Pat Anderson
New member
I have had tethering working for a couple of days, am using the BB Storm as a Bluetooth modem tethered to my Macbook as I type. Still, I thought it would be useful to recount what you may encounter along the way if you go this route.
A BB Storm is pretty cool, it is the first BlackBerry without a real keyboard, which means the screen is way larger than on other BBs. The virtual keyboard is OK once you get used to it - full QWERTY is really too small for fat fingers, but there are two other options, I am using the multi-tap keyboard option in portrait mode - three letters on each key and the keys are big enough for fat fingers. If you still have a lot of time on your Verizon contract, so an iPhone is not an option, then the Storm sure seems like the way to go, just as a phone / text / email / web device all on its own. But its ability to tether is really why I bought it.
With rebates, two Storms ended up costing us $50 - it was $150 with a $100 rebate, and Verizon was having a "buy one get one free" promotion on the Storm, so these netted out at $25 each for the new phones. A few more bucks for a car charger and some screen protectors of course. Of course, you also have to add a data plan to your Verizon account. This is where the real $$$ will add up over time, but we were both ready for internet capable smartphones, and I really wanted a tethered modem for those days swinging on the hook in our favorite coves in the San Juans.
I was hoping to tether with the USB cord, since Bluetooth is such a battery hog. Verizon leads you believe you can do this with VZAccess Manager. In the box the Storm come in are two CDs, one for Windoze and the other (allegedly) for the Mac. When I booted up the Mac User Tools program, all I got was a blank gray screen. Googling this, I found out that is what everybody gets - the "real" program is allegedly due out, well, some time in the future. Why, oh, why, Verizon, did you put this dummy CD in the box? Just to taunt me? On the bright side, I tried VZAccess Manager on the Windoze side of one of my Ubuntu computers at home, and it didn't work either - the program is there, but it steadfastly failed to find the Storm, even thought is was connected as instructed. Oh, well.
But there is a ton of information on the net on how to tether the Storm to a Mac. Some of it is even correct! Actually, it is pretty easy. I am running through from memory, probably skipping something - you can always do what I did, which was Google "tether BlackBerry Storm Macbook." You will get about 5,000 hits!
First you turn on Bluetooth on the phone, if it is off. Mine was, because I don't use a Bluetooth headset. Then you click on the Options application, and click on Bluetooth from the list. Next press the Menu key, and select Options again. There are a lot of options you can set, but the important one is "Discoverable." I just looked over all the options, I don't remember if I changed any of the other ones or not, but it is pretty evident. Your phone is now ready to go. You already have done all this if you use a Bluetooth headset of course.
Then you set up the Mac side. There is a little icon on the upper right corner of the menu bar for Bluetooth, and allows you to enable Bluetooth on the Mac. This seems like a no-brainer, but I never have used Bluetooth for anything on the Mac before, so it was a learning experience.
On to pairing and setting up the phone to act as your modem. This is all on the Mac side, except entering the pairing number on the phone. You use the little Bluetooth icon on the right end of the menu bar that you used to turn Bluetooth on. At this same icon, you can get into "Set up Bluetooth device." You tell it to find mobile phones, and it goes out and finds your Storm and gathers information. Then on the Mac screen, a pairing number will pop up, and on the phone, a screen will pop up asking you to enter that number. After you do this, the computer and phone are paired.
Then you get to set up the phone, the main thing in the first screen is to check "Access the internet with your phone's data connection" or something like that. Then on the next screen, you enter the Account Name, which is your phone number at vzw3g.com, the password, which is vzw, and the phone number, which is #777. You also check the boxes for showing Bluetooth and modem status on the menu bar. You go back to the phone icon on the menu bar, which just to the left of the WiFi icon, and click "Connect."
If all has gone well, the modem status icon will say "Connecting," and then possibly "Dialing" or "Authenticating," or just go directly to showing the connect time. You may get a dialog box about "modem errors," which means you screwed something up along the way, which I did a couple of times before I got it working more or less reliably. Just keep trying, and somehow magically it will work.
Now, the last question. Your Storm requires a $30 a month data plan just to use its internet features on the phone. And Bluetooth tethering for phone as modem will work with just the basic data plan. But, and this is a big but, Verizon's terms of service require you to purchase the tethering feature on top of you basic data plan. Evidently it used to cost an extra $15 a month but now it is an extra $30 a month. I bought the plan, I don't want any nasty surprises on my Verizon bill.
That's about it. This is a pretty slick alternative to an ordinary aircard, for about the same price, and you get a heck of a neat phone in the deal. Warren - jump in here and correct anything I have wrong!
