We first heard about native BlackBerry clients for AIM, ICQ, and Windows Live Messenger last Fall and although it has taken a little longer than we expected for them to be released, these free BlackBerry downloads are now available.
From what we can tell, news of the native AIM, ICQ, and Live Messenger BlackBerry clients broke on BlackBerry Forums where you can find installation instructions provided by jibi and jungleland, and the service books that make them work courtesy of the Boy Genius.
You can download the native BlackBerry IM clients OTA from:
- AIM — www.blackberry.com/aim
- ICQ — www.blackberry.com/ICQ
- MSN Live Messenger — www.blackberry.com/livemessenger
You can get the updated service books that allow the IM clients to work over on BGR.
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{ 44 comments… read them below or add one }
bb4life 04.10.07 at 8:08 am
They do not work as of yet, even with the service books.
tridad 04.10.07 at 12:19 pm
confirmed…they’re all down! bummer
Adam K 04.10.07 at 7:10 pm
It would be a great program if it actually worked.
j.a. 04.27.07 at 8:28 pm
They still don’t work
random chat whore 04.29.07 at 4:14 pm
Any news about the IM’s working?
Gustavo Campos 05.07.07 at 10:11 pm
Hello everybody,
i am use a TIM services to access a Blackberry internet, but when i try to
donwload the msn, i always receive a message saying that my wireless provider
dos not alow my device to access this download. What is it in fact? My 8700g
don’t have egnofe capacity to run this software, or my wireless carier don’t
have this capacit yet?
i hope some one answer me!
luc daigle 05.12.07 at 9:43 pm
I have the same error message…I work for a wireless carrier and we have no explaination why it does that…
Trunks 07.13.07 at 8:09 pm
When will we be able to get all this? I’ve been waiting forever! And i just upgrade to VZW 8830 model still get “Sorry your wireless Service Provider does not allow access to AIM or WIndows live for your device. I called VZW and they have no idea about this. Why pay for a 3 rd party if they are suppose to be free like downloading it on your computer?
abhorredlife 07.15.07 at 7:15 pm
I too have the vzw 8830. It gives me the same your service provider does not allow the downloading of(fill in the blank) and the fact that verizon doesn’t know why it says this is a little fishy. It all sounds like the whole gps disabled crap. Where verizon tinkered in the 8830 and disabled the gps. Do the admit this? No they just play it stupid like they are for the aim downloading service error message. I think they are going to create a Mobile IM app for bb and of course charge a monthly fee. And many of the customer service reps I spoke with say that there will be a VZ navigator available (date TBA) for a monthly fee. I’m seriously thinking of switching. If I pay good money for a device with features that I later find out are disabled because the service provider wants to make an extra buck then I say good bye I’m taking my business elsewhere. Am I the only one who feels this way?
Kevin 07.20.07 at 12:02 pm
Ebuddy now has a downloadable application…however it seems to be phone specific, and I did not see a Blackberry option (or 8830). I’m going to watch the site and hope they post the BB download. I tried downloading the sony ericson version (as it has a trackball also) no dice…maybe one of the others will work… but I havn’t had any luck yet.
Mambo 07.30.07 at 11:17 pm
I spoke with both Verizon and Blackberry tech support and blackberry confirmed that verizon does not support msn messnger. They rather have you pay $50 with a third party and get in on the profits.
gossamer 08.29.07 at 4:35 pm
i work for a cell phone company and jsut called RIM about this. it is being beta tested and is only avil on one carrier. it is due for release soon but they don’t have a release date yet
mcfly 09.10.07 at 7:22 pm
I don’t know about MSN/Windows Live, but I use RambleIM for my AIM client. It’s free, and it gets the job done.
pooch 09.14.07 at 2:51 pm
I use RmableIM on my 8830 as well but it’s slightly annoying as the phone vibrates everytime someone’s status changes on your buddy list. I hope they figure it out soon or I’m switching from verizon as well.
pooch 09.14.07 at 2:51 pm
I use RambleIM on my 8830 as well but it’s slightly annoying as the phone vibrates everytime someone’s status changes on your buddy list. I hope they figure it out soon or I’m switching from verizon as well.
alf 09.26.07 at 10:06 pm
so how did you get Ramble to work on the Verizon 8830? I’ve tried and no luck. I provide my credentials and hit login. I see the traffic arrows for a moment and then nothing, it never connects.
rachel 09.30.07 at 12:42 pm
I’m having the same issue with ramble except I download it and it says ‘logging on, please wait’ forever and nothing happens. I too have the 8830 with verizon, what tcp settings do you use? How can I get it to work? Thanks.
