Do I want locked phone?

[ajenssen]

Hello, I have been trying to find an answer to this most of the day but have failed miserably. I currently use a BB Curve 3G 9300 for work, but I hate it because the keypad is so small that it is nearly impossible for me to type with. I borrowed a buddy's Torch 9800 and loved it. I am unable to upgrade my phone with my company, but they said that if i brought one in it wouldn't be a problem unless it was unlocked in which case it may work or it might not. I travel over the world for work (Europe, Asia, South America... etc) so I am weary to go and purchase a cheap "unlocked phone" and not have it work while I'm overseas. Can someone please explain this to me as to what the chances are of the phone not working overseas if it is unlocked or if it will only work if it is locked in with my company's wireless provider? Thank you very much ahead of time.

My wireless provider is AT&T, looking to purchase Torch 9800, and the service is all on the Enterprise system (dont' know what info is pertinent or not).

[Jake90087]

A 'locked' phone means that you can only use it on one carrier's network (I.E AT&T). Roaming will still be working fine and such as you normally would, an unlocked phone means you can put a sim from any carrier in and the phone will work fine£

[sgpika]

If its locked to any carrier, I use to buy the unlock code on ebay for 1pound, and yes the phone work overseas. Just be carefull if you buy it online because if its stolen it will not work.
I was 9700 user and changed to torch 9800 too.
Good luck and if u need help to unlock just contact me if u want

Sent from my BlackBerry 9800 using Tapatalk

[ajenssen]

Thank you very much for the information. Not to beat this over the head but wanted to just make sure before i spend a bunch of money. The following link is for a 9810 that is for AT&T, used, and locked to the carrier.

Blackberry Torch 9810 - Good Condition White AT&T Cell Phone | eBay

Would this phone work the same way as say this phone, an unlocked 9810 in regards to roaming and all of the other specifics?

BRAND NEW REFURB UNLOCKED RIM BLACKBERRY TORCH 9810 PHONE 4G GSM GLOBAL / SILVER (689309003815) | eBay

Again, thank you for the information... New to BB so i still have much to learn.

[sedalia066]

If the device is unlocked and is in working condition both of those should do what you wish. Unlocking gives you the freedom to use a SIM card wherever you wish and the ATT 9810 is a world phone.

Unlocking does not affect any of the phone functions other than carrier. Your company should be able to allow the phone without any concern if or not unlocked.

Unlocking codes are available from any number of reputable unlockers in the forums here at CB. On E-Bay there are both reliable and not so good offerings. My suggestion is to stick to the ones around here to avoid most all the worries.

[saudadeii]

I use an unlocked AT&T 9800 on AT&T with Blackberry Enterprise Services with no problems.

Just bear in mind that if you switch carriers, either here or overseas, you may not get full 3G speeds due to differences in 3 G services.

I also have an unlocked AT&T Bold 9000 I use with T-Mobile. The best I get is EDGE.

[ajenssen]

So I purchased a 9810 from a buddy who was on AT&T, same as me, and it is locked to the carrier. All that I have to do at this point when I receive the phone is to swap the sim card from my original Curve 9300 to the Torch 9810 and everything should be good with data, voice, and enterprise services?

Thank you!

[saudadeii]

If both are on AT&T, you can simply swap SIMS.

Make sure all of your BB services work. While the cellular service will swap and you'll carry over the phone number, your BB PIN is unique. You *may* experience some issues with BIS. If you're on BES, you'll need to reactivate.

You can use the "Switch Device" option in DM to transfer data from the Curve to the Torch.

[ajenssen]

This phone is for work which is on a BES network. So how would I go about reactivating it? Is this something the IT department would have to do?

I'm assuming that if this is the case the Switch Device option is no longer on the table?