Hey all! Here goes my very first post :

So my 8700 finally died on me (admittedly it went through a lot of abuse ) And now, with my current budget and price range, i have decided on buying a used 8320.

As of right now I am locked into a contract with AT&T for another four months. After that I will be switching over to T-mobile, as my dad has T-mobile, and pays about $30 less/mo than I do, and gets just as good service around our home as I do with AT&T.

So what i need is a phone that I can use on the the AT&T network for a little while and then switch over to T-mobile. Either way I know that I will have to unlock my phone.

1) I am debating weather to buy a T-mobile 8320 or an AT&T 8320. I have read in other forums that it is very possible to switch an unlocked T-mobile 8320 to the AT&T network but that certain functions do not work, such as push e-mail and MMS. Does anyone have a full list of what functionality I will loose? Also, has anyone been able to get MMS working on a T-mobile 8320 switched over to the AT&T network?

2) I havn't read about anyone who took an unlocked AT&T 8320 over to the T-mobile network. I assume that this is doable, because i have read about people who have switched T-mobile 8320's over to AT&t. Is there any reason that this assumption may be wrong? Also if i switch an unlocked AT&T 8320 over to T-mobile, is there anyway to download software that would allow it to work via the UMA networks, or is that functionality derived from hardware, and thus not available to AT&T 8320's?

3) If I end up with a T-mobile 8320, I will have to unlock it. I know that if an existing customer calls T-mobile and asks for the unlock code, T-mobile will give it to them. My problem is that I have never been a T-Mobile customer. Will they still give me the unlock code even if i am not a customer (of course I won't tell them that I'm trying to get it to switch over to At&t)? If not, could I have my dad (a long, and well-standing T-mobile customer) to ask for the unlock code for me, even if it is not his phone?

Any information you know, or other forums you could point me to to help enlighten me would be much appreciated.

Make sure you read our FAQ article on buying a used BB from eBay - no matter hwere you are getting it. A used BB is a used BB and the info is the same.

An unlocked 8320 should work on any GSMnetwork.

Make sure TMO has the coverage where you need the device, not just around your home. A cheap plan is too expensive if you have no signal where you need one.

As for getting the unlock code, why not try to buy it unlocked? It will not work on UMA. You must have an UMA enabled device to do that. If it isn't, you can't make it so with software.

No, you don't have to be an existing T-Mobile customer.

T-Mobile will give you the unlock code for any T-Mobile device, but only for T-Mobile devices. You can have pretty much anyone ask for the unlock code; instructions to unlock the device are sent via e-mail or SMS.

T-Mobile requires a data plan for Blackberry service if you're upgrading or buying a new service -- no way around it, I'm afraid, but if you have an SMS package there are web-only options that'll save you a few bucks.

Good luck, and enjoy your time with T-Mobile!

This has not been my experience. I've tried three times in the past couple days (two phone calls and one visit to the local store) to get an unlock code for an 8320 I bought on Craigslist. Been told that they would only give an unlock code to a customer with an active account.

Been real nice each time....Is it just me??

Lyal

That's everyone's policy: free unlock codes only for current account holders (3 months + account in good standing).

I don't believe that is correct. You have to be a T-Mobile customer, in good standing and you can only do an unlock once every three months (or some time frame).

I did it the other way around, though I used an 8310. Bought a used ATT phone, swapped it over to Tmo. Using the right WAP and TCP settings on the phone you can get away with the cheap 6 buck tzone thing. Unless you absolutely need the BB services. If you want more info, send me message or find me on yahoo, same username.