PLEASE NOTE
This is a legacy post that is no longer maintained
giffgaff now provide Blackberry services free of charge for legacy devices (older than BB10)
http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Announcements/BlackBerry-Plans-Update/m-p/16063856
Refer to the official giffgaff guide
https://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Using-giffgaff/Guide-to-using-a-BlackBerry-on-giffgaff/ta-p/3520913
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LATEST NEWS
Blackberry 10 has launched read all about it here
http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Blog/BlackBerry-10-BB10-Top-5-new-features/ba-p/7627736
Do you get Service not enabled for this handset/missing Blackberry Maps
http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Learn-giffgaff-Top-Tips/Blackberry-Get-Your-Missing-Service-Books/td-p/3801149
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Official Blackberry FAQ
All official Blackberry FAQs and instructions are available here
Please note that the giffgaff Blackberry plan is NOT required for the latest BB10 devices which include the qwerty keyboard based Q10 and touchscreen based Z10. For more info on BB10 see this article
it is only needed for older models that use BB4, BB5, BB6 or BB7
Buying the giffgaff Blackberry plan
Remember that this is only required for older BB4,5,6 and 7 Blackberry devices.
BB10 devices can access all services without the plan by using either PAYG credit or a goodybag containing either a capped or unlimited data allowance
A BB Plan consists of a minutes and text allowance, an internet allowance and also enables Blackberry services on your device. You cannot add Blackberry services to an existing live goodybag, or to use just with payg credit
Vist the topup page to purchase your chosen plan that includes a built in £2.50 additional charge for the Blackberry services
https://giffgaff.com/buy
Select Blackberry Plans from the screen shown below
Select your chosen goodybag value, then click Select to chose you chosen package
Review your selected choice before paying for the plan using either a credit/debit card or from your existing airtime balance
Once you have successfully purchased the Blackberry Plan, go to my giffgaff and you should see the goodybag plan and a Blackberry logo beneath it to indicate it is tied to that period
Once the plan goes live, your device should automatically be provisioned with the required Blackberry service books needed to use BBM, Browser , Email and MMS. There is no need to enter manual settings.
You should receive a text from Blackberry that reads
Your device's data connection indicator should display it's status at the top right corner of the screen
(open the spoiler for a description of each status)
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3G
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Full wireless coverage with faster than EDGE data speeds.
You can send and receive email messages, personal identification number (PIN) messages, and Short Message Service (SMS) messages.
You can place and answer phone calls and transmit data at the same time.
You can browse web pages.
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EDGE
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Full wireless coverage with high-speed data.
You can send and receive email messages, personal identification number (PIN) messages, and Short Message Service (SMS) messages.
You can place and answer phone calls.
You can browse web pages.
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edge/3g
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You can send and receive SMS messages.
You can place and answer phone calls.
You cannot send or receive email or PIN messages.
You cannot browse web pages.
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GPRS
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Full wireless coverage.
You can send and receive email, PIN, and SMS messages.
You can place and answer phone calls.
You can browse web pages.
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gprs
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You can send and receive SMS messages.
You can place and answer phone calls.
You cannot send or receive email or PIN messages.
You cannot browse web pages.
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GSM
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You can send and receive SMS messages.
You can place and answer phone calls.
You cannot send or receive email or PIN messages.
You cannot browse web pages.
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Generally this should be all that is required and the device should then work, however often it is advisable to remove the battery from your phone( also known as a "battery pull" ), leave it out for 60 seconds, then reinsert it and allow the phone to restart to force the device to register with the network.
Blackberry Diagnostic Test (courtesy of ikhaan 😉
A Blackberry has a test menu to allow you to run a connection test to determine if your device is securely connected to the Blackberry service
OS 4/5 Devices
Go to options/Mobile network, press the BB logo, choose Diagnostics test, press BB logo again and press RUN...
OS 6/7 Devices
Go to options/Network and connections/Mobile networks, press the BB logo, choose Diagnostics test, press BB logo again and press RUN...
If you get YES in front of Connected to blackberry: YES, Blackberry PIN-PIN: YES, then your blackberry services are enabled.
If you get NO in front of Connected to blackberry: NO, Blackberry PIN-PIN: NO, then your blackberry services arent enabled.
