[Mears]

Hey guys
I'm new here
I have just bought a new Blackberry and plan to put my vodafone sim free card into it. When I do, i get the message on-screen saying data connection refused.
I am a beginner when it comes to Blackberrys so I am asking what can i possibly do?
please suggest anything thanks

[John Clark]

That means you don't have a Blackberry Data Plan on your account.

[Mears]

So how do I get one? and also
what is a data plan?

[Mears]

I usally jus ttake my sim card and put it ina phone and go, It is a contract sim card that can be placed in any phone which gives me free minutes and texts per month etc

[John Clark]

A data plan is a subscription you'll need from your cell service carrier for Blackberry Data (internet, email, etc.) Without it you won't get any internet/data on your BB. If you're on a prepaid sim you won't be able to get a BB data plan, though.

You might want to head over to Main Page - BlackBerryFAQ. There is some good stuff there and you'll get a good idea of what you need.

Edit: With your sim you'll be able to use the phone and sms but no data service. Good luck.

[Mears]

But the problem is, I can't even send/recieve texts or phone calls. When I go into options and Sim card. There is an option for, 'unblock sim puk2 code'
What is a puk2 code and how do I get it? Does anybody know what the problem is?

[Dubdub]

Sounds to me like the BB is locked. You need to unlock it to use your prepaid SIM.

[Mears]

any idea how you unlock a bb?

[AlexKidd]

Strange - sounds like the previous phone has locked the SIM. You can use a SIM fully unlocked in the Blackberry no problem, but until then you'll need to put the SIM back in the old phone and locate instructions on how to unlock the SIM - once unlocked, remove it and put it back in the BlackBerry and your phone and SMS should work fine then.

--Kidd