, the wait continues….

70 • November 27, 2007 at 9:07 am — Bob Jackson says:

Scott is using a 8830, which is CDMA and GSM. He uses Sprint, so he is not using GSM at the moment. I wonder if his success would continue if he was forced to use GSM.

Scott

Could you tell us what version of BB OS you are using?

Craig

The failure with Curve is in OS 10.4.x, or 10.5. I have tried both.

71 • November 27, 2007 at 9:25 am — David Sanders says:

I have not upgraded to Leopard and can confirm that for T-Mobile things do not work with 10.4.10 or 10.4.11 with the latest Blackberry software.

72 • November 27, 2007 at 2:05 pm — Fernando says:

Right ON !!! less then 5 minutes got it working with my curve 8320 and a Macbook !!!
Congrats and Thank you so much !!!

73 • November 27, 2007 at 2:09 pm — Craig says:

Fernando,

What version of OS X? 10.4 or 10.5?

74 • November 27, 2007 at 2:11 pm — Bob Jackson says:

Fernando

What cell carrier, what OS on the Macbook and what BB OS? Have you used it for more than 5 minutes?

75 • November 27, 2007 at 2:13 pm — Craig says:

Fernando,

What version of OS X? 10.4 or 10.5? Thanks.

76 • November 27, 2007 at 2:18 pm — Scott says:

Not really sure how to find out which OS my BB is using, but i see a v4.2.2.123 (platform 3.0.0.64) in the about part of the settings.

77 • November 27, 2007 at 2:24 pm — Bob Jackson says:

What phone service? What Mac OS? Is this phone brand new? You may have the first working Curve (8320) to Mac known to man.

78 • November 27, 2007 at 2:33 pm — Scott says:

Not sure if your question is directed to me, but to answer the questions..

I am actually not on a curve, but an 8830. I searched wrong before.

Carrier is Sprint

OSX is 10.4

The phone is brand new, but i have had 3 other blackberry’s replaced this month, and all 4 have worked.

I have tried it while driving (yes, unsafe, but had to see). In Orlando, Jacksonville, and Tampa. As long as I have signal it works.

79 • November 27, 2007 at 2:42 pm — Bob Jackson says:

Scott

Sorry, I was hoping to get more info from Fernando. By the way, was it running fast, or like dial-up?

80 • November 27, 2007 at 2:57 pm — Scott says:

It’s actually quite fast. I did a speed test and results were 304kb/s down and 120kb/s up. Not too bad.

Posting connected via phone at the moment.

81 • November 27, 2007 at 5:10 pm — Bob Jackson says:

Got it. I think. The problem with the Curve 8320 is simple. It can’t have both networks on at once. Go to Manage Connections and Turn off the Wifi option. It fails when both are enabled. Still very erratic compared to other tether solutions, but working. Makes total sense, the dual networks is what makes Curve the special child.

82 • November 27, 2007 at 5:12 pm — Craig says:

I wish it were that easy. I tried that from the get-go. Is it working for you now?

83 • November 27, 2007 at 5:40 pm — Bob Jackson says:

Qualify working. Yes, it works, but erratically. Sudden bursts of speed, then sluggish. Stays up for 20 minutes. You can sign in and off without resetting the battery most of the time. Enable both networks and it is on its back in a flash. I think it is prone to confusion. For instance, it seems to fail if the BB gets a message while I am tethered. I am on 10.5.1, but I don’t think that is the difference. I tested that before and it sucked as bad as 10.4.10.

Retry with just Mobile and see what happens.

84 • November 27, 2007 at 5:53 pm — David Sanders says:

I’ve never enabled WiFi on my Curve so it was certainly disabled when I was trying to get tethering to work. I’m not convinced this is the silver bullet we’re all looking for!

85 • November 27, 2007 at 6:03 pm — Craig says:

Bob, do you have your Airport on or off? Do you also use WiFi when you can? I ask because I am trying this at home, where I typically am connected via Wi-Fi to both my computers and my Curve. So, I am trying to make it work where I would never actually use it. I imagine that in itself isn’t an issue, but who knows? Thanks Bob, David, and everyone else for your efforts!

