Whew, T-Mobile SideKick users got kicked in the data butt for two weeks. The Microsoft/Danger server outage caused SideKick users to be without email, IM and contact information . They were able to make phone calls, but without contacts that was difficult. The outage is still out-to-lunch.
T-Mobile has apologized while Perez Hilton bemoaned the fact that she didn't get a BlackBerry or iPhone. There is some minor help and hope. You can import VCard contacts from Outlook or other email programs. SideKick outage sufferers will get one month of free data service.
Prez Hilton, used many expletives to show her feelings about the T-Mobile SideKick outage.
"What is going on,
T-Mobile????? We have been kidnapped by you this whole week! We would
have dumped your (&^#$^#*^$ already but we can't even access our address book
from your @#$% website!!!!!!!
To add insult to injury, the ONLY thing T-Mobile is offering their
customers, whom they obviously don't value or respect, is one month of
free data service. That's @#$%!"
Yesterday, T-Mobile apologized and stated:
"Regrettably, based on Microsoft/Danger's
latest recovery assessment of their systems, we must now inform you
that personal information stored on your device - such as contacts,
calendar entries, to-do lists or photos - that is no longer on your
Sidekick almost certainly has been lost as a result of a server failure
at Microsoft/Danger."
The likelihood of a successful outcome is
extremely low. T-Mobile will inform users on Monday (Oct. 12) the
status of the remaining issues. Apparently Danger data that was stored and reproduced over a number of services and only one server was used and there was no backup.
NOTE: The Microsoft/Danger network remains unstable and all content
(including contacts, calendar, and notes) that you re-input into your
device is not backed up on the network. DO NOT pull your battery or
reset your device at any time unless absolutely necessary.Your
Sidekick is capable of importing contacts saved in vCard format. A
vCard is like an electronic business card often found attached to
e-mail messages, but can be exchanged in other ways. They can contain
name and address information, phone numbers, URLs, logos, photographs,
and even audio clips. If you have contacts in Vcard format,
you can e-mail, text, mms, or Bluetooth those contacts to your device.
Once received, you can click "Import" on the Vcard and it will be added
to your address book.Many popular Personal Information Manager
(PIM) applications such as Microsoft Outlook can export address book
information into vCard format. If you use one of these applications on
your computer you may be able to export the address book entries and
e-mail them to your @tmail.com address.If you have e-mail
accounts with gmail, yahoo, or AIM you can use their 'export contacts'
function to convert and send the contacts to your @tmail.com address in
vCard format.
Okay, so here is a great excuse for all you SideKick users, I couldn't call you, make the event because Danger/Microsoft los all my contacts and calendar......
If you do not have your
contact information stored in a PIM application or via any other e-mail
service, you may still be able to use other methods of recreating your
contact list. You can also grab your previously called numbers from the T-Mobile bill summary.
How to view previously called/messaged numbers from My T-Mobile
- Log-in to MyT-Mobile
- Under Manage at the top left select Billing & Payments
- In the left pane click see bill summary
You
may now interactively view the calling history for each line on your
account OR click print format for the traditional layout.
If
you have a T-Mobile phone or device that you've used previously, you
may still have some contacts on that device and can import them from the SIM.