BlackBerry Forums Support Community

flightguy · 07-12-2007, 09:28 AM

Please send me a PIN message with your contact phone so I can tell you all of this over the phone.

flightguy · 07-12-2007, 09:51 AM

OK here goes... After about an hour and a half of being on the phone here is the conclusion.

First I called Verizon to ask if I could verify that my phone was unlocked. The VZW Rep advised "this is something the manufacturer of the phone should be able to verify. Hold on I will transfer you".

Second: Transferred to Erin at RIM Technical Support. Erin was diligent however had no definitive way of verifying that the phone was indeed unlocked. She said ordinarily we would simply put in a different SIM card and see if the phone would works however, VZW choose to diable the GSM capabilities while the phone was still in USA. After checking with some of her colleagues she told me it "looks like your phone is unlocked however no guarantees".

Erin then transferred me back to VZW where I spoke with Amy in Global Data Support. Amy was tried extremely hard to help me. Her supervisor also had a unlocked 8830 so she went and got his phone and we did a few things. If you go to Options>Advanced>SIM> and it says Security Disabled then your phone is "most likely" unlocked. They did state however this is no guarantee and there will be no way of knowing until I am overseas. I will be in Israel August 7th.... I will be able to let you know then.

Sorry for such a long post.... Just wanted to be thorough. Any questions please let me know.

he1neken · 07-12-2007, 09:52 PM

Doesn't sound like the person at RIM or VZW knew what they were talking about. In the SIM menu after typing MEPD the only field you should be worried about is the "Network" field. If it says Active beside it, your phone is locked.

The "Security Disabled" has nothing to do with the carrier lock.

flightguy · 07-13-2007, 12:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by he1neken

Doesn't sound like the person at RIM or VZW knew what they were talking about. In the SIM menu after typing MEPD the only field you should be worried about is the "Network" field. If it says Active beside it, your phone is locked.

The "Security Disabled" has nothing to do with the carrier lock.

Even though the GSM feature is completely disabled per RIM and VZW contractually while the phone is in the States? Your saying no matter of this it should not say Active beside network?

Please elaborate someone who knows specifically about the Verizon 8830 and the GSM feature in the States.

Thanks!

penguin3107 · 07-13-2007, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flightguy

Even though the GSM feature is completely disabled per RIM and VZW contractually while the phone is in the States? Your saying no matter of this it should not say Active beside network?

Please elaborate someone who knows specifically about the Verizon 8830 and the GSM feature in the States.

Thanks!

Unlocking/Locking has absolutely NOTHING to do with whether or not the GSM feature of the 8830 will work within the US.

The reason the 8830 will not work on GSM carriers in the US is because the phone itself doesn't support the GSM frequencies used by US GSM carriers. It only supports frequencies used by overseas GSM carriers.

You can unlock the phone all you want... and it still will not be able to be used on a GSM carrier in the United States.

Verizon didn't "disable" anything with regards to GSM.

The Verizon rep you spoke to hasn't a clue. Options > Advanced Options > SIM Card > Security Disabled doesn't mean that the device is unlocked or "most likely" unlocked. It's got nothing to do with unlocking a phone.
As mentioned above, you can verify that your phone is unlocked by doing one of two things:
1. Options > Advanced Options > SIM Card > m e p d > Network should say Inactive or Disabled
2. Put in a foreign SIM card while overseas and you're able to make/receive calls.

BlondeBoyL · 07-13-2007, 06:09 AM

I think the only way this is going to be settled is to wait and see what happens when you go over seas. You have your global sim, so when you get to isreal pop it in and see what happens. Take a cheap unlocked gsm phone with you just incase and let us know what happens.

shatter30 · 07-16-2007, 08:24 PM

Just thought I'd share this link that was published on CNET today. It's very interesting. It specifically mentions some carriers and talks about other countries policies..
Unlock the cell phone? It's a high-stakes debate | CNET News.com

RoC1909 · 07-16-2007, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguin3107

No... your phone is locked.
As I mentioned above, Network - Active means your phone is locked.

An unlocked phone will report 'Network - Inactive'

If it slapped him in the face he/she probably wouldn't have known.

Xaneth · 07-18-2007, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlondeBoyL

Hey sorry for the delay ofelas. click the link that JRSCivic98 posted. I put all the details, pictures and videos of the phone being unlocked in there. Also I am no longer the only person with it unlocked. Another person has successfully done it. All the details and such are all at that link.

Interesting! I wasn't aware that Verizon used SIM cards? We used to be with Verizon prior to February, and every time we needed to put a phone number on a different phone, we had to call in an "ESN change"

parisot · 07-18-2007, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xaneth

Interesting! I wasn't aware that Verizon used SIM cards? We used to be with Verizon prior to February, and every time we needed to put a phone number on a different phone, we had to call in an "ESN change"

That is because the BB 8830 is a "World phone" meaning that the phone is both CDMA and a GSM phone. This phone runs on Verizon’s network while in the USA then when the user travels outside of the country and does not have coverage my Verizon anymore, the phone switches to GSM(uses the sim card). I believe that the GSM portion of the phone is locked to Vodafone.