86 • November 27, 2007 at 6:08 pm — Craig says:

Now, strangely enough I get to where I am authenticating, but disconnect at that point. Very strange.

87 • November 27, 2007 at 6:18 pm — David Sanders says:

Craig,

I’ve seen that many times. That just means it’s time to pop the battery and restart the Curve.

When tethering with the Curve I always turn off the Airport on my Macbook Pro. That ensures that I’m connecting only with the Curve.

88 • November 27, 2007 at 6:44 pm — Craig says:

Well, the very latest is that after popping out and replacing the battery, I can reconnect, but I have yet to be able to access the web or email after connecting. Uggh!

89 • November 27, 2007 at 6:56 pm — David Sanders says:

Sounds like you’re experiencing exactly what I saw. Frustrating, isn’t it! I only hope that at some point RIM cares enough about this to make it right. I realize that we Mac users are still a minority, but there are certainly enough of us out there that they should be paying attention!

Keep trying — may be you’ll find the silver bullet and we’ll all be smiling.

90 • November 27, 2007 at 8:04 pm — Bob Jackson says:

Craig

Any better luck? I am at home and without a solid Cell signal so I cannot tether. Make sure you have a strong edge signal, then turn off WiFi in BB Connection manager. It may take a minute after connecting before it will respond with data.

Fast then slow, but it should operate. Leave Airport off, as to not confuse the results of your testing.

David

Not setting up WiFi, is not the same as disabling it. Check Connection manager and see it is defaulted on.

I will settle for a “lead bullet” at this point.

91 • November 27, 2007 at 8:28 pm — David Sanders says:

I just checked the Connection Manager and WiFi is definitely off on my Curve. I disabled it when I first got the device to save battery since I was not planning to use it. If you guys are successful then I’ll have to give tethering a go once again. My in laws live in a small town and there is no public high-speed internet to be had, but there is EDGE service. I would love to have had tethered access during the Thanksgiving holiday!

One thing I should ask is what modem script are you using?

92 • November 27, 2007 at 8:51 pm — Bob Jackson says:

David

Script = Blackberry 8300, or Blackberry 3G CID 1. Didn’t seem to make much difference which I used.

Good luck

93 • November 28, 2007 at 3:47 am — JABS says:

I finally connected with bb curve 8320 on T mobile. I have MAC OS X Leopard. I put wap.voicestream.com on telephone and in phone number in bluetooth config and in network config. It has been connecting for 5 minutes but I can’t receive any data. At least it finally connected .

94 • November 28, 2007 at 7:44 am — David Sanders says:

Bob,

Can you provide the URLs just to ensure that I’m pulling the exact modem script that you’re referencing. The scripts are out there from many sources. They probably have common roots, but one never knows if someone has made a change along the way.

Thanks.

95 • November 28, 2007 at 8:08 am — Bob Jackson says:

Jabs

On the Mac Network Congfig I am using wap.voicestream.com as Telephone number. “guest” for password and account name.

But you said something like you put wap.voicestream.com on the telephone. If you mean the TCP setting in the BB. No, I leave that blank.

96 • November 28, 2007 at 10:15 am — JABS says:

the TCP setting on BB should be wap.voicestream.com on APN

97 • December 2, 2007 at 11:36 am — neville Elder says:

I just read thru all the posts. I’m on At&t with an 8310 and a Mac osx vers: 10.4.11
1.what ever carrier you use you will find correct APN for you in options>advanced options>TCP…that will solve one mystery.
2.I was briefly able connect me with 8300 modem and correct APN but was unable to load safari - so this might not be a clean lock. Then everytime I got “Could not negotiate a connection with the remote PPP server. Please verify your settings and try again”.

I am going to check with ATT about the tethering issue (i.e. whether it is an optional extra to add as is mention above) that might clinch it.

