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Home»BlackBerry News»News & Rumors, Devices

Sprint Bold 9650 Factory Unlocked Out of the Box

by Adam Zeis on 21 May 2010 11:41 AM
47
 

Sprint 9650

In case you missed it in David's BlackBerry Bold 9650 review, a very cool feature of the new device is that is comes factory unlocked right out of the box. This means no more scrounging for unlock codes if you want to use the 9650 on another carrier. You will be able to use EDGE on North American GSM carriers as well as 3G providing the carrier supports the proper frequencies. Simply put - this means if you are on a GSM carrier and want to use the Bold 9650 from Sprint, you just need to pull it out of the box, pop in your SIM and you're good to go. Makes things much easier for international traveling. Although the yet to be seen Bold 9650 for Verizon is essentially the same device, it is highly doubtful it will boast the same feature.

Filed Under: News & Rumors, Devices; Tags: BlackBerry Bold 9650, Sprint
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47 Comments

Posted by BBubbaGump Friday, May 21, 2010 632 days ago

What are the 3G frequencies?

 
 
Posted by thaguh4real Friday, May 21, 2010 632 days ago

That's awesome, but I wouldn't leave my beloved 9700 for it.

 
 
Posted by mi_canuck Friday, May 21, 2010 632 days ago

I didn't want to leave my 9700 either... but the absurdly slow T-Mo data speeds in my area drove me insane... Rockin' the 9650 now and loving the Sprint data speeds!!!

 
 
Posted by mi_canuck Friday, May 21, 2010 632 days ago

Yup! confirmed... ran MEPD in the SIM car section of the Advanced Options... sure enough... Everything is Disabled = SIM UNLOCK baby!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

 
 
Posted by dmarcus48 Friday, May 21, 2010 632 days ago

Hooray for Sprint! Every phone company should do this, I mean you're buying the phone right? And they'll give you the code if you ask, so why use it?

 
 
Posted by mi_canuck Friday, May 21, 2010 632 days ago

Sprint is making some seriously good moves these days...

 
 
Posted by XWolf Friday, May 21, 2010 632 days ago

Is the 3G the same?

 
 
Posted by wtenns Friday, May 21, 2010 632 days ago

Can't view the video! Anyone else?

 
 
Posted by jstray Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

So what gsm companies have the frequency needed for 3G with this bold?

 
 
Posted by jcagg1271 Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

Are you serious???? So I could pick this up from Sprint or ebay or off the back of a truck (ha ha...I'd never condone the transfer of stolen products) and not have to switch to Sprint because they really suck where I am?! That is Freakin' AWESOME!!! I have AT&T and was thinking of switching to verizon when this comes out, just to get the phone, but I really prefer GSM. I'm so excited! NOW I want the 9650 BaAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad!!!

 
 
Posted by robinater4223 Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

yeah i want to do the same thing

 
 
Posted by ItsMe6 Monday, May 24, 2010 628 days ago

You can stay with AT&T and use these phones. i have the 9650 on my sprint line and the 9630 on my AT&T line, speeds are good and phone works nicely. pop the SIM in tell the network settings to auto grab AT&T and your good to go

 
 
Posted by javdvd Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

So..I want to check on which frequencies de 9650 is capable of 3G over GSM...is is really cable of 3G network speeds on GSM or only on CDMA networks????

 
 
Posted by ramsfan3068 Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

its only the 3G freq in europe. in good ol usa you will only get EDGE

 
 
Posted by lewisc1979 Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

BlackBerry Bold 9650:
Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE networks: 850/900/1800/1900MHz
Single-band: 2100 MHz UMTS®/HSPA networks
Dual-band: 800/1900 MHz CDMA/EVDO REVA networks

 
 
Posted by eve6er69 Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

another +1 for sprint!

 
 
Posted by nydog Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

You gotta love Sprint for this. I upgraded from the 9630, which was also unlocked out of the box. I'm glad Sprint does not cripple its devices like some carriers, hint: big red.

 
 
Posted by donch Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

Can anyone tell me if the new 9650 has visual voicemail like the 9700 bold on ATT?

Thanks in advance

 
 
Posted by ItsMe6 Monday, May 24, 2010 628 days ago

think thats just a app you can install on it. i've wiped some of my users BB and the visual v-mail icon came once it registered on the at&t network

 
 
Posted by Berrydale Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

I wish all of the new phones that come out were unlocked. Everybody could choose any phone and use it on the carrier of their choice. (Within the limitations of GSM vs. CDMA of course.)

