ModemBerry?

September 18, 2007 12:16 PM

I keep hearing from people that I can use my TMobile Blackberry 8700G as a modem (I will probably get the TMobile Curve when it comes out in a few weeks, if that changes the answer or my options much.) by routing the traffic for my laptop through it, either using Bluetooth or a USB to mini-USB cable. But I also hear that I have to do some hacks or hide it from TMobile or and other things like that.

Have googled a lot and most of what I find looks pretty complicated, but doable. Like this and this. Are there easy ways to do this? If not, will these old posts still work? If I am doing this for occasional access to a VPN is it crazy to think that this will work at anything approaching a reasonable speed? I have tired of driving around looking for open wi-fi networks while in remote areas (but areas in which I still have EDGE or other GPRS access), and I'm thinking about getting a true mobile broadband card for occasional use. But this would be nice if I could get it to work without too much trouble. Advise me, please!

posted by iknowizbirfmark to computers & internet (6 comments total)

Download this and try it. It should auto-detect and configure everything for you.

I used this to configure my RAZR as a modem. It works but the speed is like 56k.
posted by vacapinta at 12:24 PM on September 18, 2007

I stupidly forgot to note that this laptop is running XP. I know, I know, stupid corporate laptop. Anything that will work under Windows? Also, free is of course preferred, as if it is going to cost me $100 I might just spend the afternoon trying to make it work with the other methods.
posted by iknowizbirfmark at 12:29 PM on September 18, 2007

The only bottleneck I see is that you'll have to know the initstring that the Blackberry --- aka the modem then --- sends to the provider to be recognized.

Otherwise, it is pretty simply: create a new generic modem for this, through the 'phones and modems' screen [and do so with the Blackberry connected through USB, so Windows recognizes that connection as an outgoing modem port]. Fill in the phonenumber, in Europe that's most often a four digit one, and the username & password [those are generic, and can probably be found on the phone company's website].

Thing is, the modem now may be able to contact the provider, but it may not be able to send or receive data, that's why that initstring, typed in in the modem setup under Windows, is so important.
posted by ijsbrand at 1:23 PM on September 18, 2007

O, in that initstring some reference is made to the network you'll log on to.
posted by ijsbrand at 1:26 PM on September 18, 2007

You can do it, and moreover T-mo will help you if you have issues setting it up.

Your concerns with speed are valid, generally you're looking at slightly better than a 56k connection, depending on what kind of coverage you're catching. I've heard of it reaching DSL Lite speeds though in areas of awesome coverage (signal around -50 to -60 dbm, you can check signal in Options > Status).

Do you have an unlimited data plan? If you don't, I'd say skip it.

Check out this RIM knowledge base article.

If you have issues with setup you can definitely call T-Mobile, they aren't going to kill you for it.
posted by heavenstobetsy at 4:01 PM on September 18, 2007 [1 favorite]

Thanks! It works, and seems to be passably qiuck, even when passing through a VPN. Connection speed is 115k and definitely seems faster than a 56k modem. This is great!
posted by iknowizbirfmark at 8:42 AM on September 19, 2007