Thread: Verizon based Blackberry phones work with bluetooth syncing?

Originally Posted by justchat_1

Close...but not quite. Its usually a bad idea to base generalizations about a spec on the way java does things. Obex and AVRCP have absolutely nothing to do with each other nor anything to do with HFP/HSP or DUN(what the OP was actually asking about). You did get the carrier lock part somewhat right though-> some carriers (mainly verizon) will disable bluetooth features like DUN/tethering, obex transfer or even spp access. No carrier (AFAIK) has ever disabled HFP or HSP.

Cool, that was interesting. He was talking about controlling the phone from the computer though, not just synchronizing it. The thread title is wrong.

Originally Posted by stonestatue

Why is OBEX blocked?

I used to work for one of the providers here that block it and the reason they did it is because there's no revenue gained from it since there is no connection charge. Therefore they chose not to waste time on the phones supporting something which is not generating revenue. Same with bluetooth, if they can't charge for the connection then they aren't going to support it.

Originally Posted by stonestatue

Which ones don't block OBEX?

It's blocked per carrier. Basically each provider is given an integer code value and the firmware in the Blackberry does a check on the integer to see which provider it's supposed to be with. Say it finds a 3 and that's related to Verizon, it'll block certain services based on predetermined settings in the firmware at the request of the provider. So therefore you need to find a provider which doesn't ask RIM to block these services......this includes Sprint for sure and I think T-Mobile and AT&T.

Originally Posted by stonestatue

I was referring to full remote phone control through the carputer (answer, send, hang up calls, phone book, etc).

My decision on what phone to get and what provider to go with is based mainly on this capability, primarily with Freefone.

If your basing your phone choice on freefones capabilities your going to be very disappointed. Your looking for one answer to about 3 different questions so lets start by clearing that up. Only old motorolla phones support sync over the DUN connection (via AT commands), certainly not blackberrys or any modern phone even close to that category.
Now for real bluetooth software (not freefone), the technologies you are talking about are PBAP for phonebook transfer which does rely on the obex protocol but is usually not blocked even if obex is. Answer, send and hangup are done over the HFP which most phones support but not all will provide callerid over this connection (its optional in the HFP spec). If your talking about using your phone as a media player over bluetooth, the technology there is AVRCP (sink) and A2DP (source) which allow media player control and high quality audio streaming respectively.

Hopefully that clears some things up.

Originally Posted by Maheriano

It's blocked per carrier. Basically each provider is given an integer code value and the firmware in the Blackberry does a check on the integer to see which provider it's supposed to be with. Say it finds a 3 and that's related to Verizon, it'll block certain services based on predetermined settings in the firmware at the request of the provider. So therefore you need to find a provider which doesn't ask RIM to block these services......this includes Sprint for sure and I think T-Mobile and AT&T.

The problem is these settings are firmware locked so unless you really know what your doing your outta luck...I was pretty sure verizon stopped that policy due to some angry customers and negative PR. So it should be as simple as just a new blackberry or any blackberry sold by verizon after whatever date the change was made.

Alright so it's not so much the phone but the software (Freefone)? If that is the case, what software can I use that would support a Blackberry for computer phone control?

I checked out mobilephone.net. Does that show any promise?

Your best bet would be asking them... AFAIK all of the phone app's roadrunner has are really just wrappers of the bluesoleil sdk. Bluesoleil really doesn't have great support for features other then HSP/HFP so you may need to just hang in there till something better comes along.

I do know of something better that is in the works but cannot provide any details or ETA at this time.