Ray Jezek’s Blog

I just installed the RTM version of Windows 7 on my laptop and so I had to re-setup bluetooth tethering for my BlackBerry.  To my surprise things didn’t go as smoothly as they did when I posted my experience with tethering my 8330.  Establishing a bluetooth connection was still a straightforward process, however getting the phone to establish a stable connection and provide reliable we browsing was a different matter.

I was able to eventually get tethering working again but I had to try several different things, which in the end, some way or another, gave me success.  While the basic instructions in my previous post are still accurate, the following additional tips may be the very thing needed to solve any snafus you may encounter.

1)  Make sure you have the latest version of the BlackBerry USB and Modem drivers.  You can find the latest version of the drivers on BlackBerry’s website.  Just select “BlackBerry USB and Modem Drivers” from the dropdown and follow the instructions.  Also be sure to reboot after you install the drivers.

2)  Install SmartView.  Even though Sprint’s SmartView does not support the Tour (at least not yet), installing the application will install some of the communication components that may be needed in order to get your connection working.  If you are using a BlackBerry that is supported by SmartView it’s also a good way to just make sure that even wired tethering works.  You can download the SmartView application here.

3) Reboot your blackberry.  This one may seem surprising but this was actually the problem I had getting up and running the second time I tried tethering this phone.  I had all the drivers and software installed but still was getting communication errors once I tried to dial out.  So as a last ditch effort I did the ole alt, shift, del reboot on the BlackBerry and walla, everything worked perfectly!

There may be more tricks to getting past some of the hurdles that you may run into, but these 3 are the ones that have given me some success in the past.

Misc blackberry, bluetooth, modem, Sprint, tether, windows 7, wireless

I recently switched from T-Mobile to Sprint for my cell phone carrier.  I tried many times to tether my Blackberry on T-Mobile and never was able to do it (not like it would have been all that great @ Edge speeds anyway).  Since the data connection on Sprint is a lot faster than it was on T-Mobile I figured I would try again to tether my device to my laptop so I could access the Internet while riding the train.  The setup was amazingly simple and works great.  No cords required, just turn on the laptop, keep the phone in my pocket and surf!  Here is the step-by-step on how I got it working:

1.  Once you have the phone paired with your computer, view it’s properties to make sure you have the dial-up networking service enabled.  You can go ahead and disable the 2 Blackberry services if you want.  Leaving them enabled may cause you to get annoying prompts about installing drivers for them.

2.  Now that we have confirmed the service is available we need to make a new connection to dial out using the phone.  You can setup a new connection from the Network and Sharing Center in the Control Panel.

3.  Choose dial-up connection as the type.

4.  Choose Standard Modem over Bluetooth link.

5.  For the dialing properties all you need to enter is the phone number, #777.  No username or password is needed when connecting to the Sprint network.

6.  After setting up the dialing properties the computer will connect to the Internet and you can start browsing!

The setup works great although it is slower than when tethering with a USB cable, and the battery on my laptop seems to drain a lot faster when using the bluetooth connection.  Still, the convienience of not having to use a USB cable is a huge plus.

Misc blackberry, bluetooth, modem, Sprint, tether, wireless