Right now i’m not sure anyone has a reliable lasting connection - Has anyone? for a decent amount of time?

98 • December 2, 2007 at 12:29 pm — neville elder says:

This is from At&T website…try using WWAN modem script/8300 script…my attempt left me miserably disconnected again perhaps other users wil have more luck:

Connect to the Internet Using a Dial-up Networking Connection in Mac OS X Tiger via Bluetooth
SUBJECT:
Connect to the Internet Using a Dial-up Networking Connection in Mac OS X Tiger via Bluetooth
Create a Dial-up Networking Connection Mac OS X Tiger via Bluetooth
SYMPTOM:
Modem / Tethering
Informational Only | Unsupported: This solution is intended for informational purposes only. AT&T provides network, billing, and provisioning support for the wireless voice and data networks. AT&T does not provide technical support for Mac. AT&T makes no warranties, express, implied or statutory, as to the content within this solution; such content is provided “as is” and with all faults, and your use of the content is at your own risk. Questions regarding this solution or any additional Mac support must be directed to Apple at http://www.apple.com/support or your internal IT department.
FIX:
Prerequisite

Pair the device with the computer.

Procedure

Configure the Connection

Click the Apple Icon.

Select System Prefferences.

Select Network.

In the Show drop-down select Bluetooth.

Click the Lock icon to change settings.

Click the PPP tab.

Enter the following information.

Service Provider (User defined): AT&T
Account Name:
Password:
Telephone Number: *99#
Alternate Number: *99***1#

Click the TCP/IP tab.

Verify the Configure IPv4 is set to Using PPP (default).

Leave all other settings blank.

Click the Bluetooth Modem tab.

In the Modem drop-down select the appropriate Modem Script.
NOTE: For most devices the WWAN Support modem script can be used.
NOTE: Modem scripts for most devices can be found by performing an internet search for Modem+Scripts

Click Apply Now.
Connect to the Internet

Double-click the hard drive icon.

Double-click Applications.

Double-click Internet Connect.

Click Bluetooth.

Click Connect.
NOTE: Many handsets will prompt the user to allow the dial-up connection on the device before the connection can be established.

99 • December 2, 2007 at 5:26 pm — David Sanders says:

Neville,

Although I’m on T-Mobile rather than AT&T, I’ve seen the message you’re experiencing (“Could not negotiate a connection with the remote PPP server. Please verify your settings and try again”.) many times. The only way I’ve found to correct it is to reset the Blackberry (i.e., pop the batter and let the device reboot).

David

100 • December 2, 2007 at 5:36 pm — neville elder says:

right - that’s my experience. But i don’t think it’s a settings issue, I think it’s an AT&T note above issue by Perish in his intro:

“1 For Cingular/At&T subscribers: According to the customer service department, unless your plan specifically supports tethering, tethered connections will only work until the system catches on and blacklists your device (only as a tethered modem). Also, the representative assured me that pre-blacklist connections would not be billed.”

101 • December 2, 2007 at 7:15 pm — David Sanders says:

The T-Mobile Blackberry rate plan includes unlimited tethered connectivity. This leads me to believe that it’s not a blacklist issue since I (and many others) see the same error message. I think it’s a Blackberry and/or Mac OS X issue. If I use my old Motorola V360 I can tether via Bluetooth without any problems.

102 • December 2, 2007 at 7:18 pm — neville elder says:

Well that solves me some time on the phone with AT&T. Has anyone reached out to Apple?

103 • December 4, 2007 at 10:06 am — Bobboya says:

I have one of the new Intel Dualcore MacBooks. What is very interesting is that I can use my Tmo 8320 to tether using USB when I boot up in the Windows XP environment (download speeds of 56kB, clocked using an online site).

I do not know whether it is possible to use USB for tethering when running Mac OS (I have 10.4.11). On the other hand, I have been able to connect using bluetooth with the Mac OS. When I do this, I can download one webpage, and then web transfers slow to a crawl, and usually time out.

