Today we are looking a procedure that most of us will do at one time or another while owning a BlackBerry which is unlocking. Keep in mind, this will only work on GSM devices, or "World Phones" like the 8830WE, Storm or Tour. If you are like me, you will sometimes want a BlackBerry from another carrier to run on your own carrier. Or maybe you want to sell it and increase resale value while opening yourself up to more potential buyers. All you need to do is get an unlock code and follow our quick session and your on your way!
How to Enter Unlock Codes for Blackberry 8900, 9000, 9630, 8300, 8310, 8320, 8800, 8820:
You will need to get an unlock code either from your carrier or from an unlocking company. You also must have either a active or inactive SIM card in your phone to complete the unlock process.
1. Go to Options, Advanced Options, then Sim Card
2. On your Blackberry, type MEPD (You will not see any text appear on the screen while typing MEPD)
3. Type MEP, then ALT BUTTON, and then 2 on your Blackberry keyboard (Once again, you will not see any text appear on the screen while typing)
4. You should see a prompt "Enter Network MEP Code". Type in the unlock code and press the trackball
If code says accepted, your BlackBerry is now unlocked. To verify your device is unlocked, follow steps 1 & 2 and "Network" will say "disabled". If Network says "Active", then it is still locked to the standard carrier. Be sure to check out our Cell Unlocking Companies forum for more information.
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46 comments
Useful and interesting, but I bet it's not as useful and interesting as most people clicking on this link hope it will be haha.
After unlocking my 9630, the Options/Advanced Options/SIM Card/MEPD says Network "Inactive" instead of Disabled. Is my phone unlocked?
How did you get a code to unlock it?
If would think Inactive and Disabled are the same. If it said Active, then it would definately be locked
I'm new to the BB world and are there any other benefits to unlocking your phone other then the ones stated above?
Your tour is CDMA...not GSM.
The tour is a world phone, meaning is has GSM harware inside. See that thing that looks like a SIM card in the back? Thats a SIM card! If you go into network options you can see the option for GSM/UMTS
So how do you do it on a 9530???
When you type in MEPD it must be in LANDSCAPE mode, meaning the phone must be sideways
Same way, just at the SIM screen: BBKey > Show Keyboard
If you have Full Qwerty in Portrait, just type mepd, or turn to landscape.
I tried getting it form my carrier (Rogers) - they will not do it? Any suggestions besides paying for it?
But good article.. Thanks. I was thinking about this.....
I'm a poor university student, please give me something free!!! :P
They have done many unlock code giveaways lately. And if you do spend the money to unlock it then you will switch to a probably cheaper GSM carrier thus saving you money. If you have a tour thou then you are probably already in contract. Correct?
Got my Pearl 8100c unlocked first over a year ago and 2 days ago, I got my Bold unlocked for free just by calling ATT customer service after midnight Central Time..hehehe, that's the time when you can get it unlocked without any questions.
+1 for gbates1989
VZW often will provide a code if you are a long-time customer and will be going overseas.
But, even unlocked, it still may be more expensive with a short-term global plan update than to just buy a cheap GSM phone once you arrive in your location.
Thats one reason to unlock it. You buy a cheap sim card and stick it in your phone. When you leave the country, you throw it away and your done.
The sim is often cheaper than the phone.
BTW either the coment system or IE6 blows. I think I know which.
I went looking for a cheap way to unlock my bold with this posted instructions, and found this seller on ebay to do it cheap. Just pay, follow the directions and you get your unlock code within 15 minutes. Awesome. Just unlocked my bold.
My user ID on eBay is Sillywillykelly2007 if you want to verify my transaction.
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=370264031316&ru=http%3...
Here is the seller gsmphone-unlocking
this might be a stupid question idk, but can I buy the storm and unlock it for T-mobile. and if I can will the phone work good or no?
And yes you can. I'm currently using the Storm 9530 with T-Mobile and it works fine, data and everything else works as it should. The main drawback of doing this is 1) no carrier support so you can't take your phone into T-Mobile if you come across problems, 2) You are your own service center (downloading service books, OS updates, etc. all falls on you) and 3) no warranty for your really expensive phone (from T-Mobile or Verizon).
I recommend you do some homework before diving in.
Once you unlock, you can use it on any gsm carrier. You will need to go into the forums to find the correct wap settings, etc to get the other functions to work with your carrier.
This may come as a dumb question to the people who know the answer BUT once I unlock my phone will it still be active? Like am I still going to have a plan with Telus and still be able to use my phone as I am? Or will this somehow cancel that and make my phone unactivated? Sorry for the dumb question, I just want to be 100% sure what I'm doing before I do it.
Thanks,
My understanding is that, at least in the US, all carriers are required to provide an unlock code upon request after 90 days of service.
I don't think this is true. If it is a subsidized phone, the carrier can choose not to give it to you for years.
I was basing my recollection on managing a bunch of T-Mobile phones, and that's their policy; 90 days if you pay your bill. Got the impression from them that it was the law, but it's not.
I used this thread on my Tour and it worked.
http://forums.crackberry.com/f157/sprint-unlocking-tour-free-276073/
I called att at 12:30pm eastern time, told them i was going away on business for a few weeks they gave me the unlock code no problem...my bold is now unlocked!
