You have a new Blackberry through AT&T, have never owned one before, and want to set up your personal e-mail on it. No problem. There are a couple of ways to do this, but let me show you the easiest way.
First, make sure you have an active Blackberry data plan. The rep at the store or kiosk should have done this, and so long as your device as the word "EDGE" (in upper case letters) in the upper right-hand side of the screen you should be okay. If you are getting "edge" (in lower case letters) or "GSM" (that's just the indicator for voice and text, not data) then something isn't quite right. Pop the battery out for a few seconds, then put it back in and boot the Blackberry back up. If that doesn't fix it, call customer support at the number on your bill or in the packaging you received from the store or kiosk.
Second, once you are sure the data plan is in place, go to a laptop or destop computer that has Internet access. Yes, there's a way to set up e-mail through the Blackberry itself, but it's a bit of a pain in the neck for new users. On a regular computer go to http://att.blackberry.com/ and click on "create new account." You will be asked to accept some terms and conditions, and then on the next screen will need to provide your device PIN and IMEI. These can be found easily on a Blackberry by going into Settings>Options>Status. Please note that on many devices you will see Options without having to go through Settings first. The PIN and IMEI numbers will be provided under Status.
Third, after providing your pin and imei number you will be asked to select a user name and password. Please be aware that if the user name has already been used by someone else, you obviously cannot have it. In this case, if your name is John Smith and you try to use "jsmith" as your user name, you won't get it. Be creative, but use something you can remember. The user name and password you are choosing here are for accessing and managing your Blackberry e-mail through this website. This is not the same as your att.com login or your e-mail user name and password.
Fourth, once you are actually in the Blackberry management site you will see an option for adding an existing e-mail address. Follow the simple steps as they are presented to you, and once the site says your e-mail is accepted and valid you should wait up to 20 minutes to begin seeing e-mail come to your device.
E-mail will not be pushed automatically to your Blackberry through this personal option. The only way to have that service is if the company you work for has an Enterprise server and your Blackberry has been set up on it. In that case you will receive work e-mails in real time from the company server. Since you are using the personal service through what I have described here your device is actually doing the work of reaching out to the various e-mail accounts and picking up your e-mail. This cycle generally occurs every 5 to 20 minutes.
One more thing, some e-mail providers do not permit users to pick up e-mail externally, as through the Blackberry service, without an additional fee. Yahoo will often work for a while and then stop, the reason being that Yahoo charges for POP service. MSN/Hotmail is also a bit touchy in this regard. You can try either, but there is no guarantee and AT&T can't make it work for you. Gmail is generally very reliable for personal e-mail and I strongly recommend it.
Enjoy your Blackberry!
Disclaimer: This blog is in no way endorsed by or affiliated with AT&T Mobility or any of its related companies. If you encounter problems with your AT&T service that you are unable to resolve yourself, you are strongly encouraged to contact customer support for assistance. The number is available on your bill or you can also be assisted in a corporate store location. See also AT&T's Device Tutorials for more information specific to your device.
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