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Blackberry Messenger Q&A
How can I get my PIN# without looking it up?
To get your PIN number without having to look for it, type:
Mypin (then click space and then the words, mypin will change to pin: 123456)
Should you add a person if you got the pin number from someone else?
This is really up to the person. If you know the person well and you know they won’t mind, then go ahead. It’s not like your request will be automatically accepted, they’ll still have to accept or reject you. You can also try putting a message on the message box before sending your request. (This is the box that says “(user) would like to add you to his or her Blackberry Messenger contact list”)
Some people are a little more sensitive about people giving out their contact info, including PIN numbers.
How do people get those cool icons on BBM?
To add cool icons such as ☀ follow these steps:
1) Highlight the icon by pressing the menu button and click select, after icon is highlighted, click copy.
2) Now you have the icon on your clipboard ready to paste.
3) Open a BBM buddy convo, click the menu button again and select Edit Autotext.
4) On the AutoText screen, you’ll click the menu button again and select New.
5) On the New screen, you’ll paste the icon. Paste the icon on With.
6) On the same screen type something in the Replace. (This could be a letter or word)
7) Click the trackball, and then click save.
Below are some icons you can save, just copy and email them to yourself and take it from there:
☂ ☃ ☁ ♡ ☇ ⌣ © ® ¶ ¿ § ø œ Œ Þ ™ ♥ ♣ ♠ ♦
☎ ♍ ♑ ♉ ♐ ♈ ♒ ♋ ♌ ♎ Σ Λ Γ ☑
☀ Æ ⇆ ☎ ✆ ✉ ♊ ♏ ♓ Δ Ψ Φ Θ Ξ Ω
♢ ♤ ♧ ♡ Π Σ † τ λ ※ ▲ △ ▼ ▽ № •
Availability Settings
In order to receive notification of instant messages you will need to set your availability status to Available. If you set your availability status to Unavailable you prevent the receipt of instant messages.
The Busy icon (this is the icon with the clock next to the smiley face) – automatically displays when the contact is engaged in another activity. A busy icon displays when there is recent key or Track Wheel activity, the contact has received a BlackBerry Messenger notification in the last two minutes, or the contact has not read or responded to BlackBerry.
The Unreachable icon (this is the icon with the airwaves) – automatically displays when a contact is out of a sufficient wireless coverage area or when the contact is using the phone.
If you set your status to Unavailable, you will still receive instant messages but you do not receive the notification. When you turn on messenger you will be able to see your missed messages.
To receive notification when a contact becomes available, click an unavailable contact on the Contact List screen. Click ‘Set Alert’ to turn on availability alert. To turn off the alert Click ‘Clear Alert.’
Blackberry All-in-One for Dummies
Want to give each of your BB messenger buddies a unique notification tone?!
You can set notification options such as Vibrate or Tone in the Profiles menu. To create a notification profile, go to in the profiles menu, click a profile. Click ‘Edit.’ Click on a notification option. Click ‘Edit. ‘Set the desired options and click the Track Wheel. Click Save.
What are the rules about unavailable? If a person is “unavailable” is it OK to IM?
Unfortunately I wasn’t able to find anything on this question, but my answer to this would be the following:
If a contact on your BBM list is unavailable and they put a status message that says “Do Not Disturb, Away, BRB, Can’t chat now, Working, Busy” then I personally wouldn’t IM them, if it’s something important but not that important, but it cannot wait til they become available, I would send them an email.
If a contact on your BBM is unavailable and they DO NOT put a status message that says any of the above mentioned, or along those lines, then I think that they do not mind being bothered, or else they would’ve specified.
I personally would set myself Unavailable when I do not want to hear my phone vibrate or ring every time someone Messages me. So instead of turning the ringer off my phone, I make BBM unavailable so all I see is the light blinking.
What do those BBM letters and check marks mean after I send a message?
A check mark appears as the message is sent. When it is delivered to the recipient’s BlackBerry, a D is added above the check mark. When the recipient reads the message an A or an R replaces the D above the check mark.
D = Delivered
R = Received
A = Answered
(check mark) = message sent
Below are some FAQs when people visit this site, I hope this answers some of your questions:
What happens when you delete someone from BBM?
You disappear from their buddy list, so they will know you are gone.
What happens when you are busy on BBM?
I’m not sure I understand this question. Busy like on the phone or just with a “busy” status. I think either way whoever is trying to reach you will just get a check mark.
Is there any way to read my BBM Messages?
You can read your BBM messages by opening the received message from your BBM screen. Or you can have your BBMs sent directly to your Blackberry Message (same box where your emails go to) and you can read your BBMs from there without having to open them from your BBM screen.
How can I tell if I’ve been deleted on BBM?
