Wednesday, February 15, 2012

BlackBerry Can Receive But Can't Send Emails

As mentioned on the previous post, I had problems with my email setup on my BlackBerry. As a newbie and having bought the phone from Greenhills (with the manual not even in English), I had to Google my way for answers, and spend hours on the phone trying to get someone to help me from the Globe Telco side. When in fact, the person who helped me, did a call-out because I had my concern escalated by our company's account manager. (Side story: Our account manager is always on his toes when the EAs call him, as the boss is friends with his ultimate boss, the president of Globe Telecom.)

Without that "connection," I'm probably still waiting for a miracle and spending hours getting all the radiation from my phone while talking to numerous tech support people from Globe. So, after browsing through CrackBerry, I realized that maybe I just need to post the solution for the sake of posting, since not everyone has indirect ties to the president of a telco. Y'know, just in case someone gets the same problem and Googles for answers.

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THE SPECS

  • Model: BlackBerry Bold 9700
  • Bought from: Greenhills, seems like a Virgin Media phone
  • Came with: Charger, memory card and a manual in another language
  • Mobile Network: Globe (Corporate Line)
  • Monthly Plan: Some old plan about PHP 500/mo
  • My BlackBerry Knowledge: Noob

BACKDROP
With the help of the same account manager, I subscribed to BB Messaging (299), which gives me unlimited BBM, emails and instant messages. Apparently, you can't just sign up for some promos that need activation if you are on a restricted corporate line. After a few hours, I got my BBM working. I couldn't find the email setup and was fearing for the worst that my phone might not be able to setup POP mail (since it's a VM phone), so I went to globe.blackberry.com. Created an account, input my IMEI, PIN and set up my Gmail. Then did the same for my work email (over Microsoft Outlook Web Access). Note: If you don't know what details to put in, ask your IT department.

THE PROBLEM
I started receiving emails but I cannot send any. It would say, "You are currently on a service plan that does not support this application..." something like that, which of course, is not true since I am subscribed to BB Messaging which, as mentioned, includes unlimited push email. And the fact that I am receiving emails would indicate otherwise.

THE "SOLUTION"
Called the hotline for xx number of times, and all they do is resend me the service books, do a battery pull, and wait for 24-48 hours. How progressive!

THE REAL SOLUTION
I have poor memory but this is as complete as I can remember. (Takes about 30 minutes of your time.)
  1. On your computer, go to globe.blackberry.com. (If your network is NOT Globe, check what's the counterpart for your network.) Login, and go to your email accounts. Delete all email accounts that have been configured by clicking the trash logo behind each account.
  2. Re-create your email accounts. You need more details if using Microsoft Outlook. Wait until you receive a confirmation message: "Congratulations you have successfully set up..."
  3. Battery pull: Pull out the battery while the device is on. Pull out the SIM too. Then restore both SIM and battery.
  4. Once it's back to life, try sending an email. Mine was able to send ONE email, then reverted to the same error.
  5. Make sure your data has been backed up--I don't know how to do this, but since my phone was just days old, I didn't mind; then do a security wipeout of your phone. (Sorry but all will be lost, except for those on your memory card.) On my 9700, it's Options > Security > Security Wipe.
  6. After several minutes, it's back to life like a brand new phone. Have the tech support (in my case she was on the line all along) send you the service books. Make sure your mobile network is already switched on, and you're not in any kind of offline/airplane mode. Wait until you receive the activation email (as on #2).
  7. Battery pull. (as on #3)
  8. Try sending an email. In my case, this worked. Couldn't have been happier.

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