Hunter 10.02.07 at 8:35 am
I just got a verizon 8830 (yesterday evening) and ramble does the same thing “Logging in, Please wait”
It just hangs there forever. Why is this happening?! It worked once, after i did a soft reset….but then it disconnected after the backlight timer kicked in, and ramble IM hasn’t worked since (about 2 hours, lol).
Francesco 10.08.07 at 3:32 pm
hi everybody I jus bought a 8100 pearl but i cant find video recording applications!!
can video just be played and not taken???!!!
thnks
Me 10.23.07 at 6:12 pm
I’ve noticed some of the posts about the issues with the BlackBerrys and Verizon service. Are there others using non-Verizon blackberrys (8703, 8800) and not having this problem? What I find interesting is that IM+ (again for $50 - one time fee) will work on *ANY* IM service. I’ve downloaded the trial on my old 7250 and it worked like a champ. I’m rather curious to the real point of the issue. If this is purely based on $$$ and marketing, then I may consider moving all my lines to AT&T. WIth well over 5 lines (personally) it may not hurt, but it’s a monthly loss.
I don’t like to say that, but I’ve stayed with Verizon because of service and coverage - I’ve been with Verizon since the Bell Atlantic days. In all my travels - their network appears to work virtually everywhere. In various places it was the *only* network that I could get service from. However I’m going to become far less interested in their service if it’s truly about money and not service. About the only thing that I might consider not transferring is my broadband cellular modem. However, if AT&T steps up their bandwidth - that would certainly go too. (I wonder why Sony moved to Sprint with the WWAN interface? They used to be AT&T/Cingular) I think some of these corporations have gotten too big for their britches and have forgotten about why we chose them. Even in the phone business, your customers aren’t just numbers…. or dollar signs…..
tenkely 11.05.07 at 3:20 am
Iam on an 8700g from TMO. Is this still only avail on one carrier? I tried the link for live messenger and got the “does not meet system requirements” any one know anything new about this buisness? Thanks!
Makexiu 12.23.07 at 5:17 am
I’m located in Singapore and I use a Blackberry 8707g with SingTel. I was excited to learn that Windows Live Messenger was now available for Blackberries. I have located its availability at:
http://www.blackberry.com/instantmessenging/
http://www.blackberry.com/livemessenger/
Unfortunately, both sites have given me a “HTTP Error 500: Internal Server Error” when I try to download the application through my Blackberry. I can’t explain this. The Yahoo! Messenger and Google Talk!, on the other hand, both seem to download flawlessly.
belinda 01.16.08 at 12:41 am
hey i want to download the msn messenger on my BB 8320 but it doesnt work please help me get the right program much thanks
aelis2004 01.26.08 at 5:08 pm
I also get the “HTTP Error 500: Internal Server Error” when I try to download Live Messenger. Yahoo and Google downloaded great for me as well. Using a BlackBerry Pearl.
Tobias 02.22.08 at 9:28 am
I have the same problem with the error 500 when I try to download ICQ for Blackberry. I would expect an answer from RIM here.
Shahrukh 02.23.08 at 11:31 pm
Please advise me on downloading msn messenger in my blackberry pearl and it wont even connect to hotmail, is this a problem with RIM or is it our service provider
cape 02.28.08 at 2:59 pm
Another “http error 500″ here!
Jonn Benny 03.01.08 at 3:41 pm
System Requirements for using Windows Live Messenger on RIM Products. If you don’t have one of the models on the service providers listed below, the program won’t allow you to DL, it will give you either an error msg, or display a message telling you that your BB doesn’t meet system requirements.
Cheers,
JB
-Smartphones supported: BlackBerry® 7130e, BlackBerry® 7250 and BlackBerry® 8703e from Bell Mobility, BlackBerry® 8800 from T-Mobile USA
-300 kB (300000 bytes) of free memory (Go to Options -> Status to find your device’s free memory)
-A Windows Live ID, MSN ID or Microsoft® Passport account (visit https://login.live.com/ on your desktop browser to sign up for a Windows Live ID)
-BlackBerry data service
If your device is connected to a BlackBerry® Enterprise Server, your IT Department must have IT Policy set to allow Windows Live Messenger functionality
chris 03.13.08 at 8:54 pm
Just baught a blackberry peal 8130, tried to download windows live and it says does not meet system requirements. I go to status and there is 7524268 bytes free still.
