[CrackBerry Question]

So I just purchased an old used Telus locked CDMA/GSM BB 8830 "world phone" because the north still has many CDMA only areas. (and the USA) Most unlock sites say they cannot unlock CDMA as no sim card is used. The GSM is only for European frequencies. So my question is if I put my telus sim into the GSM side will this also boot up the CDMA so I can use phone with my sim? Or will sim/phone not be recognized as their is no European carrier about.
What do you think?
thanks

[raino]

If you put in a Telus SIM, you won't get service because Telus doesn't have a GSM 2G network. But...if they haven't decommissioned that CDMA network, you should be able to use this phone on the Telus CDMA network wherever it's available. IDK how it works up there with CDMA networks, but here in the US, you have to "activate" a CDMA phone with the carrier, which is basically letting them know you'll be using a certain phone.

[kg4icg]

CDMA works by having the ESN registered in your phone carriers database. When your phone broadcast that number, and your carriers system says, yes this phone is in our db and and everything is good, allow it on the network. If the phone's esn is not in the db or the phone's esn has been blacklisted. You have a snowballs chance in hell of getting it to work on CDMA.

[tangozulu]

Thanks raino,
Guess I'm really wondering is say I had my CDMA active with Telus, does this automatically boot up the European GSM network too. Of course Telus would get roaming fees. Or does the GSM operate separately? eg phone works in Canada on CDMA but GSM (Europe Codes) would still allow local European sim card to work when traveling? Or would GSM need unlocking even though no North American carrier can communicate with the phone due to non compatible frequencies.
Clear as mud eh?

[raino]

If you get the Telus phone activated on Telus, go to Europe and don't get a local SIM (more on unlocking in a bit,) your phone will roam on some European carrier. I don't think you'll even need to set your phone to GSM mode (through a setting that's present in CDMA BBs) because you're technically still going through Telus, and that setting is more for GSM SIM cards you put in. But if you were to get a local SIM, you may need to make this switch.

Re: unlocking, I'm not sure how Telus 8830s are. I have seen the SIM slots in GSM-CDMA (and LTE, so I'm talking about Z10s and Q10s, really) being unlocked (Verizon,) and not unlockable at all (Sprint.) Hopefully Telus 8830s are of the former type, or at worst, locked-but-unlockable. Here is how you can tell if your phone is unlocked.

[tangozulu]

Thanks Raino,
I appreciate your thoughts.
cheers
tango