If you still want, you can make sure that the device has the required service books and host tables
How to check host tables
On Version 4/5
Main Menu>Options>Advanced Options>Host Routing Table
On Version 6/7
Main Menu>Options>Device>Advanced System Settings>Host Routing Table
You should see something similar to this
How to check service books
On Version 4/5
Main Menu>Options>Advanced Options>Service Book
On Version 6/7
Main Menu>Options>Device>Advanced System Settings>Service book
You should see something similar to this
If your device does not appear to have the required host routing tables and service books then try the following
Version 4/5
Main Menu>Options>Advanced Options>Host Routing Table>Press Blackberry button>Register Now>Battery pull
Version 6/7
Main Menu>Options>Device>Advanced System Settings>Host Routing Table>Press Blackberry button>Register now>Battery Pull
If services still do not appear to work after consulting this or the official FAQ pages, then please raise a case with giffgaff using the Ask an Agent system
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Other Useful Guidance
Using the giffgaff Blackberry email portal
You can manage and create email accounts from your device, however there is also a handy web portal where you can perform mail setup, if you find it easier on a computer.
On the device go to Setup > Email accounts > Press the Blackberry button > Create Username
Follow the prompts to create a secure administration account and password for the portal, you will also be asked to validate any passwords for mail accounts already setup on the device
Once this process is complete, go to http://GiffGaff.blackberry.com/ and you should now be able to use the Existing Users login section by entering your username and password created in the previous steps.
Once logged into the portal you will see the following screen from which you can now either add existing email accounts or even create a custom name@giffgaff.blackberry.com email address
The portal screen will look like this
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I am Missing the Blackberry App World icon
If you are missing the icon to run this program, however it is definately installed on your deice, then you may need to uninstall it and then visit the Blackberry site to obtain a copy of the app
http://uk.blackberry.com/services/appworld/download.jsp
You can get an email link sent to you with the download location, or can obtain it via the website and install it through your Blackberry Desktop Manager software.
I have seen some issues with people being unable to download it via these options with 'unabled to load' errors so did some research and found the following advice
First try connecting via wi-fi and using the links via the Blackberry site
If that fails then refer to
http://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/BlackBerry-Curve/Error-80003-BB-Curve-8520-App-world-ID-insta...
On your Blackberry, Go to Settings > Applications and make sure you select Add-on
Look for and highlight Blackberry App world in the list (mine showed 1.1.0.33 was installed)
If it is there, then click the Blackberry key, then select delete to remove the older non working/invisible version
From the Blackberry browser, download the correct file for your device operating system
OS 5 or above v3.0.1.29 http://santo.asia/repository/bb-file/BlackBerryAppWorld.3.0.1.29.OS5/AppWorld.jad
OS4.5 v2.1.0.39 http://www.mediafire.com/?0md51fh6ow1zcf1
The device will most likely require a restart after installing the app world
This should install a version of the App World to your handset, which appears to work. Once you have this installed, you can always check for upgrades to a later version ( I am now running v3.1.0.60 )
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Service not enabled for this handheld / Missing Blackberry Maps
If you receive this message when trying to access Windows Live Messenger, Google Talk, Yahoo, AOL or ICQ or are missing the icon for Blackberry Maps, then your device may not be receiving all required service books which enable these options. giffgaff are looking into the issue, however until they resolve it, here is a thread which provides downloadable copies of the service books to get them up and running http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Learn-giffgaff-Top-Tips/Blackberry-Get-Your-Missing-Service-Books/td-p/3801149
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If you've got it flaunt it
Assuming you have got this far and everything is working, why not let your family, friends and colleagues know by using this swish giffgaff/blackberry wallpaper , just copy the 480x360px png file to your device and set as wallpaper.
More wallpapers are available here
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Blackberry Legacy Guide
The remainder of this guide was produced prior to the introduction of Blackberry services, and is designed to assist giffgaff members in getting the most from their Blackberry if they do not choose to use the Blackberry add-on
Why are Blackberries different to other phones
Blackberry handsets are manufactured by Research In Motion (RIM).
