[2PInZ]

Hi,

Came across this forum through Google and I appreciate any advice you all can give me. I am an international student from Singapore and I study in the US. One of my buddies informed me he has a Blackberry 8320 curve that I can have if I'd like - and after going through Google searches and reading through this forum, I want to totally understand how to approach unlocking the phone properly and in a correct sequence of events.

His phone is still registered under T-Mobile, but his contract is over and is NOT using a SIM card. From what I've read, I should:

- Ask him to call T-Mobile and unlock the phone
- Once the phone is unlocked, he should go ahead and close his account with T-Mobile?
- After that, I should be able to purchase a SIM card from T-Mobile/ATT and other carriers in Singapore/India and use the phone, correct?


Please let me know if that's the right way I should approach this. I would also appreciate it if anyone could advise on any compatibility issues I might face in the future (ex. SIM card restrictions of some kind)?

Also, just to clarify - once I purchase a SIM card I should have the option of choosing to use BIS/BBM, correct? Will the BBM pin of the phone need to be released/refreshed/etc. or is every phone's BBM pin fixed?


I apologize in advance as I'm sure these questions have been answered somewhere in the forum - I was having a tough time navigating and finding clearer help for my situation.

Thanks again.

[ST79]

Yes.. You got it right buddy..

- Get the unlock code from T-Mobile or other 3rd party unlocking service.

- cancel the BIS account and release the pin (only the original account holder would be able to do this).

- use the device on any gsm network.

You must have a BB data (BIS) plan for bbm, push email and BB web browsing to work.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[2PInZ]

Thanks for your reply.

- After getting the unlock code, releasing the PIN is done by calling T-Mobile again? what should I say to them and what exactly is the point of releasing the PIN?

- I understand I'll need a BIS plan for bbm...if i were to buy a SIM card from ATT at whatever rates they charge, would I just have to tell them that I want to also add the BIS to that SIM card?

[ST79]

Thanks for your reply.

- After getting the unlock code, releasing the PIN is done by calling T-Mobile again? what should I say to them and what exactly is the point of releasing the PIN?

- I understand I'll need a BIS plan for bbm...if i were to buy a SIM card from ATT at whatever rates they charge, would I just have to tell them that I want to also add the BIS to that SIM card?

- The original account holder have to call T-Mobile and ask them to release the pin.

- Ask the AT&T rep to add the preffered BIS plan to your account when you buy the sim card.

[2PInZ]

Thanks for the help ST79 - i appreciate it. Just one last question...

- Will my friend run into problems asking T-Mobile to release the PIN right after he asks them to unlock the phone? Or would they go ahead and do that as well at the same time?

[ST79]

No... Your friend can ask for the unlock code and pin release at the same time. As his contract has already expired, there shouldn't be any problems...

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[exelant]

I'm not sure one needs to have the pin released. I gave a friend an unlocked T-Mo BlackBerry and all he needed to do was put his att sim card in and the phone worked fine. You'll run into problems if the phone was reported stolen or something like that.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com