I unlocked mine about 4 months ago but recently I tried to check the SIM and I get SIM Card: No Valid SIM Card.
I something wrong?
I used his link and got my Pearl unlocked in about 10 minutes for less than $4US.
this will no doubtly come in handy one day....thanks a bunch:)
I have a cincinnati bell blackberry 8300 and I want to use it with att, and I am having trouble getting a code to unlock phone. Could somebody help? I am waiting on refunds from remote unlock and another company.
wow easiest process ever!!! i just called sprint international customer care and they gave me my code without any hassle.. great post guys thanks! at&t is now wrking in my tour!!! woot woot!!
This was good info. I just checked that my 8900 is locked to T-Mobile. Sometimes you get lucky and get an unlocked phone out-of-the-box, but this wasn't one of those times.
I forget the number, but I just googled verizon blackberry unlock code and found a number in a forum to call and get an unlock code from Verizon. It's really simple and the lady on the phone tells you how to do it. I just told her I was going out of the country, which I was, and wanted to use my Tour overseas. Then she told me the steps and texted me the code.
Note: In order for Verizon to send you a code, you have to be in good standing for 10 months (I believe), which means you never had a late or unpaid bill, and you can only get 1 lock code every 12 months.
PS - the Tour worked great overseas in South Africa. I put a Vodacom sim card in it and it ran seamlessly on their GSM/EDGE/3G network. I also tested my Verizon sim over there and that too worked receiving data and voice.
Have fun
I just checked my UK VF Bold only to find everything already disabled. Excellent!!!!!
This will come in handy once I win one of the unlock codes from the contest! :)
For those that are having trouble with this, or want more information on where exactly to get the codes see my other post here:
http://forums.crackberry.com/f157/trouble-unlocking-tour-read-324720
Verizon users,
Call 611 to connect with a rep. Explain to them that you would like to unlock your phone for travel reasons. They will try and talk you out of it by saying it could be bad, the reception could change, etc. Be diligent by saying that all you want is the code and you will be prepared to handle the consequences.
Once you get your code, follow the above steps, and you're good to go!! Happy traveling. Remember, be careful about the data plan that other carriers offer.
If your Sprint Tour was manufactured after Aug 25th, 2009. The phone should come unlocked already. You can confirm this by following steps 1 and 2 from the original post and you will see that everything shows Disable, meaning is unlocked!!!
Good job Sprint!
I just bought a used BB8830 world edition yesterday. I dont think the traveling story is going to work for me. I am thinking of telling Sprint that I just want it unlocked because its mine! The previous owner paid his bill and thus the subsidies for two years and now I own it and want it to be unlocked. Anyone think that will work? Also am I right in thinking that I may have access to any kind of other features that might not have been offered on the Sprint version. Thanks for your help, GREAT website!!! Cant wait to be the owner of a crackberry. : )
I had someone call me today to ask for an unlock code. He said "I just need the unlock code. I've already got all of the instructions." Then I said... "oh, you must have read the article on Crackberry today." He laughed and said yes. Anyway... I would like to add my bit of knowledge here. The requirements to get an unlock code from Verizon Wireless are the following:
1) Verizon Wireless customer for at least 60 days
2) Bill is current
3) No suspensions or disconnects for non-payment within the last 60 days
4) Only 1 unlock code is provided per line per 10 months
You'll find that not every rep knows these requirements, so your mileage may vary. We do try to discourage using your Blackberry unlocked while traveling overseas. I know the rates for calling are higher most of the time, but you've got the Global Support Team to back you up if you run into any problems and more than likely you'll find that a local SIM either won't offer data services or their rates will be a high per KB or per MB charge whereas VZW offers unlimited data at 64.99 or 69.98 with the Global Value Plan.
CB has become such an Corporate leech, they are no longer the place to go for an average joe to work around the system be, deleting all the debranding forums ( alteast at first) and why the hell should people pay to get it unlocked when anyone can google and do it for themselves. CB is just trying to promote their Cell Unlocking Advertisers and this was a horrible attempt
Once its unlocked, how do you get another carrier to activate it?
I did this earlier this year when I upgraded to the 8900 from my 8320. I gave my GF my 8320 after having it unlocked this same way. The phone that was unlocked was through T-Mobile and her carrier is AT&T. After about 1 month, her phone started acting batty and in general just shut down and died. I ended up getting a replacement and just selling it on ebay.
I was told that "unlocking" your phone is only good if you are to travel to Europe as many carriers "share" the same networks there for better coverage and to cut costs of cell towers and that in the US,carriers are in competition and your unlocked phone will experience buggy and faults as there will be a conflict of jumping on numerous carriers?
Kind of makes sense, however has anyone else experienced this?
I just called AT&T up and told them I am traveling and I need the unlock code. They said I have international roaming and I said that I'd rather buy a prepaid sim card. They emailed me the unlock code. I spent ten minutes on phone. It was quite easy.
If you want extra leverage when doing this, while they are typing on their computers, tell them that you would like to talk to a customer service rep so that you can tell them how good of a job they are doing. Companies take the negative customer service complaints very seriously, so positive comments on their file are very helpful. With the prospect of this, they will do everything in their power to help you get to the customer service rep.