If you’ve been deleted off someone else’s BBM you’ll know because you won’t see that buddy on your BBM buddy list.
How do I know if someone deleted me from BBM?
See answer above.
Cannot see word I’m typing on BBM?
Lately with the new BBM 5.0 a lot of us have been having the same problem where we can’t see what we type. I believe RIM is trying to work on that issue. Until then, I suggest ending the convo and reopening a new one. That fixes the problem temporarily.
If someone’s Blackberry is turned off will pins deliver?
Pin will deliver; they’ll just receive it when they turn their phone back on.
If you delete someone from BBM will the person find out?
Yes. If you delete someone from your BBM list, the person whom you deleted will lose a contact (in this case yours) from their list.
Any way to read BBM without sending read receipt?
You can read a BBM without sending read receipt by 1) reading the BBM without opening the message from the BBM screen or 2) having your BBMs sent to your Message inbox (where your emails go to) and reading it from there.
If you remove a contact will they see your status messages?
No. Once you remove a contact, your name will be removed from their buddy list and they will not be able to see your status messages.
BBM – Do I have to give out my cell phone number?
When adding a BBM contact via PIN or Email your contact won’t need your cell phone number. Pin Numbers are separate from your cell phone.
Can you be available for just one contact?
Unfortunately No.
Can someone tell I’ve read their messages?
Yes, if you opened the message, the contact will get a check mark with an R on it, which means read.
What about when someone is not responding right away?
JUST PING THEM!!!
You can “ping” someone who isn’t responding by making their BlackBerry vibrate when you send a message. Just click the track wheel in BlackBerry Messenger, and click “Ping Contact.”
If you want to turn off the ping function on your own device, go to the Contact List screen, click “Options” and click on the box before “Vibrate When Receiving a Ping” and select No.
Want to save a convo?
Try “Copy History” to save a copy of your conversation. Once you hit “End Conversation,” your chance to save the conversation is gone.
Want AIM, Google Talk, MSN Messenger or Yahoo Messenger?
These sites can help you with that. Some are free some are not.
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JiveTalk isn’t free, but it provides connections to AIM, Yahoo, MSN, Google Talk, ICQ, Jabber and MySpace IM. A non-transferable license for one BlackBerry device costs $19.95 and includes free software upgrades. But switch to a new BlackBerry, and you’ll need to get another license. A $29.95 user license can be transferred to a new device.
-
EQO offers free IMing with connections to MSN, AIM, Yahoo!, Google Talk, QQ, ICQ and Jabber. The company also offers — and charges for — text messaging and VoIP calling.
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WebMessenger is a hosted service that can be used to access AOL, MSN, Yahoo, Google Talk, ICQ and Jabber networks from a BlackBerry or other mobile device. While the company offers a monthly or yearly subscription service, WebMessenger Business-Class Service is free.
*FOR BOLD USERS*
The layout is the same but graphics for online, away, and unavailable have changed. You can set an alert so you are notified when a buddy comes back online, and you can broadcast a message to everyone you have an open conversation with.
You can also enable an option to change your status when you are on the phone, and even change your status automatically to reflect whatever MP3 you are playing on the device.
*For more information visit: Crackberry, Howstuffworks, The Boy Genius Report
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Question….so if you send a blackberry messenger message, and it shows a "D" for delivered to the receipient, but then you end the conversation, can the recipient still view the message you sent or would it have been erased when i ended the conversation?????
If you end the conversation after you see the D, they would have received the message. It would not erase the message you already sent. :-)
What if you send a message but the checkmark or D never appeared? (there was a circle… i think the contact was unavailable at the time?). If you end the conversation before status states its delivered will that contact still receive the message once they become available? Also, if i deleted someone from my contact list, does my contact still appear in their list, can they still msg me?
Once you send a message whether you see the D or not, the message has been delivered, so it's on its way and the person will receive it eventually. Even after you end the conversation. Pretty much, once it's sent, it's sent.If you delete someone from your contact list, your contact info does not appear on their contact list (BBM) anymore and they shouldn't be able to contact you anymore. I hope I've answered your questions.KMP
If you have sent someone a message, it's delivered (the D is displayed) then you delete them from the contact list before they read it, can they still see your original message?
oooh that's a toughie that one I don't know. I'm guessing they still get it because it is delivered, or maybe not because if u delete them, u are erased from their bbm list and I'm guessing the message you just sent got erased as well.
is there anyway i can make myself completely unavailable that i wont even be able to receive any bbm's without turning off my mobile network connection?
If my blackberry is turned off what does my messenger status read?
I also at times wish BBM had a sign on sign off button, but unfortunately it doesn't the best thing to do is to either be unavailable ALL the time, delete the contact you do not wish to contact you, or delete the application from your application settings. If your BB is turned off, I believe the status icons varies depending on your BB, but it would be the unreachable icon, where there's an X next to your icon if someone tries to contact you.
