[macattack]

i bought a blackberry off of ebay. (blackberry curve 8310)

well i heard i could use a prepaid sim in a blackberry as long as it was unlocked, and they also told something willnt work and so on, but the things they said that wouldnt work i didnt really care about anyway.

but lets get to my problem,

i put the sim in the phone, it works and stuff
but in the top right hand corner were the bars should be it saids SOS i cant text, call or receive anything i searched google and stuff, and found some things i could do i did them and they did not work, i dont know if its the phone, sim, or the network area.

please help me with this,
thanks

[mustafax44]

that means ur phone is locked. i have the same problem and i am trying to unlock it.

[Dubdub]

Probably needs to be unlocked. What carrier's label is on the device?

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[tsac]

Also you need a Blackberry Data plan to use most functions including access to the internet.

[JSanders]

The device not being unlocked normally does not result in an SOS symbol, but rather "SIM not recognized".

SOS usually means low or no signal connection or an unrecognizable/incompatible SIM

[kellyjdrummer]

Call your carrier and activate the SIM card if you haven't already.

[Sytner]

Wirelessly posted (8520 (5.0.0.411))

Go to options/advanced/sim card and whilst holding alt, type mepd. If 'active' is under any of the headings that pop up, your device is locked. I recommend that if it is that you contact the ebay seller.

[woodyuk]

This may be a silly question but I've done it myself and scratched my head wondering why my BB has no signal but is the mobile network switched on?

From you homescreen click the "manage connections" icon and make sure there is a tick in the box next to mobile network.

SOS rather than invalid sim usualy means that either there is no sim card in the phone(check it's in properly) or the mobile network is switched off.

[macattack]

i put my sim in my old phone (it isnt a blackberry) and it worked, so i dont think there something wrong with the sim, i tried alot of things, and it doesnt seem to work, and the phone is unlocked it was a phone place i bought it phone on ebay so i know they know that the phones unlocked and pluse i checked it and it is... so i dont know whats wrong i might have send it back witch makes me really mad

[JSanders]

macattack, just because your SIM card works well in another phone (which isn't a BlackBerry) does NOT mean that it will work correctly in your BlackBerry.

I don't know why you ask for advice and the immediately ignore that advice. I've seen problems like your SOS clear up with a new SIM card MANY times -- even if the SIM works in another BlackBerry or other phone.

But you may feel free to enjoy your SOS.

[rambo47]

A new SIM card fixed problems like yours with my 8300 a few years back. The SIM card worked with other phones and even an older BlackBerry, but not my 8300.


"it was a phone place i bought it phone on ebay so i know they know that the phones unlocked"

Um, no. They lied. Happens all the time, and twice on Sundays. Send it back if it was mis-represented in the auction. eBay and Craigslist are perilous placed to buy a used BlackBerry. You'd do better here in the Buy/Sell/Trade forum dealing with users who have good feedback and who are long-standng community members. If you don't see what you want currently being offered, post in the "Want to Buy" section.