BlackBerry® PlayBook™

[lunchtx]

Here's the issue, I activated my playbook for the first time 3 days ago and couldn't find app world.  Tried to download app world from blackberry.com website through the playbook browser to no avail.  Looked online for a solution and someone suggested a device wipe.  Did the wipe and now i lost two games (need for speed and tetris) that came with the playbook.  did a full backup before the wipe and the restore did not save those two games.  current os is at 1.0.5.2342, when i wiped the device i cannot use it until activation, i cannot activate unless i update the os, i have no way of knowing if app world was working before that.  also, before performing the first wipe app world apparently notified me of two updates, one for nfs and the other for tetris.  when i tried to tap those updates, nothing would happen.  is there a way to get those games back?  how do i access app world on 1.0.5.2342?  Please help.

[sebastianmoran]

Quick question - have you by any chance went to a different country? (It may look like a silly question, but bear with me!)

[lunchtx]

yes, I'm actually outside of the states right now. could that cause the problem? if so, that would seem like a silly limitation since tablets are meant to be portable and it's enterprise oriented marketing means it would appeal to those who often travel.  if it helps my blackberry ID was created while i was in the states.

[sebastianmoran]

Yeah, that could be the issue. Different country, hence different currency (usually), different set of apps available, perhaps... could you try to log in to app world on the BB website? If you can, locate tetris, and download it to your computer (if you have a laptop with the playbook desktop software, that is). Then try to update the playbook through the desktop software, to confirm if tetris get's onto the pb.

[lunchtx]

thanks for your help.  just tried it but since it was activated outside of the states my playbook never got associated with my blackberry id.  when i log into the app world store via web browser, it doesn't have my playbook listed as a device associated with my account hence i still can't get any apps.  thank you regardless.

[sebastianmoran]

If I understood correctly, then, you activated it outside the US, but you have a US BB ID, is that it? In that case, I would suggest you contact RIM's support number in the US, when you return, or send them an email to help@rim.com with all the necessary info. Good luck!

[lunchtx]

thanks again for all your help

[aaliceinw]

I also had the same problem. I bought mine in the States and could not use App World but I could not use it in SA either until I registered online.

I am not sure if you have tried registering online already? If not, here is the link https://blackberryid.blackberry.com/bbid/registration/registration_eula.seam 

[lunchtx]

thanks but i already have a blackberry id.  called support, after 3 weeks they told me it was because i was not in any of the countries the pb was released in.  i couldn't understand why it took 3 weeks to reply something as general as region lock out.  secondly, i also don't understand why RIM would region lock a mobile device, seems to be self-defeating.  now stuck with a pb running only native apps as i have no way of installing new apps via appworld.

[lunchtx]

latest update on this ordeal is that i updated the os to 1.0.7.2670.  i now have access to app world, since i'm not inside the USA i have no way of installing blackberry news app for playbook.  is there anyway i can get around that?  how does blackberry determine which region i'm in?  does it track my ip?  if so, would it work if i used a vpn?