 
 
Posted by blazed12 Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

Nice to see Sprint releasing the Bold 9650 unlocked at least you don't have to deal with there rude customer service just to unlock the phone xD

 
 
Posted by glinc Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

This is old news. Every world phone from sprint is factory unlocked.

 
 
Posted by mi_canuck Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

Shut up Debbie Downer! :p

 
 
Posted by clexman Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

and by "every world phone," you mean only the 96xx phones.

 
 
Posted by glinc Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

Touch Pro 2, 8830, 9630 and now the 9650. Sprint launch every world phone factory unlocked by default.

 
 
Posted by clexman Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

I heart Sprint

 
 
Posted by jen1025 Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

you know, ive got the verizon 9650. i sent pictures to crackberry but they didnt run it. i dont know if itll let me post pictures here or not, but it's legit.

http://i154.photobucket.com/albums/s266/goldenexit/36089342.jpg

 
 
Posted by bjustice Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

Will a sprint 9650 work on verizon network? Could I buy one and just activate it on verizon?

 
 
Posted by tj_elward Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

i was just wondering the same th

 
 
Posted by tj_elward Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

i was just wondering the same thing

 
 
Posted by aerophage Saturday, May 22, 2010 631 days ago

No, unfortunately. CDMA and GSM are two totally different animals. You'd have to know someone who works at Verizon and get them to put their job on the line to put the MEID into the Verizon database to be able to activate it on their network.

 
 
Posted by 312 Sunday, May 23, 2010 629 days ago

Uh...wrong, buddy. The 9650 is also a CDMA phone. It, technically, can work on Verizon if Verizon allowed you to add the phone to your account. Search before posting an answer which you have no clue about.

 
 
Posted by Jaredius Friday, May 21, 2010 631 days ago

My AT&T 9700 came unlocked.

 
 
Posted by Finch250 Saturday, May 22, 2010 631 days ago

this will get ATT 3G becuz att 3G bands are "AT&T 3G 850/1900"

some1 correct me if im wrong

 
 
Posted by aerophage Saturday, May 22, 2010 631 days ago

That's not really a new feature for Sprint world phones, the 8830WE and the 9630 both come unlocked out of the box as well.

 
 
Posted by mikeplus1 Saturday, May 22, 2010 630 days ago

My Verizon Tour 9630 came unlocked out of the box as well.

 
 
Posted by tnewton3 Saturday, May 22, 2010 630 days ago

That's the smartest thing I have seen Sprint do in a while. at&t is very easy to get your device unlocked but shipping it so will definitely get some more people to make the switch.

Nice job Sprint.

 
 
Posted by failure Saturday, May 22, 2010 630 days ago

I've unlocked every Tour I've owned (insurance is a beautiful thing). All it takes is one simple phone call.

This is no longer a reason to prefer Sprint over another carrier.

 
 
Posted by Diggs31 Sunday, May 23, 2010 630 days ago

except for the better plans and pricing than the Big V? and the fact that you can roam on Big V when necessary?

 
 
Posted by jerry12 Saturday, May 22, 2010 630 days ago

i have a 9630 on u.s. cellular so how do i tell if it is unlocked ?

 
 
Posted by bk5150 Saturday, May 22, 2010 630 days ago

Options>Advanced Options>SIM card>(type)MEPD

 
 
Posted by CANADAN Sunday, May 23, 2010 630 days ago

That is what they said about the Tour. They said it was going to be unlocked out of the box, so don't be so sure about that.

 
 
Posted by CANADAN Sunday, May 23, 2010 630 days ago

That is what they said about the Tour. They said it was going to be unlocked out of the box, so don't be so sure about that.

 
 
Posted by Diggs31 Sunday, May 23, 2010 630 days ago

Damn, I'm mad I didn't wait for it, would realllly be useful right about now.

 
 
Posted by kenumale Sunday, May 23, 2010 630 days ago

is there a way to enable the 3g data on bold 9650 with rogers sim?

 
 
Posted by thestillwind Sunday, May 23, 2010 629 days ago

No

 
 
Posted by kenumale Sunday, May 23, 2010 629 days ago

why?