[ROTAF]

Any ideas on how to solve this:
- got a 8700g from T-Mobile US a week ago (just wanted the phone didn't care about any BB plans as I'll be abroad for a long time, but was given also a stupid prepaid TMO SIM)
- unlocked the phone (through one of the many websites) which gave me possibility to use rightaway another (foreign) SIM (for phone calls and sms which for this works fine)
- Tried to create new account on foreign carrier BIS site but could not (err msg saying that the "Blackberry is already registered with a different service provider ..."
- Contacted T-Mobile Customer care which, after bouncing back and forth, told me they can not unlock before 90 days and some active traffic.

So ok, I kinda understand the TMO policy but how is this possibile to have my device's PIN/IMEI attached to a service since I didn't sign up for any BB plan contract?

Are there any other ways to solve this? As I can not wait 90 days, is using RIM's tech support (i.e. pay per incident) an option to have my BB detached from TMO?? Any other suggestions?
Thanks,

FR

[strogonowski]

Is this brand new unit? It sounds like you got a used one and someone had register BIS account with it alredy and its still live. Did you asked them if that PIN is configured with another BIS account? I don't think unlocking your unit by T-Mobile has anything to do with releasing PIN from them.

[ROTAF]

Yes brand new unit (I saw it taking out a sealed box): does this mean that when they inserted my personal data they register a BIS account? I have no account name/pwd whatsoever for that account!

I'm gonna try again to contact T-Mobile to have my PIN/IMEI released from them (I would then assume tha that 90dd policy refers to unlocking the phone and not for having the PIN released?)

[strogonowski]

All I can say is that I have had 7230, 7100, 7105, 8700 from T-mobile working just fine on Cingular\AT&T (including BIS\BES). Same units later on (except for 8700) got shipped to Canada and worked without any issues on Rogers. Unless this is something new, I never heard of such policy.

What you can try is login to T-mobile BIS website using your T-Mobile account info and see if you can setup an account that way (which you can delete later) and if you get the same error that would mean that someone else used that PIN before. You will have to have a data plan on that SIM card. How much did you pay for this unit, maybe it's a refurb.

[MooseNYC]

I had a similar problem with one of my blackberries.
I had an "unlocked" device from a users that was on TMO. Since it was unlocked I could use it on Cingular. I signed up for the data plan etc.

A Few months later I started having problems and it stopped sending me my email all together. voice communication was just fine.
When I called Cingular CS they passed it over to the next few levels of customer support for the blackberries.
Cingular couldnt figure it out and went to RIM, who told them that the device was originally registered to TMO and that the message problems were coming from TMO as the PIN was still "active" with them.
Cingular then contacted TMO directly about this PIN# and got me on a confernece call to explain why I wasnt getting my email, even though I had my web account (BIS) on Cingular.
In short they (TMO) would not release the device PIN even though the device was "unlocked" and since data was coming through thier servers without a data plan they blocked the device, so I was out of luck.

Now, I'm no expert on the back end of how things are supposed to function with the messaging but thats what happened to me..... I was out of luck

Since that time however I have had other units and have never had problems with them (most of them are unlocked devices from TMO!!)

Regards,

Dave