I still have not tried using bluetooth with Windows XP, but I hope to try that as soon as I get a minute.

So, the BB 8320 works as a USB modem in XP. Does not work well as bluetooth modem with Mac OS.

Still to be tried:
1) Mac OS USB tether
2) XP bluetooth tether

Ciao!
Bob

104 • December 4, 2007 at 4:21 pm — David Sanders says:

Please let me know if you get the USB tether to work on the Mac. The main issue there will be keeping the USB connection live. On Windows you must run the Blackberry Desktop Manager in the background.

On other thing you should try is a USB tether when running XP under Parallels or VM Ware Fusion and sharing the internet connection with the Mac. I’ve seen somewhere that it works, but have never had the patience to try.

105 • December 11, 2007 at 8:16 am — Squished Squirrel says:

I just noticed that AT&T had an update to the software for the curve on their site. (No, not the 4.3 update we are all clammoring for!)

It is 4.2.2.301 with Applications 4.2.2.166 and Platform 2.4.0.73.

Anyone see a difference with this version? I’ll give it a cursory test and see if it helps.

106 • December 12, 2007 at 4:59 am — Rooster says:

The AT&T update you speak of is for the 8300 curve only…

I have been fighting this problem as well and I have been able to get the Blackberry 8310 on AT&T with Leopard to show up via USB. I used the generic USB drivers…

107 • December 12, 2007 at 8:00 am — matthew says:

I have had the tmo curve 8320 for two months now. The issues you are all encountering are not mac specific as I am using a pc with windows xp, and have found the same connectivity problems. Have to pull battery to get another 20 sec. to 10 min. connection time. The oddest part is that the day i set up my tethered connection i was able to stay online for almost two hours without interruption.

After tens of hours on the phone with both BB and Rim support I was finally able to speak to someone in engineering who was aware of the issue. I was told that the problem lies in an error in a line of code within the BB operating system. (hence why the issue spans all carriers and macs/pc). I was told to wait for future software updates.

as i am sure everyone knows the 3200 was pushed out to market before half the kinks were worked out. Lame, yes! but thats capitalism at its finest.

108 • December 12, 2007 at 8:46 am — Rolland Baker says:

Does the current v4.2.2.180 updater work with all the other suggestions (APN in, etc.)?

109 • December 12, 2007 at 4:15 pm — neville elder says:

Having abandoned bluetooth attempt tol connect. - am now trying to tether Tiger os with att bb8310m via usb. Any help? - see rooster claims sucess with genric driver but I could use a hint here. I see bb drivers in my system library but how do I actually use them? I think I was off sick that day…..

110 • December 13, 2007 at 7:39 pm — pp says:

I have a Blackberry curve and I cannot seem to connect it to my Mac via bluetooth. I was able to pair it with my computer, but when I go to system preferences-bluetooth-devices, and I select the Blackberry 8320, it says: configured-Yes, Paired-Yes, Serial Ports-yes, Connected-No. I just want to be able to send files back and forth with my phone and the computer. T-mobile tech support was not helpful. Do you happen to know the answer? Thank you in advance.

111 • December 27, 2007 at 10:54 pm — frustrated says:

I am really sick and tired of this crap. You would think that someone would have a solution by now. I was told at the store (typical) that T-Mobile fully supports tethering the Curve to a mac for no additional fee and here I am at 1am trying to get it working by installing some hacked modem scripts and wondering if it is a problem that can be solved without blackberry fixing their own code. I am now off to start hunting for a USB solution. Anyone else have a better idea?

112 • December 28, 2007 at 2:51 am — PitcherIPA says:

I just got my Pearl setup using this procedure. BlackBerry Pearl 8100 on TMobile running OS 10.5.1. I used the modem script for the 8300 from this page, selected “other” under phone model, entered “wap.voicestream.com” for the number, left the username/password blank under the bluetooth preferences, and used guest/guest for the network preferences. Connected to the phone with no problems and connected to the internet with no problems for over 20 minutes. I used it with Mail, Safari, and Firefox and all 3 worked fine. (Slow, but well, ie Google, Drudge, etc. are slow/medium speed and GMAIL was very slow but did work)

Hopefully this helps. I know this is not as clear as it could be but it is late and I tried so many different things until this worked. Good Luck.

