9 Steps to Syncing Gmail with Your Blackberry

Not too long ago, IMAP support came to Gmail. This undoubtedly made every mobile Gmail user a very happy person. Suddenly, you check your email on your blackberry, and when deleting you have to option of deleting the message only on the phone, or on both the mobile device and your online Gmail account!

To those without mobile email, this may not seem as groundbreaking as it truly is. Those with a blackberry (or alternate device), and a mobile email addiction, the true importance of this added feature lies in the fact that it saves you time. After all, why have email access and supposed improved productivity on your mobile phone, if later you spend half an hour sorting through your Gmail inbox to decide which messages should be trashed?

The beauty of the new IMAP support is that it is very easy to set up on your blackberry.
However, there are two ways you can receive your Gmail on your blackberry: through a blackberry internet service (BIS) account, or by downloading the gmail mobile application.

Which one is the better way? It depends on your needs, and here is an overview of the BIS account option. Check back soon for a review of the Gmail mobile application!

Gmail Through a BIS Account

Every blackberry user can set up a Blackberry Internet Account (make sure you have a data plan, otherwise you are likely billed for additional carrier charges). A detailed overview of how to set up your Blackberry with your email accounts can be found here.

All new Blackberry Bold users are not going to be able to set up their Gmail directly from their Blackberry Bold. Instead, they will need to use the internet option.

There are just a few steps to the process:

1. Browse to the Blackberry website.
2. Choose your wireless carrier (for example, TMobile, Verizon, etc)
3. You will be directed to the following URL: https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=YOURWIRELESSCARRIER
4. Here you can register for a new account.
5. You will be prompted for your device’s PIN and IMEI numbers. These can be found on the box your phone was shipped in, or if you browse to ‘options’, and then ‘status’ on your phone, the same codes will be displayed.
6. Once your account is set up, you can click on a link to “add email addresses”.
7. Once you add your Gmail account information, all you need to do is register your phone with the network.
8. This can be done by going into your phone’s options, then advanced options, and selecting “host routing table”. Click the menu button to display “Register now”. Select this and you will be told the message was sent.
9. Now, wait until you receive a confirmation message from Blackberry that your device was successfully registered, and within 20 minutes or so your Gmail will start dripping in.

Major Benefits:

With your Gmail being imported directly into your Blackberry, you are taking full advantage of the IMAP capabilities. All your emails will also be displayed in a central “mail” folder, as well as in a separate folder titled with your Gmail address.

If you have more than one email address from which you are importing messages, this function keeps all your emails – from all email addresses – in one centralized folder as well as separated (you can delete the extra folder if you want to). If you reply to a Gmail based message, your phone will automatically send it through Gmail, even if you are using the central mail box on the device.

Possible Problems

The only problem that can really crop up is not receiving your Gmail on your Blackberry at all. This usually has something to do with your service provider though, so call your wireless customer service and ask for their technical support. Either your wireless plan does not include a data plan (this can happen even if you signed up for one!), or your phone is not properly registered on the network.