I am eagerly awaiting my 8830...so can I swap in a different sim card....the business rep seemed to indicate I would have to put in my sim card for the US which will come with the phone.....Any one know?
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I am eagerly awaiting my 8830...so can I swap in a different sim card....the business rep seemed to indicate I would have to put in my sim card for the US which will come with the phone.....Any one know?
Welcome to CrackBerry.com!
I've move this to it's own thread to generate more replies and make 'stand out' more...
Hopefully someone will be along shortly to answer your question...
If you buy a 8830 in the US from Verizon it will not come with a SIM card. I have also read that it will not work with a SIM card in the US because there is some kind of interference between CDMA and GSM. The SIM card option is only for use outside the US on a Verizon phone.
As to the mechanics of the SIM card....If you can manage to pry the battery door off the back of the 8830 without pulling a finger nail off or cracking the screen you insert the SIM card under the Micro SD card fold out carrier.
I hope this helps.
Thanks!
This battery cover removal hassel is not something I am looking forward to.
I will try to see if I can use another SIM card out in London on my next trip
out there.
So I think this would be a good time for a similar question: do you have to signup for a "Global" plan in order to get the SIM card from Verizon? Or do they just send it to you if you ask and then you "pay as you go" like with text messaging or whatnot?
The BB 8830 I received from Verizon has no SIM card. I did not sign up for Global service. I really have no idea how that works. When I go to Europe I have an Ericsson quad band GSM phone that is unlocked and I just put a SIM card from a local provider in it and pay MUCH LESS than the US carriers want for making calls.
Actually the GSM feature of this phone is nothing that appealed to me in the first place.
-Battery Cover is not as difficult to remove as I was led to believe....press down and out...seemed to work for me fine....inserted the sim card and then the battery....I used the directions on the blackberry site (rather than verizon's less than stellar documentation...emphasis is on the contract doc not the other stuff to get a user up and running quickly)
-Mine came with the SIM card as I had chosen the global plan
-Setting up email took a lot of time; as I had some peculiar issues to deal with (not due to the blackberry but due to the directions or lack thereof that came with it)
-Keyboard takes a little getting used to; this is my first smartphone so I will have to see how that pans out
-Voice quality not as good as I hoped but I have only made a few calls so I will have to withhold judegement on it.
-BTW Verizon's global data plan does not include using the phone as modem to hook up a laptop....disappointed that I have to dish out an additional $15 per month to get that luxury...I thought unlimited worldwide data plan would include that but no such luck.
-Positive about Verizon....the reason I stayed with them when my contract expired last month....customer service....I got answers to my questions within 2-3 minutes of dialing in from a live person.....But the more complicated questions I was able to resolve myself without calling them....so I wonder how they would have fared....
-But this first time smart phone set up is not for the faint hearted; lot of documentation on line to search out and resolve questions/issues......I want to see how Apple does with its setup procedure on the iphone (my friend plans to get one this summer so will have to look over her shoulder when she sets that one up)
-And oh yes...one final hint...make sure you have your laptop PC handy.....you will need access to the Web to get at the documentation or demos while you are setting this up....if you want to make your life easier...
If I take my 8830 to another country, do I have to purchase the verizon SIM card before I leave, or can I just buy one for the local phone network once I get there? I do realize this means I would be getting a local phone number and lively no data access.
Hello all, first time post. I had asked Verizon Wireless Customer Service and I had the same question - Can I use a SIM card other than what Verizon (Vodafone) provided. The answer is yes, you can and the reply is below:
The Verizon Wireless Blackberry 8830 is electronically locked from the manufacturer (RIM). To have the device unlocked, please contact our global services team at 1-800-711-8300 for assistance unlocking the device so that you can use foreign SIM cards with the Blackberry 8830.
Please note that if using a foreign SIM card with the Blackberry 8830, you will be using a foreign service provider's service and network(s). You will also be subject to the foreign service provider's airtime rates and technical support when or if using a foreign SIM card.
Hope that helps. In any case, I will get the 8830 soon.
I bought my BB8830 from Verizon and it did come with a SIM card.
I signed up for the Global Plan AFTER I got the phone. The SIM card came with the phone that I ordered.
