What can I do until I activate

[Satyricon]

Almost 6 months ago I upgraded to a blackberry pearl. I got it through amazon. It only cost a penny and I have to keep it for 6 months or amazon will charge me 250 dollars. The 6 months will be up next Monday. I should be getting my iphone today. Is there anything I can do with it until I activate it or should I just leave it in the box?

I assume it is kinda worthless until it has been activated, but it was very difficult to search for something on this topic because of all the firmware upgrade problem threads.

 

[powerbook911]

Yes, you can't do anything until you activate, make an emergency call, if you had an emergency.

I'd be surprised if Amazon follows that policy, if it isn't activated on another account, but at this point yeah you might as well wait until monday and be safe!

Really you did a good deal cause now you have a backup phone, or you can sell it.

 

[spork183]

makes a hell of a paper weight. Tell your friends you hacked it to use as a mobile hacking platform, so Apple bricked it. When you activate it, you can tell them you wrote a workaround to restore functionality.

or, you could just leave it in the box...

 

[Satyricon]

Thanks for the replies. I will take it out of the box and just stare at it for a week.

I don't want to take a chance and get that fee from amazon. Their big thing is that I have to have a plan that is of equal value to the one I signed up for and since having the iphone will make my bill cheaper, I am going to wait the 6 months.

Probably going to be the longest week of my life. I haven't even seen an iphone yet so I am pretty excited.

 

[CD3660]

Probably going to be the longest week of my life.

Count yourself lucky. I have to wait 5 weeks until the U.K. launch!

 

[redgaz26]

Count yourself lucky. I have to wait 5 weeks until the U.K. launch!

same here, it's as if time is standing still lol.

 

[CD3660]

same here, it's as if time is standing still lol.

I think the trick is to stop thinking about it 24/7. You could also try uninstalling the countdown timer widget!

I appreciate that all this is easier said than done, but you know what they say: 'A watched kettle never boils!'

 

[AJsAWiz]

Almost 6 months ago I upgraded to a blackberry pearl. I got it through amazon. It only cost a penny and I have to keep it for 6 months or amazon will charge me 250 dollars. The 6 months will be up next Monday. I should be getting my iphone today. Is there anything I can do with it until I activate it or should I just leave it in the box?

I assume it is kinda worthless until it has been activated, but it was very difficult to search for something on this topic because of all the firmware upgrade problem threads.

I'm curious. How did you get a Blackberry Pearl for only a penny?
When you said "keep it for 6 months" did you mean the service had to be activated for a 6 month period?

 

[VoodooDaddy]

If its got the 1.0.2 firmware, and odds are it does, you could use independence to activate it.

 

[Satyricon]

I'm curious. How did you get a Blackberry Pearl for only a penny?
When you said "keep it for 6 months" did you mean the service had to be activated for a 6 month period?

http://www.amazon.com/BlackBerry-81...3211?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1191768298&sr=8-1

Conditional $250 Equipment Discount Included: Your price paid includes an equipment discount of $250 that has been provided to you in exchange for either activating a new, non-substitute line of service or renewing an existing line of service with AT&T and your agreement that for the 181-day period following such activation or renewal you will: (1) pay your balance due to AT&T each month and otherwise maintain your account in good standing; (2) not disconnect this AT&T line of service; (3) not transfer this equipment to another AT&T line of service; (4) not change your AT&T service rate plan to a lower monthly service rate--this includes canceling or removing required PDA, BlackBerry, or smartphone features after your product has shipped; (5) not use this line of service to replace an existing account with AT&T. If these conditions are not met, you hereby authorize Amazon.com to charge your credit card $250 as reimbursement of this equipment discount without need for further approval.


The bolded part is what is making me wait.

 

[paulo999]

http://www.amazon.com/BlackBerry-81...3211?ie=UTF8&s=wireless&qid=1191768298&sr=8-1

Conditional $250 Equipment Discount Included: Your price paid includes an equipment discount of $250 that has been provided to you in exchange for either activating a new, non-substitute line of service or renewing an existing line of service with AT&T and your agreement that for the 181-day period following such activation or renewal you will: (1) pay your balance due to AT&T each month and otherwise maintain your account in good standing; (2) not disconnect this AT&T line of service; (3) not transfer this equipment to another AT&T line of service; (4) not change your AT&T service rate plan to a lower monthly service rate--this includes canceling or removing required PDA, BlackBerry, or smartphone features after your product has shipped; (5) not use this line of service to replace an existing account with AT&T. If these conditions are not met, you hereby authorize Amazon.com to charge your credit card $250 as reimbursement of this equipment discount without need for further approval.


The bolded part is what is making me wait.

So how did you only pay a penny?

 

[Satyricon]

So how did you only pay a penny?

Click the link. You get the blackberry for a penny and agree to pay the bill that includes the data plan for the blackberry. My usual bill is around 90 dollars.