Normally a Verizon phone would not have a sim card, but the 8830 is an exception to this.

Xaneth · 07-18-2007, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parisot

That is because the BB 8830 is a "World phone" meaning that the phone is both CDMA and a GSM phone. This phone runs on Verizonxxx8217;s network while in the USA then when the user travels outside of the country and does not have coverage my Verizon anymore, the phone switches to GSM(uses the sim card). I believe that the GSM portion of the phone is locked to Vodafone.

Normally a Verizon phone would not have a sim card, but the 8830 is an exception to this.

Cool! Seems like it would be unlocked out of the box. Too bad they made it proprietary. I remember our Verizon rep in Texas mentioned that Verizon was expanding to work overseas by first quarter 2006. Guess that never materialized...

veco · 07-18-2007, 02:45 PM

I believe that nobody answered original question "So, does anyone finally know how to unlock the Verizon 8830 (I'm willing to pay a service to do this)?" In my case I am with Bell Canada and would like to unlock GSM portion of this phone and will to pay for this. All sites I found on network look like scam. Can anybody confirm that it is possible to unlock 8830 by using external help (not Verizon, Bell or Telus).
Thanks

penguin3107 · 07-18-2007, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by veco

Can anybody confirm that it is possible to unlock 8830 by using external help (not Verizon, Bell or Telus).

It's currently not possible. There aren't any third-party unlockers who have codes for the Verizon 8830.
Give it some time. It'll happen eventually.

FBlack · 07-18-2007, 05:53 PM

I do not believe anyone has or will figure out how to unlock the 8830. I even called that one web site that says it can, but the guy said no.

So pay full price and get a Verizon phone and they will unlock it or pay full price to Sprint.

BlondeBoyL · 07-19-2007, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by penguin3107

Unlocking/Locking has absolutely NOTHING to do with whether or not the GSM feature of the 8830 will work within the US.

The reason the 8830 will not work on GSM carriers in the US is because the phone itself doesn't support the GSM frequencies used by US GSM carriers. It only supports frequencies used by overseas GSM carriers.

You can unlock the phone all you want... and it still will not be able to be used on a GSM carrier in the United States.

Verizon didn't "disable" anything with regards to GSM.

The Verizon rep you spoke to hasn't a clue. Options > Advanced Options > SIM Card > Security Disabled doesn't mean that the device is unlocked or "most likely" unlocked. It's got nothing to do with unlocking a phone.
As mentioned above, you can verify that your phone is unlocked by doing one of two things:
1. Options > Advanced Options > SIM Card > m e p d > Network should say Inactive or Disabled
2. Put in a foreign SIM card while overseas and you're able to make/receive calls.

Penguin,

I started another thread asking what the unlocked sprint phones say in the network section and one of the people with a sprint phone replied back and said theirs says "Network Active"

http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...onal-sims.html

And we all know the sprints come unlocked.

BlondeBoyL · 07-21-2007, 05:29 AM

By the way here is another sprint user who has the 8830 and their network says "active".

Sprint 8830 Users w/ Sim cards - Page 2 - BlackBerry Forums at CrackBerry.com

I think its is as I said before, since the 8830 phones are CDMA and GSM, I think the rules regarding the "Active" and ""disabled" status of the phones are not really applicable here since we cant go active on a GSM network until we go overseas.

Fire7 · 07-22-2007, 05:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slinky

Sounds like a scam to me. All his domains and contact information are private. There is not only no buy button but he provides instructions to unlock a GSM version of the 8800 passed off as a link to unlock an 8830. Someone had to take time to change this and perhaps he was able to somehow get hold of a laptop from the emergency room (sympathy ploy.) Sharing the information isn't a crime and I wonder if it's even legitimate.

From my discussion with some reputable unlockers they said it is almost impossible to unlock the 8830. I was unhappy to hear this but they cited several reasons why they will very likely never have a solution.

The solution is as follows. Never ever buy anything from Verizon Wireless if you can help it since, other than perhaps a slightly better signal at the moment, you will be forced to cough up significantly higher fees for add-ons. Since you are locked into a 1 or 2 year contract with them for service, be very sure that you are getting a significantly better signal. If you travel internationally think about your purchase. If you care about GPS think about not using Verizon otherwise it will cost you $10 per month plus tax to use their service even if you already paid for TomTom. The chance that this phone will be unlocked in response to Sprint's offering is almost zero from my knowledge. This is because of Verizon's relationship with Vodaphone and its GSM capabilities.

Sorry to hear about your experience and thank you for sharing it with many other hopeful people. If I can help you I'm glad to provide legal assistance if there is any application.

Ok i'm confused. isn't the 8830 already unlocked? I've got 8830 From Canada but its not locked is it any different down there?

Fire7 · 07-22-2007, 05:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlondeBoyL

Penguin,

I started another thread asking what the unlocked sprint phones say in the network section and one of the people with a sprint phone replied back and said theirs says "Network Active"

http://www.blackberryforums.com/gene...onal-sims.html

And we all know the sprints come unlocked.

does the 8830 verizen version locked?? because mine from bell its not