Help! GoPhone SIM not working in Blackberry Bold

[unclesid]

My boss recently left me a fully functional Blackberry Bold which he had used on a voice/data plan with ATT. I make very few cell calls a month, so prepaid is most efficient for me and I liked the WiFi capability of the Bold that I could use at home and work.

Accordingly, I bought a Nokia 2610 Gophone and activated it. The activated Nokia sends and receives calls just fine. After activating, I removed the SIM card and placed it in the Blackberry. It correctly showed my prepaid phone number from the SIM, but showed just SOS in red in the corner - I could not make or receive calls. WiFi worked just fine from my wireless access points.

A friend took the SIM from his ATT phone and placed it in the Blackberry and it recognized his number and sent and received calls just fine.

What am I doing wrong? Do I need to unlock the Bold (shouldn't be necessary because it was and is on ATT)? Are there certain settings/service books I need to clear/reset from the previous user? Did ATT make changes that prohibit the use of a prepaid SIM card in a Blackberry?

If I can't use the prepaid SIM in the Blackberry, it's not a disaster - it only cost $30 for the cheap Gophone. However, using the Blackberry for limited phone calls, WiFi, and as a media player would be great!

Thanks in advance for any thoughts/assistance on this problem.

[ace587]

Was your friends att sim postpaid?

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[unclesid]

Yes - the previous owner had a standard Cingular postpaid voice/data plan.

[unclesid]

I've been researching and have a new theory about my problem with the GoPhone SIM card in my Blackberry Bold:

Given the following facts:

1) Gophone SIM card works in original Nokia cellphone (makes/receives calls - is properly activated)
2) My friends SIM card worked in the Blackberry Bold (showing that a replacement SIM will work on this particular Blackberry)
3) My SIM shows as "security disabled"

I'm wondering if I just bought so cheap a GoPhone that the SIM card provided lacked sufficient memory to work in the Blackberry (in posts I've read, they suggest that inadequate SIM card memory can yield a SIM "Security Disabled" message).

Any thoughts as to whether this could be the case? If so, how can I tell which Gophone would come with a SIM card with sufficient memory - is there a particular model that people have successfully used the SIM card in a Blackberry Bold?

Thanks for your patience and thoughts.

[Rockafella]

If it shows SOS when you put the card in, try going to manage connections and turn off the mobile network and then re-enable it. Every once in awhile I will get the SOS with the regular sim card. After doing what I stated, it finds the ATT network

[Nucleartx]

I actually took my BB 8310 into the corporate store and setup my gophone account. No ?'s asked.

One issue you might have atm is 3g, att's system could be kicking you out of 3g because you are prepaid.

[unclesid]

Thanks for the feedback. I'll head out to the ATT store this afternoon and see if they'll allow me to setup the bold on a prepaid plan. I was under the impression they didn't do this, but your experience suggests that it's worth a try (since I don't think any other alternative will work at this time)

[unclesid]

Walked into my "friendly" ATT store, asked if it was possible to activate the Blackberry Bold on a prepaid plan, and was shot the "only drug dealers and credit deadbeats use prepaid" look while being told "No".

Guess that's it - I'll use the Bold as a media player. If anyone has any work-arounds, I'll check periodically.

[unclesid]

In case this helps someone - a happy ending to the story:

Gave up on ATT. Got an unlock code for the Blackberry 9000 and ordered a $7 SIM kit from T-mobile. Activated it with no trouble in the Blackberry and have the prepaid voice-only service I was looking for (wifi at home, work, and hotspots is OK for me). After my initial 39 minutes are exhausted, I'm going for the 1000 minute/$100/365 day renewal program, which is just perfect for me.

[kojax_neonix]

I know this is an old thread, but I figured I'd shine light on the situation anyway. I had the exact same problem, and after talking to customer service, was informed that when you buy a phone and sim together and activate them, the Sim card is locked to that phones IMEI number for 180 days. I ended up ordering a new sim card and service for $5.95 through att and am waiting on it to come in.

[noaim]

Originally Posted by unclesid

I've been researching and have a new theory about my problem with the GoPhone SIM card in my Blackberry Bold:

Given the following facts:

1) Gophone SIM card works in original Nokia cellphone (makes/receives calls - is properly activated)
2) My friends SIM card worked in the Blackberry Bold (showing that a replacement SIM will work on this particular Blackberry)
3) My SIM shows as "security disabled"

I'm wondering if I just bought so cheap a GoPhone that the SIM card provided lacked sufficient memory to work in the Blackberry (in posts I've read, they suggest that inadequate SIM card memory can yield a SIM "Security Disabled" message).

Any thoughts as to whether this could be the case? If so, how can I tell which Gophone would come with a SIM card with sufficient memory - is there a particular model that people have successfully used the SIM card in a Blackberry Bold?

Thanks for your patience and thoughts.

it shows as security disabled for everyone

[sentinal27]

I had a LG shine att and geniously left it our during a light afternoon shower. It was broken and I bought a gophone, placed old sim card in an all is well.

I just recieved a bb bold from a generous friend. I was wondering if I could simply place my SIM card in the new bb free of charge???? any help would b greatly appreciated

[cavingjan]

You will have the BIS data plan added to your line automatically when you put the SIM in. Then it should function just fine.

[sentinal27]

how much is that

[cavingjan]

$30 per month