RIM use a secure encrypted system for mail,messaging, and browsing which relies on all activity being routed through dedicated servers. Any service provider that wishes to offer full Blackberry support must install its own gateway server to allow handsets to connect to the RIM infrastructure
Instead of using locally edited profiles for things like gprs settings RIM use Service Books which are automatically delivered to the handset when it registers with the service provider.
What does work out of the box
You can use a Blackberry to make voice calls and texts with a giffgaff SIM
What doesn't work out of the box
The standard Blackberry Web Browser, Push Mail, Blackberry Messenger and MMS (Picture Messaging) will not work unless you have the £3 Blackberry Add on which must be purchased at the same time as a goodybag
Before you migrate to giffgaff
If you are planning on transferring from another service provider and still have access to Blackberry Browser and Blackberry Market place, then make sure you download any alternative applications such as opera browser before you migrate over to giffgaff. It will save you from having to fiddle with installing them via your desktop manager.
How to giffgaff a Blackberry without a Blackberry Plan
For people who don't wish to use a Blackberry plan and just wish to payg for their use, please refer to the following steps to still use Internet on your Blackberry
*** If you have bought the Blackberry Plan there is no need to perform these steps ***
The manual steps to configure the APN settings are as follows
For O/S 4 and 5 devices
Go to the Home screen and click Options.
Click Advanced Options > TCP
Enter the APN giffgaff.com, user name giffgaff, and password password
Press the Menu key and select Save
For O/S 6 and 7 devices
Press the trackpad button
Open Tray
Select Options > Device > Advanced System Settings > TCP/IP
Enter the APN giffgaff.com , user name giffgaff and password password
Press the BB Menu key and select Save
Once this is done. you can use some alternative applications to provide access to certain basic functions
Web Access
An alternative web browser such as Opera Mini can be used to provide web browser functionality.
To get a copy of Opera Mini to your PC for transferring to the Blackberry via the Blackberry Desktop Manager software...
Go to http://www.opera.com/mobile/download/blackberry/ for the Opera software
Connect your Blackberry to your computer with a USB data cable then use Blackberry Desktop Manager and the application loader and browse to the folder that contains the alx and cod files that Blackberry Desktop Manager needs to install to the handset.
Blackberry Standard Browser
There is a way of enabling the standard Blackberry Browser to access the web via the giffgaff.com tcp apn instead of BIS. This is so far known to work on the older v4 and 5 operating systems
It involves installing the missing browser service book to the device which you would normally get if you had a BIS subscription on your account.
see woodyuk's post at http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Learn-giffgaff-Top-Tips/Blackberry-without-BIS-project/td-p/1176837
Gmail on Blackberry
Once again courtesy of woodyuk, here is a thread which explains how to download and install an app to access gmail from your Blackberry
Facebook on Blackberry
Any versions of the Facebook app later than or equal to v1.7 installed on recent handsets or available from download from Facebook will not work via giffgaff's APN. Please refer to my post Facebook on Giffgaff with a Blackberry for a workaround involving downgrading your Facebook client software to version 1.6
How to check or amend the giffgaff SMS Message Centre number on a Blackberry (version 4 or 5 devices)
Scroll to Options, press the trackball
Scroll to SMS press the trackball
Scroll to Service Centre, enter +447802002606
Press the BlackBerry key
Scroll to Save and press the trackball
How to check or amend the giffgaff SMS Message Centre number on a Blackberry (version 6 or 7 devices)
Scroll to All, then press the Trackpad key
Scroll to the Text Messages icon, then press the Trackpad key
Press the Menu key
Scroll to Options, then press the Trackpad key
Scroll to the Service Centre field, then enter +447802002606
Press the Menu key
Scroll to Save, then press the Trackpad key.
Corporate Blackberries
People who have a Blackberry that was previously setup on a corporate account using Blackberry Enterprise Server (BES) may find that due to security policies still in place on their handset, that some options may be blocked.
For example a member reported they couldn't send SMS text messages despite their sim being active and having the correct message centre number, the solution was to perform a full factory reset to remove the policies
see http://community.giffgaff.com/t5/Help-Ask-the-community-got-stuck/Blackberry-8520-cannot-send-SMS-can-receive-OK/td-p/577843