A) The 8830 does NOT have the required frequency support to work on GSM in North America. It only supports the frequencies used in the other parts of the world. So you can't use this phone on AT&T or T-Mobile or any other North American GSM providers.
B) Verizon will furnish a Global SIM on request that will bill your current Verizon phone number for any calls you make outside the US. Normally at a rate of $2-$6 a minute. Data will be charged at from 2 - 4 cents per kb. But your regular phone number will work as will all of your Blackberry data and e-mail.
C) You can get your 8830 unlocked to use any companies SIM card outside of North America. Typically the cost per call will be much less. From 40 cents to maybe $1.50 a minute. Typically these SIMS have no data support or any support for the BlackBerry network. So no e-mail or Internet support. There are some vendors for the 8830 who already have unlocked this Blackberry model. Their users do not have to do anything but put a different SIM into the phone from a different carrier outside of North America. I don't remember off the top of my head who does this. It might be Sprint and Telus.
Bottom line, there is no cheap and easy way to have a full Blackberry experience once you leave North America. It's just a matter of what level of service you are willing to pay to use. For example, I have an AT&T International data plan. I pay over $100 a month. But my BlackBerry works in most places in the world just like it does back at home. I don't bay extra for data on the road. But I still have to pay a discounted per minute rate for phone calls that is higher than if I purchased a SIM from a host country mobile company. You just choose the level of service you are willing to use.
I've owned the 8830 for all of a couple of weeks. I love it so far. First time poster.
Thanks for all the previous info. I just called Verizon and can add some more info.
1. Yes, to request and own the SIM card from Verizon is free. Usage is expensive, but I guess it doesn't hurt to have it just in case.
2. You can't get the phone unlocked to use a third-party card until you have one to begin with. So you have to wait until you get your SIM in the mail, then call Verizon back and they will walk you through the unlocking process.
3. You can call to upgrade to the unlimited global data plan, then downgrade after you get back from your trip, and they will prorate based on the number of days. This will not change your contract length.
4. Text messages are $.50 to send and $.05 to receive. I'm not sure if this was the same in every country or just the one that I was inquiring about.
All,
I think this is a great thread. I have lots to offer as I am going through these issues currently.
I have a verizon phone 8830 BB. I puchased the global plan and got a SIM card installed on the phone before I left the US for Singapore.
When I arrived in Singapore it didnt work. Basically what happens is that the BB will attach to one of the many local provider networks. For example, when my phone attached to the local Singapore SingTel network I was able to make and receive calls at a very high cost but no data or email. When I attach to StarHub I have all services. Even when I set that my preffered network is StarHub it doesnt always work. This is actually not a working solution for me.
I am in Singapore now and will be here working on a project for the next 6 months. Therefore my customers are not going to call a US number when they need to reach me. So it makes sense to have a local SIM and therby giving me a local phone number. I managed to, after several attempts with Verizon, get my phone unlocked. After I got it unlocked I went to the local StarHub service provider and signed up for services. They gave me a local SIM card with a local number. It works great for local incoming and outgoing calls. But I dont have any data services or email (pushmail). Its not a perfect solution but at lesat I dont have to carry two mobile phones.
Now here is a question to the group. I would like to know if anyone can provide any assistance.
QUESTION:
How do I get my Blackberry to send and receive email and have data access when using an overseas SIM card?
From what I understand I need to have the Blackberry pushmail service to release my phone from Verizon and point it to StarHub in Singapore. This makes sense becasue when I set up email accounts for my phone I have to go to...
https://bis.na.blackberry.com/html?brand=vzw
Likewise, StarHub has a similar website for setting up email addresses with the local service.
Can anyone help me repair this situation. If we can somehow get this to work then there is a complete solution that can be offered to the group. So far I have managed to get the phone unlocked, know that an overseas SIM card will work. Now all that is lacking is getting data and pushmail to work.
The ideal scenario is that when I fly back to the US I will just need to swap SIM cards and then I will be back on US wiht no lag or interruption in email.
Have you tried this (going to the StarHub site and registering one of your email addresses)? If so, what were the results?
I have been using the Roam Simple int'l BlackBerry sim card for my international travel and It has saved me a shi*t load of money when i compared it to my Rogers BB plan and rates - check it Roam Simple Dot Com
We can unlock it for you, but be aware the 8830 will only work with international sim cards.