BlackBerry Passport Aftermarket Unlocking
Just thought I'd post my experience trying to aftermarket unlock a locked Telus phone. This, mind you is currently the best method of acquiring a BlackBerry Passport at a reasonable price as Telus does not require an account or a plan to buy a phone outright. The only condition is that you have to order it online. Anyway, back to the unlocking...
I looked at several different places, and the prices and service standards seem to be all over the place. Below is a list of three places that I looked at and the results.
1. Unlock Your Phone! - CellPhoneUnlock.netCellPhoneUnlock.net | Unlock Cell Phone | #1 Cell Phone Unlock to any GSM Network - I've used these guys for all but one of my BlackBerry 10 unlocks, about 5 in total. They have great service and wide support. At the moment though, their Passport unlocks are extremely expensive, $49.99 USD for Telus devices, which is more than unlocking through Telus directly.
2. Cellunlocker.net - #1 Unlock Codes for Network Cell Phone Unlocking - I've used these guys traditionally to unlock some of my older BlackBerry devices, and my Androids. They have good service and are a reliable shop. I originally ordered my unlock from them for the Passport for $24.99 USD, but after 48 hours and review of the alternate database, they could not find an unlock code for my device. They did refund me in full. If you wish to consider these guys, you may want to wait for 3-4 weeks before trying any unlocks for the Passport.
3. Unlock Blackberry - Blackberry Unlock Code - Blackberry Unlocking - These are the guys that finally managed to unlock my BlackBerry Passport, and for the best price too, $19.99 USD. I submitted the order yesterday at ~4:30pm, and I received my code in less than 24 hours. Everything worked at the first go. Their communication was great and service excellent. I would highly recommend them for all of your BlackBerry Passport unlock needs.
All in all, if you are like me and are tired of waiting for an unlocked device and for DR/BlackBerry to make up their mind, pick up a Telus device outright and get it unlocked :) Keep in mind that there are many outfits that still cannot unlock the Passport properly, and some that are just outright fake, like unlockunit.com that claims that they can unlock your Passport in less than 12 hours for $9 USD. Problem is of course that most of the networks that they list as having available codes for, don't even carry the Passport.
Happy unlocking!