Confused trying to switch phones.

I just got service with Assurance Wireless which is technically Virgin Mobile. They gave me a cheap phone and texting is difficult on it. I was wanting to get a Blackberry. Their website says they support the Blackberry Curve 8530. I really don't want to mess this up and end up paying for something I can't use so I'm looking for some advice before I start purchasing. Can I buy any working Blackberry Curve 8530 from ebay and purchase an unlock code and be good to go? I was looking on ebay and some say you can only use for Spring etc. The unlock code takes care of that? Any suggestions on this process are very much appreciated. I'll be sure to use someone's reference code for anything as well. Thanks!

How much do you want to spend? By the time you buy the phone plus the unlock code you've spent as much as this one.
Amazon.com: Virgin Mobile Blackberry 8530: Cell Phones & Accessories

Originally Posted by HeSaveDave

I just got service with Assurance Wireless which is technically Virgin Mobile. They gave me a cheap phone and texting is difficult on it. I was wanting to get a Blackberry. Their website says they support the Blackberry Curve 8530. I really don't want to mess this up and end up paying for something I can't use so I'm looking for some advice before I start purchasing. Can I buy any working Blackberry Curve 8530 from ebay and purchase an unlock code and be good to go? I was looking on ebay and some say you can only use for Spring etc. The unlock code takes care of that? Any suggestions on this process are very much appreciated. I'll be sure to use someone's reference code for anything as well. Thanks!

OP for what you want to do, you are better off getting a Q5. Koodo is offering them for $150 (no term) as per the link below.

Koodo Mobile is now selling the BlackBerry Q5 for $150 | MobileSyrup.com

Posted via CB10 from my spectacular Z10

Originally Posted by qbnkelt

How much do you want to spend? By the time you buy the phone plus the unlock code you've spent as much as this one.
Amazon.com: Virgin Mobile Blackberry 8530: Cell Phones & Accessories

Oh great point! Thank you.

Originally Posted by web99

OP for what you want to do, you are better off getting a Q5. Koodo is offering them for $150 (no term) as per the link below.

Koodo Mobile is now selling the BlackBerry Q5 for $150 | MobileSyrup.com

Posted via CB10 from my spectacular Z10

Thanks but according to the Assurance site they're only compatible with the Blackberry 8530. I tried the Blackberry I already own but it take it when I entered the info.

Actually, I only see the Blackberry Curve 8530 on the Assurance site but I wonder if there's a way I could get my Blackberry Curve 8320 to work. They don't seem very different. My Blackberry Curve 8320 was from T-Mobile a few years ago so I'm not sure how to try and make it work. Any thoughts?

Originally Posted by HeSaveDave

Oh great point! Thank you.



Thanks but according to the Assurance site they're only compatible with the Blackberry 8530. I tried the Blackberry I already own but it take it when I entered the info.

Actually, I only see the Blackberry Curve 8530 on the Assurance site but I wonder if there's a way I could get my Blackberry Curve 8320 to work. They don't seem very different. My Blackberry Curve 8320 was from T-Mobile a few years ago so I'm not sure how to try and make it work. Any thoughts?

You can't. Virgin is a subsidiary of Sprint and runs on the CDMA network. T-Mobile is GSM and on totally different frequencies. You need to get a Sprint compatible phone.

I think someone is miss informing you... if you have a sim with good tariff for your needs, you can use it in any phone as long as it's unlocked and on the right network... your contract is to the sim and the amount you pay is for the data/texts/calls and phone over the period... that's always been my understanding of it... I do a similar thing where on my personal device I run sim only and buy whatever phone I like...

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