Bell BB 8830 to another provider?
 

I own a BlackBerry 8830 World edition from Bell which has never been activated. I'd like to use it on another Canadian provider, but they said only the phone will work, and data (BES/BIS) will stop working after a month or two once RIM see the ESN not tied to Bell anymore.

Apparently the data stops working because the phone is licensed to Bell. However, I OWN it. It is MY property. Is there anyway to reset or wipe the phone so I can get both voice and data working?

Thanks,
-Cat

Its really not RIM's fauly. CDMA providers will generally not allow a device from another carrier to be activated. Bell and Telus have always had this rule in place for their digital handsets.

Same with Verizon and Sprint here in the US.

But the phone works for making calls, just the data portion stops. I don't get it..

The ESN will not be registered with your carrier as a BlackBerry device and, therefore, it will not work for BlackBerry data services. It isn't RIM or Bell that is restricting you; it's your carrier. Most CDMA carriers do not support foreign hardware on their networks.

I'm not sure if it's the same setup with other carriers but, on Bell's network, a foreign ESN is treated like an Analogue device. Just like a true analogue phone, basic voice service will work but services that require a digital connection (like data, for example) will not.

CDMA carriers control the device on their network.. IE, don't allow foreign ESN. Foreign to their network/company, not the country. Telus will not activate a foreign ESN as even a pseudo analog device.

So it would be a matter of getting the new carrier to allow that ESN on their network? Also, is that ESN tied to Bell and cannot be released, that's why they can't do it?

The ESN isn't tied to Bell, it's just one they entered into their data base as a particular unit they sold and will allow on their network. Completely Bell's choice to do this. And of course the other carriers will not show it as an ESN they themselves sold. They keep their own data bases too. If you could convince the new carrier to allow that ESN to be registered on their network it would work fine. It's just a common practice among the CDMA carriers not to do this.

So I called up the new carrier, they told me they don't know the "password" to unlock Bell Canada Blackberry 8830 phones. The cellular service will work fine, but the data portion will cut out after a month. I know you simply go into the call screen, enter a few key strokes and press enter. But does anyone know the specifics of this "password"?

CDMA devices aren't SIM locked like GSM ones. They don't even have SIM cards! They only need to approve the ESN number and they can do it. Sounds like they just don't want to.

Actually, the 8830 does have a SIM card. It's a World edition CDMA/GSM phone (using CDMA in North America). I know how to unlock the SIM portion anyway. It's this password for Bell 8830's is what I need to get into the CDMA Service Program Edit screen.

Now I know it used to be that CDMA carriers could "lock" an ESN to their network, and you had to get it released from one carrier before you could actuvate it on another. Not sure if this is still the case, but if that is what the new carrier is meaning, you might call Bell and ask them to release the ESN.

Not so much released, as getting the unlock code that allows you access to actually program the phone.

Either way, if the original poster is in Canada none of the CDMA providers will properly activate a digital handset that originates from another carrier.

Yes I am in Canada, and the phone is from Bell Canada, moving to another Canadian carrier. Why is it that nobody else but Bell will be able to properly activate this phone?

there is an unlock code for the 8830. The unlock of a CDMA basically lets you re-activate the phone on another CDMA network. But you have to get it from Bell, and they likely won't give it to you, because that would mean they are essentially letting you walk to another carrier.

that's the way it is with CDMA, and why we are so screwed here in Canada. our only GSM carrier(Rogers) is worse than any of our CDMA ones.

Two reasons:

1) As your carrier has indicated, they do not have the Master Service Lock (or "lock code") that is required to program your phone number onto the hardware. Only RIM and Bell have this information.

2) As has been stated earlier in this thread, it is a common business rule amongst CDMA carriers to refuse foreign devices on their networks.


**Aside: you could always move your service to Bell! :)**

I was completely ignorant of the lock code on CDMA phones. Hm... Learn something new every day!:)

Just though id post this, i don't know if its universal for all Bell 8830s but the "Master Lock" code Bell's tech gave me was 533443. They claim there is no "Sub Lock Code," just the ML.

To use just it dial ##533443 from the phone screen and you should get the CDMA programming guide.

Even if it doesn't work, tech support was quite happy to tell me the number, no cover story required.

The MSL is unique to the device.