First, let me say I am a proud first owner of a BB. Came from an iPhone 3G and I'll never look back.
I bought a T-Mobile phone back in early September from a mobile phone shop in Canada, and the phone came unlocked out of the box. Is that normal? It was sealed and everything, so I was confused to hear him say I didn't need to unlock it as it was already unlocked. Does T-Mobile sell unlocked phones?
If they do in fact come unlocked from T-Mobile, is that permanent regardless of software updates? My carrier is actually Mobilicity in Canada and they have a later build I want to upgrade to but I'm worried about "re-locking" the 9900.
Thanks for your insights!
Last edited by NathanielB; 10-11-11 at 01:03 AM.
Reason: Spelling mistakes.
Phone could have originated from Europe or another territory where they sell unlocked phones. Some Countries prohibit the sale of locked phones.
If its truly unlocked as you say, there will be no problem installing the software upgrade. The lock/unlock is handled in a different part of the EEPROM.
Oh I see, thanks for the insights! From what I gather it's a T-Mobile USA phone as all the Warranty Cards/Instructions say (c) T-Mobile USA as does the copyright on the box.
So, regardless of where or how it was unlocked, if it is unlocked, I can't re-lock it with an upgrade no matter what stage it was unlocked from (i.e. factory, third party)?
I wonder what was a T-Mobile USA phone was doing in a Canada shop? Why you didnt just buy a rogers one? if its unlocked im sure you paid full retail, unless the rogers band is different from your carrier band
EDIT: I read the post wrong, but Yes regardless of what you do the blackberry will remain unlocked.. you can wipe it a million times it will still stay unlocked
Last edited by YoungAceAtlanta; 10-11-11 at 02:53 AM.
Tmo USA phones don't come out of the box unlocked and as far I know they don't sell unlocked phones. I got my berries from a Tmo store in Honolulu and it's never came unlocked.
If you go to the MAIN page of CB.com and scroll to the bottom almost you will see an add and full photo of a 9900 in white from a Dutch carrier that clearly makes a point of the phone being unlocked out of the box so i am sure you have nothing to worry about about and it is strictly up to the carrier to ask RIM to have their phones unlocked.
Well T-Mobile USA doesn't have an outlet/office in Canada. Therefore it must have be bought as an overflow... in other words, the company you bought it from might have gotten extra stock and are selling it as a third party. The good thing about that is the warranty is still valid, regardless of being unlocked or not. If it was locked it wouldn't matter because after 90 days TMO will provide a factory unlock code for the phone... however they won't provide it if you pay full price for the phone... only after 90 days. Don't ask me why, it's just their policy.
Also as someone pointed out the TMO version of the 9900 will run only on Edge on Rogers, Fido, Telus, Chatr, etc.
I would still go with TMO over AT&T any day of the week. Congrats!
In some EU countries and even in some Asian countries the phone MUST be unlocked even if you go with a 2-3 year phone contract by law. So, it is possible to find Blackberries unlocked right out of the box because the original intended market may have been one of those countries.
So, I won't worry about this. Be happy that you got an unlocked phone! Enjoy your phone.
Tmo USA phones don't come out of the box unlocked and as far I know they don't sell unlocked phones. I got my berries from a Tmo store in Honolulu and it's never came unlocked.