113 • January 3, 2008 at 10:43 pm — Cine229 says:

Any ideas if a fix is coming for this? What happened here? I just got my curve and I’ve gotten EVERYTHING to work, and I mean everything - ripped DVD videos, opera installed, etc., and I even got this to work on the first connectin, but it subsequently did not work.

Curious if anyone has found any updates on the situation. I’ve heard of others writing new modem scripts… any of those out there for the 8320? Any news of someone trying?

I think we should keep this thread going or make an agreed upon meeting place at crackberry or some other forum as a clearing house for new information.

114 • January 8, 2008 at 11:47 am — creynolds says:

our firm is considering switching from treo to blackberry but a crucial peice of our puzzle is to get wireless modem functionality from the bberry. we use Verizon, Mac Leopard, and Windows laptops. From what I can see here no dice if you use Verizon and want to get btooth modem service to your mac from a blackberry. True? The treo’s are buggy but they do provide wireless modem for our mac laptops - which is very valuable to us and we must not lose.

apologies as I suspect this may well have been dealt with before. looking for an answer, nonetheless. thanks.

115 • January 8, 2008 at 4:43 pm — eugene says:

I got my 8320 yesterday and now I am in the same boat.

Matthew, you were told by BB engineer to wait for a firmware update. Any indication why?

Meanwhile, RIM knowledge-base tells us that the problem is in lack of OS X support. Can anyone confirm it works with a PC?

(http://www.blackberry.com/btsc/search.do?cmd=displayKC
&docType=kc&externalId=KB05196&sliceId=SAL_Public
&dialogID=1114305&stateId=1%200%201132277)

Additional Information
Apple® Macintosh® computer users will not be able to use their BlackBerry smartphones as tethered modems with either their Macintosh laptops or desktop computers. There is no support capability for Macintosh computers at this time. The Macintosh computer does not use or recognize the standard modem drivers used by Microsoft Windows.
At present, there is no tethered modem support using Bluetooth® technology for Macintosh computers.

116 • January 12, 2008 at 3:08 pm — Jeannette says:

Hi all! I just got my Tmo 8320 yesterday and have been trying to connect it to my MBP via bluetooth starting last night. It DID work using the wap.voicestream.com and I was able to connect uninterrupted the whole night. Today morning, I turn on my macbook, it just won’t connect anymore. Anyone know why?? It DID work and I’m using Leopard too. Is this really just a 8320 problem or all the blackberry?

117 • January 12, 2008 at 3:11 pm — Jeannette says:

someone please help me….using the tethered modem for my mac is the reason I brought the blackberry. If it really is unfixable, that means I just brought myself a piece of trash at a high price.

118 • January 23, 2008 at 11:28 am — Dustin says:

It’s slow slow slow, but working! I’m pretty sure I have the same set-up as Bob Jackson.

Here’s my configurations:
* Mac Leopard
* New BB Curve
* T-mobile
* On bluetooth menu:
** telephone: wap.voicestream.com
** username/password: guest/guest
* Leave APN on BB Curve blank

Interestingly, at first I got a failed connection error (the “PPP Server” error), but as I was searching for what to do next, the connection started up and appears to be working.

Nonetheless, I’ll keep following this conversation on the hope that someone will figure out how to make the connection fast enough to do basic things (like load gmail!), although Google searches work fine, which is a great start.

119 • January 23, 2008 at 12:22 pm — ethan says:

i have leopard and the curve. seems when using the script with leopard it doesn’t give the option of APN and CID. Anyone notices the difference in the bluetooth config in leopard?

