disappointed - help needed

[Tester22]

Hi out there,
I read a lot in the www and found that this forum shoul be the wright place for solving my problem. So perhaps here is somebody who can help me. I was very proud receiving my Pearl 9100 today. It came straight away from USA to Germany. The seller told me that it is unlocked. When I unpacked the item and did put the SIM into the slot, a few minutes later I was asked to unlock. What a shock.
Now perhaps you know how to unlock the phone for O2-Germany, because it seems to be free for T-Mobile and Vodafone, but not for O2. I saw only this two carriers on the phone options.
I am a little helpless, because I cannot use the Pearl in the moment and my older 8110 has some bugs and needs urgently to retire. So I would thank you if you could help me. Please get in contact via Mail or PM.

Dee

[kurtla]

hi, welcome to the forum! what is your imei?

[kurtla]

got your pm, thanks - just wanted to make sure it was not an engineering unit. I would just start fresh, unlock the device @ Index for a few bucks - who is the carrier of that device?

[Blade_27]

Just to make sure, check that your 9100 is in fact still locked
Options>Advanced Options>Sim Card
Once there type in MEPD {what your typing won't be displayed}
On the menu that pops up everything should be disabled, if not your device is in fact still locked.

If you intended to purchase an unlocked device shouldn't you contact the seller?

[Tester22]

Originally Posted by Blade_27

Just to make sure, check that your 9100 is in fact still locked
Options>Advanced Options>Sim Card
Once there type in MEPD {what your typing won't be displayed}
On the menu that pops up everything should be disabled, if not your device is in fact still locked.

If you intended to purchase an unlocked device shouldn't you contact the seller?

After typing the mepd nothing happens.

I tried to contact him, but he does not answer. Waiting for a reply since several days. Bought the phone in USA and do live in Germany. That does not make things easier.

The phone is sold as "factory unlocked". But using my O2 Germany SIM card th 9100 lets me type the PIN and accepts it Then the phone shows the request "Your current SIM card requires an unlock code. Would you like to unlock?" After typing yes, it aks for a MEP code. After canceling this its shown "invalid sim card" as an information above the time area.

[timekeeper]

First off, I would attempt to contact the seller again, and make a point of saying that you will not hesitate to leave a negative feedback for false advertising or some sort.

Also, be careful about trying to guess the unlock code, it will lock after a few tries and ask for a second level code. I'm sure there are some cheap places, like ebay that will give you an unlock code for your IMEI for under 10 bucks. Good luck!

[kurtla]

got your pms. forget the seller, as you said you are in germany and he is not. this is not something you can just keep trying and hope you are lucky - you have 10 attempts and then the phone locks and you are screwed until you find a place that can unlock it for you. the reason I asked the carrier is that tmo, wind and cbw have a slightly different procedure for unlocking. again, just pay a few $ to unlock usa and your issue is history unless something is defective in the device. you can use any old sim to unlock, it has nothing to do with the sim

[Tester22]

okay, I tried Unlock Blackberry & Any Cell Phones Remotely by Code | CellUnlock.net
waiting for their reply.

But an additional question: If the phone is "factory unlocked", what does it mean? Normaly it should be free for all carriers, or not? Actually I can see T-Mobil and Vodafone on the menu where to choose the carrier manually. O2 is not mentioned.

[TheRemoteUnlockercom]

Who told you that the phone is 'factory unlocked'? The term refers to phones that were never locked..ie. they are from carriers that don't lock their phones, or directly from RIM (which is rare).

Unfortunately in your case it seems you were taken advantage of and besides leaving negative feedback, you may not have any other choice but to pay for an unlock code...but please DO NOT GUESS the code. If you try too many times its hardlocked and is a real headache to unlock it

Let us know if you have any other questions

[TequilaAddict]

Originally Posted by Tester22

okay, I tried Unlock Blackberry & Any Cell Phones Remotely by Code | CellUnlock.net
waiting for their reply.

But an additional question: If the phone is "factory unlocked", what does it mean? Normaly it should be free for all carriers, or not? Actually I can see T-Mobil and Vodafone on the menu where to choose the carrier manually. O2 is not mentioned.

Where exactly did you buy the phone from? Was it ebay or a cell phone website?
Some dealers will put anything in their ads to entice buyers, unfortunately.

[TequilaAddict]

Pay for the unlock code... I know you feel wronged by the seller, but leave that
behind you now. Once you unlock the Pearl, you'll love it. Otherwise, you'll lose
the money that you've already paid.

[Tester22]

Originally Posted by TequilaAddict

Pay for the unlock code... I know you feel wronged by the seller, but leave that
behind you now. Once you unlock the Pearl, you'll love it. Otherwise, you'll lose
the money that you've already paid.

Ok, as I already wrote I the meantime I contacted CellUnlock.net for buying the code. I bought the phone by ebay. If you are interested in looking at I add the offer, where its written that the phone is unlocked. Perhaps this information about the problems I had will help others.

BLACKBERRY 9100 PEARL 2 BLACK FACTORY UNLOCKED 3G - eBay (item 150543718679 end time Feb-03-11 19:59:03 PST)

[kurtla]

funny, the porsche of blackberries should have been your tip off to pass, lol. re the ebay ad, maybe I am blind but I don't see a carrier listed so how could you know what unlock code to purchase? btw you way overpaid for the code

[ttz]

OP: Is there a carrier logo on your phone? If it's the case, then the Pearl you received was locked from the start. I'm yet to see a 'branded' BB that isn't sim-locked to the carrier. The 'factory unlocked' ones don't have any carrier logos on them (and cost more to purchase because of their pre-unlocked capabilities). I used Unlocks.co.uk to unlock my Orange BB and it worked first time, they're cheap if you want to get the code immediately or free if you can wait a week for the code.

[TequilaAddict]

Originally Posted by Tester22

Ok, as I already wrote I the meantime I contacted CellUnlock.net for buying the code. I bought the phone by ebay. If you are interested in looking at I add the offer, where its written that the phone is unlocked. Perhaps this information about the problems I had will help others.

BLACKBERRY 9100 PEARL 2 BLACK FACTORY UNLOCKED 3G - eBay (item 150543718679 end time Feb-03-11 19:59:03 PST)

Well, now we have more info to work with. Definitely email the seller and kindly ask
them to pay the unlock fee for you, or you will post a negative feedback. I think the
seller will agree to avoid getting a negative.

I know you are new to all of this, so you had no idea that the unlockers here on
Crackberry are faster and cheaper, but unfortunately, you are learning it all as you
go along.