If someone else deletes BBMsgr application from their phone..do they still show up as a contact in your phone?
I believe the answer is yes. A contact won't probably be removed unless an user physically removes each contact one by one. Erasing the BBM app shouldn't erase your BBM contact info from another BBM user's buddy list. You'll most likely remain there and if someone tries to contact you, you'll probably show up as "unreachable"
i am having a really odd problem In the middle of a convo, the convo and the histry will suddenly be gone . the message that was sent to me as one that i may be typing at the time will suddenly be gone. it only happens with particular contact. any ideas on what his is?
Hmm, it sounds like a bug or a glitch with your phone or BBM. You can try resetting your phone and see if that happens again, if it does, then I suggest taking to the AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon, or Sprint store and telling them the problem.
What if I have received a message and I read it without opening the conversation, it will read D to the person who sent it, then I end the conversation without opening it, will that read a D or R for them??
Good question, I actually had to try it, I wasn't 100% sure about the answer, but apparently it will read D. It only reads R when you actually open the message. You can also get the same result if you get your BBMs sent to your inbox.
If a contact on blackberry messenger has their phone off what will the status of the messager you sent to them read. I sent my friend a message and it just has a tick next to it and they havent replied for hours
I believe it would only display the check mark and no D or R.
I sent a message to a contact and only a check mark is appearing. Its been over 12 hours and it still does not show as delivered and the contact is shown as unreachable. Does this mean I have been deleted or blocked as a contact? How can I be absolutely sure.
If you were deleted the contact would not show on your BBM buddy list. My thought is that either the person lost their phone or they changed their SIM card, which if that was the case they would have a new PIN number and would need to request all their buddies all over again. That is probably why you still see them on your contact list as unreachable, but nothing is for sure. I hope this helps.
Great piece boo. I’m addicted to BBM and this is definitely helpful. Thanks for keeping me posted ;)
I love you Malika! I read this and I was like who’s calling me boo! lol, Only you! Thanks for stopping by! :D
Hey very nice blog!! Man .. I will bookmark your blog and take the feeds also…
Thanks for stopping by!
I’ve been trying to bbm my friend for days their status is available but when i send msgs they never say delievered it’s just the check mark, no D or R. How come?
Either their phone is not working or they have a new sim card and a new pin, or a new phone altogether with a new pin. You can try adding your friend using their BB email.
Ok my best friend is using a BB8800 with BB OS 4.2 and BB Msgr 4.2, whereas I have a Bold with BB OS 4.6 and BB Msgr 5.0.0.57.
We were able to send and receive msgs from each other perfect until last week, when all of a sudden I was only receiving messages from him but he wasn’t getting any msgs from me at all. Note that my bb is telling me that the msg is delivered and I can send msgs direct to his pin (peer to peer) that he receives.
Any suggestion on how to fix this? Does he need to upgrade his OS and BB Msgr? Or is the problem from my end? Thanks for any help you can give.
I would say to definitively upgrade. He can also try to redownload his BBM. But I think in the end Blackberry will end up upgrading his BBM to the latest BBM 5.0, I don't think the BB system update will make a huge difference on BBM.
I've been trying to reach a friend on BBM but the busy icon had been next to his name for a week straight. What does this mean?
Lol it means that your friend is BUSY.
Is there any way to determine whether future invitations from my BB have been set for "Ignore"?
From what I know, no there's no way to tell if your invitation has been ignored or rejected. I believe the person stays "pending approval" on your buddy list.
If my exboyfriend deleted me as a blackberry contact, and i send him another request, how do i know if he clicked "ignore all future invitations"… bc it still shows "Pending (Waiting for Authorization)…… And can I send him a request using his e-mail address instead?
There's no way to know if he is ignoring your requests. It'll stay pending. You can try to request him via email, but he would still know it's you. Either way if he knows your pin number or bb email address he can keep ignoring your request without you knowing. He can also block your pin and email from sending him requests, and he won't see your requests coming through.
I sent a thread of bbm’s to a friend. They were not delivered until few hours later. Apparently only the first few say read? How could he have read the first few and not the rest?
Hmm…BBM has been having quite a few glitches/bugs, there are ways he can read them without opening the BBM message, maybe he opened the first few that he got first and the rest he either didn't receive or read from his email inbox, which won't tell you if he read it or not.
Hi how do i completly get rid of bbm i made the mistake to add mypi on a bbm train and even when i erased the bbm application from my phone i still get friends request to my email apps on my phone how do i Stop It Completely?? PLEASE HELP i get about 500 or more request a day!!!!
wow, that's crazy! Not sure what a BBM train is. I think the only way to not get those requests is to get a new sim card, that will give you a new pin number. Once people have your pin number they will continue to send you those requests. You can go to the phone company and purchase a new sim card. I hope this helps…
how can i tell if a contact on my bbm list is still active without sending them a message or a PING?