120 • January 27, 2008 at 2:53 pm — tony says:

i used the tutorial step by step,the only thing that did not fit is on the drop down menu after adding the gprs cid my menu does not have blackberry 8310 listed, i used the default which was apple internal 56k modem as i finished my mac recognizes the blackberry but denies connection reading modem error check settings and try again. thank you for your help.

121 • January 27, 2008 at 7:58 pm — chris sc says:

Same bizarre issue here.
Leopard/Curve/T-Mobile
I can get it working using the suggestions I found here. If I disconnect, or get disconnected - I can’t reconnect until I pull the battery on the curve…

I had this working over USB on XP with no problems - never tried bluetooth…fun stuff…

122 • January 27, 2008 at 11:27 pm — marsha says:

I have paired my curve 8300 with my mac book pro OS 10.4.11 several times and have never received the option to connect to my phone’s data connection. I am only getting the option to connect to the address book. Does anyone know how I can get the data connection option to populate? Thanks.

123 • February 10, 2008 at 12:03 pm — Alejandro says:

I have been trying to connect my blackberry curve to my Macbook pro to use it as my modemo but i have had many negative results, I live in Mexico and my carrier is Telcel I was hoping that somebody could help me.

124 • February 14, 2008 at 12:13 pm — TheShape says:

Forget it everyone. Its not going to work. Its just designed this way. They will have to come up with either an update from Blackberry or Apple itself. This as been pissing me off from the getgo. The problem is that you are able to connect once and it disconnects within a few mins. Some are lucky enough to be connected for 20 mins. Then either you get dissconnected or it boots your off. Then the second time around, it doesnt work anymore. If it took them this long to try to figure it out, that means that they will never get it right. I could of built a house by now. They need to have a Mac version of Blackberry Desktop sofware so we can USB it just like the PC.

125 • February 19, 2008 at 5:49 pm — YukiPeuki says:

I agree with 124. I have Leopard, T-Mobile and an 8320. Had some success but not more than 2 minutes. Had to pull the battery and reboot.

Called T-Mobile tech support 3 times and went to an Apple Store today. T-Mobile, Apple and RIM say they officially don’t support this and would like to send customers to the other 2.
This running forum has been going since June of last year and most of us say the same thing. One of the 3 companies have to take charge or this problem will continue.
I wish North America will catch up to Japan and Europe’s technology some day. We are like cavemen.

127 • February 19, 2008 at 6:47 pm — eugene says:

I suggest to keep the thread open. I’m not aware of any other forum to discuss Apple+RIM issues and the very least we can all be notified when/if any of the relevant upgrades are released. Thanks.

128 • February 19, 2008 at 6:58 pm — neville elder says:

I say close - the last few posts have been from people who haven’t read the thread and are along the lines of “help!” Well I suggest we archive the thread and start a new one when there is some new news or a solution in the works. Right now this thread is redundant.

129 • February 19, 2008 at 7:10 pm — David Sanders says:

I say leave it open. I agree with Eugene that it provides a nice vehicle to be notified if/when things change. Neville makes a good point, but I’m willing to be annoyed with the occasional post knowing that if there is a breakthrough I’ll hear it here, which means that I don’t have to continually search in the meantime.

130 • February 19, 2008 at 8:03 pm — Craig says:

I agree with those that say to leave it open. If you archive and another comes along, those of us that have followed it may miss any relevant posts (ie a breakthrough). There are always lazy folks that don’t read the thread and then ask a question that is already answered - I’ve been guilty of that more than once. What’s the downside? If someone is bothered, they can unsubscribe. My three cents….

132 • February 19, 2008 at 10:30 pm — JEFF says:

I gave up…

My solution was to give one of my employees my Blackberry and to buy an iPhone.

I like the iPhone much more than the Blackberry, it has wifi, and I’m able to use it for many internet purposes and don’t really need to tether my notebook. While it doesn’t have the blackberry technology to push emails, it does check it every 15 minutes and the email is much easier to read on the iPhone.

