Ricky Says

I bought a Sprint Overdrive 3G/4G this week and used it on the way into work to watch a streaming movie with Netflix.

Don't worry - I wasn't WWD (watching while driving). I commute about an hour into downtown Portland on the bus, and having wifi internet access on the trip is a must for me since I have an iPhone 3GS, a Macbook Pro, and an iPad. The Sprint Overdrive supports up to 5 wifi connections at a time, so I'll be wired no matter which device I'm using.

I use the wireless access for more than just watching movies too - I actually get quite a bit of work done during my commute, and now I'll be able to get even more done, thanks to the fast (and unlimited) 4G speeds of the Sprint Overdrive.

Sprint unfortunately caps their 3G data plans at 2 GB a month, but 4G connectivity is unlimited and way faster too. Even at a low 20% signal strength I was able to watch a streaming Netflix movie with no pauses or frame drops, and without having to worry about exceeding the 2 GB limit that Sprint places on 3G connectivity.

The trick is to ensure that you're only connecting to the 4G network, which is fortunately one of the settings that can be easily configured on the Sprint Overdrive.

Here's how to force your Sprint Overdrive to only connect at 4G:

1. Open the Overdrive's admin console.

The admin console for the Sprint Overdrive 3G/4G is a web page located at http://192.168.0.1. You can open this link in a web browser from any device that's connected to the Overdrive's wifi network.

2. Log in as Admin.

Enter your admin password and click OK to access the Overdrive's setup screens.

Hopefully you wrote the password down somewhere when you first configured your Overdrive, or you can also find it in the original contract you received from Sprint (which they also sent to my email address).

3. Set WAN Mode to "4G only".

Question: I just purchased a BB Curve with sprint. According to the specs this phone supports an 8gb card. I actually only have a 4gb card but as soon as i put in the card into the phone the phone stops working, it takes about 5 seconds to move from window to window; the scroll ball doesnt respond normally and basicly whatever could possibly go wrong goes wrong.

The card is a good card (I Think) i used this same card before in my 8830 and it worked pretty good; though also a little slower then without the card, while the 8830 takes only a 4 gb card and it worked all right, i assumed that the curve that has the capacity for an 8gb shouldn't be killed by a 4 gb card.

Answer: The size of the memory card shouldn't have anything to do with the slowness that you're experiencing. It's possible though that the memory card itself needs to be reformatted, which you can do right from your phone.

Options >> Media Card >> Blackberry Menu >> Format Card

First, click the Options icon on your BlackBerry icon screen (the one that looks like a wrench in most default BlackBerry themes).

Inside Options, scroll to Media Card and click the trackball.

Next, while on the Media Card screen hit your BlackBerry Menu key (to the left of the trackball).

Choose Format and select "Yes" when the prompt asks if you're sure you want to format the card. After about 10 seconds, you'll see another prompt that tells you your card has been reformatted.