Luke 03.28.08 at 7:10 pm
I’ve been trying to get AIM and ICQ for my new AT&T Curve, but every time I do it one way it says I have to do it another way.
If I go to http://www.blackberry.com/instantmessenging/ with my PC it says USB downloads are not available, but if I try with the Blackberry browser it says the site requires activex controls and I need to use IE.
Bryan 04.04.08 at 11:54 pm
same problem here, Luke.
Porter 04.28.08 at 3:44 am
Same issue here with the http error. Only found out about the IM today. Really annoyed now.
WTC487 04.30.08 at 5:00 pm
Almost May 2008 and still no answer about windows live messenger for blackberry. What about the 8310 curve? It has loads of memory.
Lynette 05.13.08 at 11:03 pm
same problem Luke.
anyone found a solution yet? i’ve tried using the internet browser, wifi broswer and WAP browser options. All say the site requires activex controls and I need to use IE.
Live Messenger on my berry would rock, but if it is this frustrating and time consuming to install….
installing googletalk was such a snap. why does microsoft have to make everything so complicated.
Lena 05.27.08 at 1:15 pm
I can’t get access to the download because I use Safari and it requires Internet Explorer… Any idea where I can download the live messenger with safari??
max 05.28.08 at 6:32 am
Has anyone got msn / windows live messenger working on a curve?
saisaisai 05.28.08 at 8:26 am
It still doenst work yet… I gave up … it probably will *never* work …
To Lynette above:
/quote “why does microsoft have to make everything so complicated.”
lol because they want to sell their windows mobile.
Nino 06.17.08 at 7:44 am
Still doesnt work. How frustrating !!! I would really like Windows Live Messenger working on my BB. I bet it doesnt even actually exist !!
It is all a scam !!
Ray 06.18.08 at 9:37 pm
My 8320 Curve from TMO came installed with windows live messenger - worked forever… when i upgraded to 4.3 this week (which is awesome) it didnt re-install
and I can’t get it back - even bb.com says its only available on the 8800 …makes no sense, since I had been using it since December
manuvzla 06.24.08 at 3:07 pm
I’ve been reading all the posts and I’ve concluded that it officially isn’t working ads IT SHOULD. I happen to own a bb curve 8320 and it initially came with those really cool apps but when trying to actually USE them, the the network issue comes up over and over.. I mean…we’ve got to realize There’s truly a pattern whether if we are in USA, singapore, or my country Venezuela.
ICQ 2 go fan 06.24.08 at 3:10 pm
Hi, interesting discussion. I personally use ICQ and especially it’s web version ICQ 2 go. It might seem strange to you but ICQ is still the most popular IM in my country.
Nestor Silva 06.28.08 at 10:10 am
It was very upseting that I couldn’t wokr live messenger from my curve. So upseting that I terminated my live account invited all my contacts to Google Talk. Screw Live Messenger!
Eduardo Islas 07.06.08 at 9:36 pm
Hi, I’ve had the the “http 500″ error for long time but I was able to download it today. I’m on a carrier named Iusacell in Mexico, and I believe the download is carrier-independent. It apparently works, it connects, I see the contact list with display pictures and everything, I can send messages, but somehow I cannot receive them sometimes. I’ve chatted succesfully only once, other times I can only send but not receive. I think it’s still buggy and will continue using the mig33 client which I like because it’s fast.
The only functionalities that the official msn has that other’s doesn’t it’s an “alert function” that vibrates when a contact you specify comes online, and the ability to associate the contacts with address book contacts.
What I’d be glad to have is a messenger where I can use a feature like pressing F2 in windows live messenger, to use it like push to talk or something.
JHO 07.08.08 at 12:02 pm
I downloaded EQO to my BB for free IM. EQO supports MSN, AIM, Yahoo, Google Talk, QQ, ICQ and Jabber. You also get free/cheap texts and cheap long distance. Check it out - http://www.EQO.com