133 • February 24, 2008 at 5:47 am — Aussie Blackberry user in Perth says:

Telstra settings Australia

Thankyou I followed your suggestions and works provided you use

Telephone: telstra.internet
Username: guest
Password: guest

within the connections dialogue box

134 • February 25, 2008 at 3:04 am — Leu says:

So i’m trying to set up my Tmo curve to my macbook. However under the I can’t find the custom modem Blackberry curve 8300 or anything of the like in my dropdown. Any solutions?

135 • February 28, 2008 at 10:15 pm — dts says:

Hi everyone,
Been a lurker since Oct ‘07. I just tried this again and have some success.

I have 15″ MBP (10.5.2) and 8320 on T-Mobile. I downloaded the updated Modem scripts at http://www.fibble.org/archives/2007/10/updated-modem-s.html

I am able to connect and stay connected for more than 20 secs (my previous best). In fact, I’m posting this while tethered to my 8320.

Only issue is with the disconnect. Something doesn’t work properly when disconnecting, so you will need to reboot your phone to tether again. Instead of pulling your battery, press ALT + Right Shift + DEL to reboot. Less hassle than battery method.

Hope this help.

136 • March 5, 2008 at 1:14 pm — Joe Pacheco says:

Here we go. Is it possible to use my ATT Curve and my MBP to connect to the net? I have a tethering plan with ATT. I also have Parallel’s on my MBP is it possible to get it to work in the Microsoft world using a Curve? I know it’ confusing. But I keep telling myself we’ve been able to land on the moon!

137 • March 5, 2008 at 10:17 pm — Bob says:

Yes, Using Parallels/Windows XP you can use your MBP with tethered Curve, using USB cable, or at least I have, with my Tmo Curve. You will have to download the updated USB driver from RIM (not Apple!) to enable the USB to connect to your BB. If you don’t, you will get a message about there not being enough current to charge the BB.

Bob

138 • March 6, 2008 at 6:30 am — Craig says:

DTS,

When you say that you are “tethered” do you mean with USB cable or via Bluetooth? Based on the content of your message, I hope you mean Bluetooth, however I have always understood tethered to mean connected physically (ie via usb cable).

Craig

139 • March 6, 2008 at 8:53 pm — dts says:

Craig,
I was tethered via Bluetooth. I haven’t tried again since my last post, but when I do, I’ll report the total time of connection.

140 • March 10, 2008 at 5:20 am — queserito says:

Thanks for the tutorial. There were no problems except when I tried to second guess you by using wap.cingular.com instead of wap.cingular - the latter doesn’t work! Go Figure! Well I’ve been connected for five minutes as this post was typed on my Mac via my newly tethered curve. Thanks again~

141 • March 10, 2008 at 6:55 am — Santiago Martinez says:

we need to bluetooth sync with mac, but iSync tell me “8300 Curve” not recognized, please i need help with this issue, Tanks!!!

142 • March 10, 2008 at 11:30 pm — Conrad says:

141 - use pocketmac for blackberry. It’s a free download. Cable tether works fine with XP for 8320-tmobile. Blackberry site has clear instructions for pc cable tether. Same results on mac leopard as everyone else. Best advice found was 135 comment on how to reboot without removing battery. Thanks!

143 • March 11, 2008 at 6:21 am — Aussie Blackberry user in Perth says:

RE : COMMENT 142

can you sync using pocketmac and bluetooth. Can you explain how that is set up. IE sync without a cable

144 • March 11, 2008 at 6:30 am — Santiago Martinez says:

RE : COMMENT 142

Yes please, i have Leopard on my macbook, with bluetooth and PocketMac, its ok with USB cable, but i trie to sync via bluetooth (with isync), but i receive “BB 8300 This Device is notsupported by iSync”. In the pocketmac i didn’t have bluetooth option.

sorry for my english.

145 • March 11, 2008 at 6:45 am — Conrad says:

pocketmac requires cable. you can sync you contacts, email, calendar and notes. If you are using Leopard, you will not be able to sync your calendar tasks created on blackberry.