take the SIM card out of the sprint 8830 and put it in a regular GSM blackberry? Will it work? How "locked" is the SIM card? Will I be able to get the data on the separate SIM card? Will it only work with that specific phone? And what if I'm overseas?

Homer

Wirelessly posted (Breaking Ball)

Forgive me for asking... But why on earth would you want to use your SIM card in any other device?

You have a world phone... Just use your own phone when you go overseas.

Your 8830 came with a sim card?

kjjb....

My verizon 8830 came with a sim card - well, I specifically asked about a phone that could be used in Europe. I never quite figured out what was what when I purchased, but the card was " thrown in for free!" I have since gotten the phone unlocked so I could use it in europe with a "foreign" sim card (for cheaper rates)

you wont get any service on the other device. you will be able to (if the GSM device is unlocked) copy any SIM contacts to the device but that is all. GSM devices will not work on the CDMA network and vice versa

Sorry to revive a "dead thread", but what if I was overseas? I'm just wondering from a technical side of what the unlimited international BB means. It sounds like when sprint "activates" internation roaming, it means that the card is registered and spread internationally so that the SIM card will work whereever roaming partners exist.

Then, when you travel and take your CDMA 8830 overseas, you activate the GSM section of the phone, which then access the cellular network through the now activated SIM card.

If that's the case, what's to say you can't take the now activated SIM card out of the 8830, and place it in a regular GSM unlocked BB and use it when you're overseas? Does BB/RIM/Sprint know that the SIM card is now in a phone with a different ESN/IMEI and has a different BB PIN code?

Good question -- I don't know the answer. Previous responses assumed that you were taking the SIM and putting it in a US based GSM provider phone.

However, to the point with your question, why would you want to do that?? Assuming that it would work, you would pay the high international tariff and not be using the 8830. I suppose that if you had another BB you might get data services, but you certainly would if you were using the 8830. I don't see the benefit. Help me understand.

AFAIK, the SIM will only work outside the US. The 8830 operates on CDMA in the USA, GSM outside, on different frequencies.

Yes... putting the SIM card from the 8830 into a quad band GSM phone here in the states delivers "no service". I guess the SIM isn't listed under any US carriers as an active SIM.

I don't believe there's any benefit to doing it, as it's more of an academic exercise. The only possible "benefit" to it would be using a rather inexpensive, "normal", old GSM blackberry than the nice "new" 8830 that I have. The thought of losing the 8830 while I was overseas isn't too exciting.

Besides that, there's also the purely academic thought of having an activated BB internationally while you're back stateside. Do they know that you're SIM is being used overseas? I'm sure they do...

In a less academic exercise, the only true upshot would be to use a "local" variety BB when I travel. In my specific case, it would have been nice to pop it into a chinese BB so I could leverage some specific language issues. But otherwise, this is truly just an academic exercise in understanding how the system is set up...