How to Tether a Blackberry to a Laptop or Computer

Tethering your Blackberry to your computer or laptop used to be a difficult task. Thanks to the new Blackberry Desktop Manager 5.1 the configuration of tethering a Blackberry is quick and easy. In this article, we will discuss the method used for tethering a Blackberry Smartphone for Internet access.

Prerequisites:

• Blackberry Desktop Manager 5.1
• Blackberry Smartphone
• Bluetooth enabled

First, we must turn on the Discoverable option on our phone.

• From the Home screen on your Blackberry, click on Options and select Bluetooth.
• From the display menu, select Options.
• Change the Discoverable setting to Yes.
• Click Save to complete the configuration.

Now that our Blackberry can be accessed via Bluetooth, we must pair it with our computer.

• Access the Control Panel and click Bluetooth Devices.
• Once in the Bluetooth Devices configuration, Select my Device is set up and ready to be found and then click Next.
• Choose the option, Let me choose my own passkey.
• Type in a passkey and then click Next.
• Check your Blackberry. It should display a screen saying a device is trying to be paired with it. Type in the same passkey you entered on your computer and click the trackball to accept.
• On your computer, click Finish when the Completing the Add Bluetooth Device Wizard is displayed.
• From your Blackberry, select Don’t Ask Again when prompted to accept an incoming Bluetooth connection.

Now that we’ve paired our devices we must now set our Blackberry as an APN (access point name).

• From the Control Panel, select Phone and Modem Options.
• Click on the Modems tab.
• Select Properties for the Standard Modem over Bluetooth Link.
• Click on the Advanced tab.
• Change the Extra initialization commands to +CGDCONT=1,”IP”,”<Your carriers APN’s name>” You must call your cell phone carrier to obtain your APN name.
• Click OK to return to the Phone and Modem Options.
• Click Ok to complete the configuration.

Now that we’ve configured our phone to accept incoming Internet requests, we now must configure our computer to access our Blackberry.

• Click the Start button, hover over Settings, and click Network Connections.
• While in Network Connections, right click on the Blackberry Dial-up connection, and select Properties. Verify that the Connect using setting is set to Modem – Standard modem over Bluetooth link.
• Click on the Networking tab.
• Click on Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
• Click Properties.
• Click on the Advanced button.
• Click on the General tab, and uncheck the Use IP Header Compression setting.
• Click Ok to save configuration.
• While in the Network Connections window, double click New Connection Wizard
• Click Next to continue.
• Click Connect to the Internet.
• Click Next
• Click Set up my connection manually and then click Next.
• Click Connect using a dial-up modem and then click next.
• Click Modem – Standard Modem Over Bluetooth link and then click Next.
• A Device screen may appear. If this happens, select Modem – Standard Modem checkbox and click Next.
• If a name appears in the ISP Name, clear it and click Next to continue.
• The next step depends on which technology your cell phone carrier uses. If your phone operates on the EDGE technology, then use *99# for the Phone number. If your carrier operates on UTMS technology, then use *98# for the Phone number. If your cell phone carrier operates on the CDMA technology, use #777 for the Phone number. Check with your cell phone carrier if you are unsure which technology they operate on.
• Click Next.
• If your cell phone carrier requires a username and password, enter it. Otherwise click next.
• Click Finish to finalize settings.

Our final step is to being using our Blackberry to access the Internet.

• From the Start menu, click Settings, hover over Network Connections, and click on the Blackberry connection name.
• If your connection requires a username and password, enter it.
• Click Dial to connect your computer to your Blackberry for Internet access.