Gprs not fully live on my 8900

Question

HI
I have a BB 8900 curve which has not been used before. The carrier Vodafone has enabled my BB service and I should have full data. However, the device is showing gprs and not GPRS and the service books are not downloading as a result.
When I put my SIm in a mates BB 8900 it does show as full GPRS......is there a setting in the device that allows partial data service that I need to change to give me full data, or do I just have another faulty 8900 device?
Any advice is appreciated

Answer 1

Hi and Welcome to the Community!
No, there is no setting...it either will work or it will not. But, you have many hurdles to surmount to get this to work, and it may never do so.
1) The BB must be capable of running on that carriers network. I do not know if your 8900 can function on the Vodafone network or not.You need to find out the network technology (e.g., GSM, frequency, etc.) that they (Vodafone) run on and then check the specs of your 8900 to be sure it can use those.
2) If this BB did not originate on Vodafone, then it must be unlocked from it's original carrier:
http://blackberryfaq.com/index.php/How_do_I_determ​ine_if_my_BlackBerry_is_%22unlocked%22%3F
http://www.blackberryfaq.com/index.php/How_do_I_un​lock_my_BlackBerry%3F
3) You must get the carrier (Vodafone) to allow that specific device onto their network. The carriers own their networks and have the right to decide what devices they will allow on it.
4) You must have an adequate data plan from Vodafone...a generic data plan won't be adequate, only a BB level data plan will give you all BB-level functions:
http://www.blackberryfaq.com/index.php/What_do_I_n​eed_a_Data_Plan_for%3F
Also, if that BB was ever on a different carrier, you will need to be sure that carrier has fully released the BB PIN from their system...otherwise, Vodafone will never be able to configure BB services for it.
5) Even with all of the above, you still require receipt to the BB of the proper Service Books to enable the services you subscribe to. The carrier delivers those to the device when it properly registers to their network. But, typically the carriers only deliver the SBs to devices that exactly match the model numbers that they support on their network. On the offical download portal, I can't tell which Vodafone you are asking about, so I can't tell you if they even support your 8900. But, you can check for yourself here:
http://us.blackberry.com/support/downloads/downloa​d_sites.jsp
Just find the proper Vodafone and click them. If it allows you to next select a BB model, then if your 8900 is on their list, then you may be OK. If it's not on their list, then you have greater challenges ahead. There is a process to attempt to extract SBs from a functioning (on that network) BB and import them to your BB, but I honestly think you'd be best off seeing if they can help you at the shop rather than trying to do it alone.
Good luck and let us know!
Occam's Razor nearly always applies when troubleshooting technology issues!
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