@seany – There's no sure way to tell if a contact is still active on BBM. You would either have to see if their status updates changes, or change in pic or display name, other than that, they might be inactive and still show on your BBM list.
If I sent a message to someone on bbm, it says "D" on my end. If they ended the conversation before reading the message, would it still say "D" on my end?
@Bob – I believe so.
I recently deleted my contact list on my bbm; however I restored the contact list and there is one particular contact who I was sending messages that were only marked with a checkmark. Is it possible, that they have a new phone/pin but would still be restored on my list from the back-up or would I lose them after restoring them because the pin is no longer valid?
Thanks
hello…if i delete a person from my bbm list, is it possible that they get a notification saying that they have been deleted, and will they still be able to see my pin if i have deleted them?
hello…if i delete a person from my bbm list, is it possible that they get a notification saying that they have been deleted?
If someone responds to a message after you've already ended the conversation on your end, will you still receive that person's response?
PLEASE HELP!
I deleted someone off bbm and i know i disappear form their contact list. but two days ago they added me back. how is that possible? if they get a new phone and restore their contact list will i be there even if i deleted them???
Yes you can reappear on their list. It\’s kinda hard to explain or understand but if u delete them and backup ur contacts after they have been deleted they will not be on the list of u restore. Now let\’s see it from their perspective, if u delete them, got erased from their list, they restore their phone back to a different backup date when you were there, they can bring u back on their list. You can restore not only ur last list but any lists u\’ve saved in the past.
I hope that made sense.
Hey! Justa quick q…if i send out a Broadcast Message, and i select all the contacts i want it to go to, will it send to someone who i haven't got an open convo with? For example theres someone who i used to chat to lots a few months ago but after i installed a new bbm, our chat history went. So hes still in my contacts but we don't have a current chat – if i click on his name it just says 'This chat has no subject…etc'…So will my broadcast message still deliver to him? Also while i'm here…do broadcast message show the D and R?Thanks!! x
Hmm… Broadcast messages will be sent to the people you select. Whether u have a chat open or not. Also, u will not be able to see the D or the R if u don\’t have a chat window open prior to sending out the broadcast message to the person.
Ah okay, great- so it will be sent, only difference being I won’t get the D or R! Thats exactly what I wanted to know! Thank you for your help :)
When you delete someone, doesn’t it delete any
open conversations as well?
I’m sorry if this has been asked or answered before. But
please, is there a way I can block all broadcast messages, without
actually deleting a contact? Thank you very much, cheers
There\’s no way to block broadcast messages unless you delete the person or contact the person and ask them not to include you in future broadcast messages.
if someone deletes you from their contact list and you want to restore your chat history you had with them but don't want to ask them to be a contact again how do you do it? I tried through "restore" but it's not working ? I believe the histroy was saved on my media card? If not, it was saved on the device itself.
I had someone added to bbm and they got a new phone… when he started up the bbm application he was able to send me messages without adding me again? the chat is open in my list and it says invite contact? how is this possible with different pin numbers?
Hello. Is there a way to know the time when a BB msg was read?
I do not think there\’s a way to know when a message was read. But I do know there\’s a timestamp for BBM but I believe it only works when someone sends a message or receives a message.
I have a question…….If a contact did not delete me but just selected the ignore future invitations would I know it and would I still be able to messages this person?
please help!!! can I erase already sent message in BBM?
Sorry, but you cannot undo sent BBM messages.
If a contact remove bbm from their phone and I sent them a message would it still show the "d " ?
thank you
does the bbpin change when u change ur handset from a bbcurve to lets say a bbbold ?
does my bbpin change if i change my sim connection from vodafone to some other sim and number, but keepo my bb handset the same?
Yes. Different sim card means new pin.
Can anyone tell me how to get the time and date up wen writing a message on bbm pls
Hi wonderd if anyone could help me..I deleted someone by mistake so I used back up and restored the contact and they show on my list again without requesting them.will I show up on their list again without rerequesting them or do I have to send another pin request.thanks.
You can try sending them a test message just to see if they get it. But I believe if the contact is on ur list, you\’ll be on their list, without rerequesting them.
If someone sent’s me a bbm message, how can I let the message show that it hasn’t been delivered….PLEASE HELP ME
Hi thanku so can I send a pin message to someone will they still get it if they have ignored future bbm messages and buddy requests,thanku
if you lose a contact and dont know who deleted you how can you tell?
Is there any way that you can see the TIME that a BBM was read?
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