I finally discovered the secret to using a Blackberry in Brasil. I have Cingular as a provider, so this info may not work for other US system phones.

In Sao Paulo, I sent and received email normally on the default network discovered. The phone worked great for local calls. In Porto Alegre, there were 2-3 different networks and I had to manually select one that worked for email- the other 1-2 did not. Again, the phone worked great for local calls on all networks.

Rio was of course completely fucked up. One network got my phone service working but no email; a second network, I could receive email but not send and had no phone service. The third network didn't work at all.

In POA and Rio, my advice is to set the network to "manual" and play around with the different nets until you get what you need working.

Oh, to call back to the US, dial 0021, then the US area code and number. That worked great in all three locations. On the phone front, I was able to receive calls from the US in all three locations as well.

Catocony,

Be prepared for the huge bill that you will get, as any call that you make or recieve in Brazil is $2/minute. I have a Treo 650 through Cingular and it works great for email, IM, and other things. To call out from any country, just hold down the 0(zero) and it will turn into a plus sign. Then just dial country code, area or city code, and the number.

I also keep a small unlocked GSM phone, and have a chip for the U.S, Brazil, and Argentina. If I have to make a call to the U.S., using the pre-paid card in the GSM phone only costs pennies as compared to using Cingular, and local calls are very inexpensive as well. The best result is no huge bill at the end of the billing cycle.

Enjoy the life,

Moondog

I've never seen the bill on the Blackberry, so to me it's free!

Lucky you.

I have had ATT/Cingular for 4 years and I just switched to Verison. I was tired of dropping calls. Anyway, I will be in Rio mid-Sept 05. I would like to use my Verison Blackberry. Anyone have any experience with it in Rio? I dont care so much about using the phone, but I would like to get/send email. Thanks, AZguy

My buddy has the Verizon service and he said it was horrible in Rio. Another guy I met had the T-Mobile and he said it worked perfectly in Brasil.

(Message edited by Thumper on July 23, 2005)

I have Cingular, formally AT&T using a Treo 650. Email, voice mail, internet, instant messaging all work perfectly on it and their partners in Brazil.

Moondog

i have tmobile and i can tell you that both internet and email on the blackberry have worked perfectly in rio (roaming through tim) for the past three months. prior to that it did not work at all or very well when it did. 2.99 per minute for made and received calls but i haven~t been charged at all (yet for any emails or internet access).

Wait until you get the bill for t-mobile. It is $2,50 / minute in Brazil. Do not try data (web or e-mail) because it will be megabucks / kilo byte. Better to by a local gsm chip, and save your money for the grotas.

MM

I know the roaming calls are ridiculous but thought the data (email and web) was a different situation.

I was told by my IT department that my Blackberry (T-Mobile) data plan was international and unlimited for the $29.99 plan. Is this incorrect?

Snooky,

Sounds about right on the data part. The fees for voice really depend on if you have an international roaming plan (pricey but not killer) vs. just having a domestic plan and roaming without a plan. There is frequently a big delay on getting billed that way, but when you do, it can really nail you.