[Smart_Ass]

hey guys,

a BB newbie here, hope someone here can help, posted yesterday but it seems to have vanished - not sure why?

Been looking at jumping onto the BB wagon for a few weeks now but my upgrade was not due till xmas so i thought I would pick up a used BB off ebay.

So I managed to get a mint 8320 off ebay, wasn't sure if it was locked so was thinking about getting it unlocked as it was originally on the BT Mobile network. Stumbled upon a webpage that showed how to check it was unlocked and by typing MEPD in the SIM card option I found that the phone was alreadty unlocked (network showed as disabled).

I have tried both Vodafone contract and T-mobile pay-as-you-go SIM cards but keep getting 'Searching for Network' message initially and then 'No Network' message. The Voda SIM does sometimes show a GSM signal but won't allow calls (maybe this is due to BT Mobile piggy-backing on the Voda network?).

Anyone help? I've tried removing the battery and replacing it after 5 minutes or so and still not working. Do I need to have BIS added to my account for the SIM card to work in the BB 8320? Or has the unlock process not worked?

Also, there desn't seem to be anyway of getting a BT SIM card to try in the phone as they don't do pre-paid and i don't know anyone with a BT mobile phone.

Thanks for reading, hope someone can help

[Tripster]

Yes, you need the BIS data plan.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Smart_Ass]

Yes, you need the BIS data plan.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

Ah, i see, thank you for the response.

It's odd that by putting any SIM card in I don't get any network coverage and to use the phone to just make calls and send text messages requires the BIS data plan. Well will give my service provider (Vodafone) a call later today to provision BIS on my account and see if that works. Hopefully won't have any problems with having the PIN/phone registered on the BT Mobile network!

[jbeachy]

Email, Internet, and BBM require a BlackBerry data plan but you should not need a data plan (BIS) to make calls and send texts. I'm guessing it's a provisioning problem and a call to the carrier will resolve the issue. But you will still need a data plan to do the other functions.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

[Smart_Ass]

Email, Internet, and BBM require a BlackBerry data plan but you should not need a data plan (BIS) to make calls and send texts. I'm guessing it's a provisioning problem and a call to the carrier will resolve the issue. But you will still need a data plan to do the other functions.

Posted from my CrackBerry at wapforums.crackberry.com

thanks for your help, I was going to get the BIS data plan added next month to get the email and everything else requiring BIS working. I did expect the phone to pick up a signal and make calls without BIS but as a BB newbie was unsure how it all worked.

I think I will investigate the following issues before sending the phone back as I've been in touch with the seller and he will accept a return if I can't get it to work:

1) the phone has not been unlocked properly (or is not unlocked) and won't work with any SIM other than BT Mobile (even though it shows network disabled within the MEPD) ... or

2) there is a problem on my service provider end in which case I will be in touch with them this evening to sort out ... or

3) lastly the problem is bigger than I can sort out and so will return to seller, in which case I'm not sure I would risk buying another BB and wait for my upgrade to decide between getting a BB 9700, Storm 2 or maybe an Android phone.

thanks once again

[Reed McLay]

Your first post is there, just down a page or so.

http://forums.crackberry.com/f52/832...oblems-302271/

[Smart_Ass]

Your first post is there, just down a page or so.

ahh, yes its still there ... boy these pages fill up quick

still no reply to that thread though