Now, if anybody can explain how to use the USB cord for tethering, I would REALLY be interested in that!
A BB Storm is pretty cool, it is the first BlackBerry without a real keyboard, which means the screen is way larger than on other BBs. The virtual keyboard is OK once you get used to it - full QWERTY is really too small for fat fingers, but there are two other options, I am using the multi-tap keyboard option in portrait mode - three letters on each key and the keys are big enough for fat fingers. If you still have a lot of time on your Verizon contract, so an iPhone is not an option, then the Storm sure seems like the way to go, just as a phone / text / email / web device all on its own. But its ability to tether is really why I bought it.
With rebates, two Storms ended up costing us $50 - it was $150 with a $100 rebate, and Verizon was having a "buy one get one free" promotion on the Storm, so these netted out at $25 each for the new phones. A few more bucks for a car charger and some screen protectors of course. Of course, you also have to add a data plan to your Verizon account. This is where the real $$$ will add up over time, but we were both ready for internet capable smartphones, and I really wanted a tethered modem for those days swinging on the hook in our favorite coves in the San Juans.
I was hoping to tether with the USB cord, since Bluetooth is such a battery hog. Verizon leads you believe you can do this with VZAccess Manager. In the box the Storm come in are two CDs, one for Windoze and the other (allegedly) for the Mac. When I booted up the Mac User Tools program, all I got was a blank gray screen. Googling this, I found out that is what everybody gets - the "real" program is allegedly due out, well, some time in the future. Why, oh, why, Verizon, did you put this dummy CD in the box? Just to taunt me? On the bright side, I tried VZAccess Manager on the Windoze side of one of my Ubuntu computers at home, and it didn't work either - the program is there, but it steadfastly failed to find the Storm, even thought is was connected as instructed. Oh, well.
But there is a ton of information on the net on how to tether the Storm to a Mac. Some of it is even correct! Actually, it is pretty easy. I am running through from memory, probably skipping something - you can always do what I did, which was Google "tether BlackBerry Storm Macbook." You will get about 5,000 hits!
First you turn on Bluetooth on the phone, if it is off. Mine was, because I don't use a Bluetooth headset. Then you click on the Options application, and click on Bluetooth from the list. Next press the Menu key, and select Options again. There are a lot of options you can set, but the important one is "Discoverable." I just looked over all the options, I don't remember if I changed any of the other ones or not, but it is pretty evident. Your phone is now ready to go. You already have done all this if you use a Bluetooth headset of course.
Then you set up the Mac side. There is a little icon on the upper right corner of the menu bar for Bluetooth, and allows you to enable Bluetooth on the Mac. This seems like a no-brainer, but I never have used Bluetooth for anything on the Mac before, so it was a learning experience.
On to pairing and setting up the phone to act as your modem. This is all on the Mac side, except entering the pairing number on the phone. You use the little Bluetooth icon on the right end of the menu bar that you used to turn Bluetooth on. At this same icon, you can get into "Set up Bluetooth device." You tell it to find mobile phones, and it goes out and finds your Storm and gathers information. Then on the Mac screen, a pairing number will pop up, and on the phone, a screen will pop up asking you to enter that number. After you do this, the computer and phone are paired.
Then you get to set up the phone, the main thing in the first screen is to check "Access the internet with your phone's data connection" or something like that. Then on the next screen, you enter the Account Name, which is your phone number at vzw3g.com, the password, which is vzw, and the phone number, which is #777. You also check the boxes for showing Bluetooth and modem status on the menu bar. You go back to the phone icon on the menu bar, which just to the left of the WiFi icon, and click "Connect."
If all has gone well, the modem status icon will say "Connecting," and then possibly "Dialing" or "Authenticating," or just go directly to showing the connect time. You may get a dialog box about "modem errors," which means you screwed something up along the way, which I did a couple of times before I got it working more or less reliably. Just keep trying, and somehow magically it will work.
Now, the last question. Your Storm requires a $30 a month data plan just to use its internet features on the phone. And Bluetooth tethering for phone as modem will work with just the basic data plan. But, and this is a big but, Verizon's terms of service require you to purchase the tethering feature on top of you basic data plan. Evidently it used to cost an extra $15 a month but now it is an extra $30 a month. I bought the plan, I don't want any nasty surprises on my Verizon bill.
That's about it. This is a pretty slick alternative to an ordinary aircard, for about the same price, and you get a heck of a neat phone in the deal. Warren - jump in here and correct anything I have wrong!
Now, if anybody can explain how to use the USB cord for tethering, I would REALLY be interested in that!