Unlocking my Bold 9000 on Bell Mobility-New Twist
 

I got a new Bold 9000 last week on the Bell Mobility network up here in Canada. I liked the 3 year deal so much that I bought one for my wife as well for 12/25. I had always heard about unlocking phones but never knew what it really meant until this last week. I had always been on TELUS or Bell and used CDMA phones so it didn't seem to matter.

Now that Bell and TELUS have come into the 21st century and are using phones that had been the domain of Rogers up until now, at least Bell and TELUS customers have options now and more options for handsets that Rogers customers can dream of.

I contacted a Canadian seller of unlocking services I heard about on this site (not the most "popular" one who happens to be a site sponsor). I carefully provided them with my IMEI and a few minutes later, I get an email from them telling me they can't unlock my Bold and a Paypal refund for $20 CAD followed. I sent them two emails asking for clarification and nothing was forthcoming. They just blew me off.

I then shot an email to another Canadian provider (HINT: highly recommended by many people on this site and a site sponsor). I shared with them the the issues I faced with the other seller. I asked them if a Bell Mobility Bold 9000 can be unlocked and never got a reply back. :-(

So I scoured eBay a bit and found a seller with great feedback and their listing said they can unlock Bell Mobility 9000. Their asking price was just under $19 USD. They accepted my "Best Offer" bid of slightly less than that.

Shortly after sending my money to them, I got an email with a link to their site. I entered my IMEI and other info and unlock code was shown an "pending" for about 10-15 minutes. Not long after, I get an email from them advising me to log back in as my code(s) would be there. They listed two codes (i.e. use one OR the other), so I tried both using the instructions on their site (i.e. entering the so called MEP2 code). Neither worked. :?

I emailed the seller back and did some research in the interim. Perhaps I entered the codes wrong despite being very careful not to. After reviewing a few Youtube videos, I noticed that not only was my Network listed as "Active" in the SIM Card Personalization screen, but so was my Service Provider. Of course "Active" means "locked". So unlike most instructions I saw out there, I had two "Active" fields, not just one.

I shared this tidbit with the seller and a few minutes later a new MEP2 code arrived (i.e. the code needed to unlock the "Network") on the site as well as a MEP4 code (i.e. "Service Provider" code). This is the same technique that is needed to unlock an Bold 9700 on both Bell and TELUS. This was the first time I'd seen a necessity for two codes on a Bold 9000.

Just a heads up in case other Bell customers try and unlock a Bold 9000 (the 9000 isn't offered by TELUS) that unlike most Bold 9000 phones out there, a Bell issued Bold may require two codes and not just one.

End result is I now have an unlocked Bold 9000 and cannot complain about the quality of service I received from this seller. 8-)

As this seller is not a site sponsor, I won't promote their site here but based on the service I received, I will use them again down the road for all my unlocking needs. (y)

Keep in mind I got all this done on a Sunday.

thanks for the info,

i didnt even know that bell has the bold...

i was aware of the tour and bold 9700 and when i read ur post, i went to their site and noticed they have the bold 9000 as well........great....

thanks again

i see that u have os 5.0

did u load it or came loaded with it from bell?

if it came loaded from them, then i guess there is an official one....

It's a leaked beta. Bell sends out the 9000 with the late version of 4.6.

thats what i thought.....

thanks for clearing it my friend...

FWIW, outside of a well documented glitch with some camera settings and some issues I had during installation (since resolved), 5.0 has been rock solid on my Bold. I can't wait for the real thing now. (y)8-)

I also bought my wife a Bold 9000 for Christmas and decided to unlock it as well this morning. It too required both MEP2 and MEP4 codes in the same way the 9700 does. As before, the unlocking went out without a hitch and cost me just over $19 CAD to do so.

There are unlocking websites out there that can provide the mep4 code.
Shop around and ask their customer service before you buy the codes.
Make sure they can get both codes.

Yeah, as above, I did get both codes....for two different phones. It's all good.

Could you give me a clue as to who you used to unlock your bold ?

5.0 is posted on Bell's site. It's official for them .464

dr.unlockusa is their eBay ID.

Thanks !
I just got off the phone with Bell. They said they would unlock it for $75 ! When I asked what would be the difference if i went to a third party to unlock it they said my warranty would be void. Could Bell really be able to tell how it was unlocked ? its just some numbers that are typed in right ?

What a load of crap they fed you. It is just a code. Whether you get it from Bell or someone else, it's the same thing. It would NOT void your warranty.

Thanks for clearing things up for me. I`m going to unlock it ASAP.

I really wonder if the tech guys at Bell really know much about their new network. The first guy I spoke to said that the Bold 9000 could not be unlocked at all. He said "it wasn't on the list" and that only the newer 9700 could be unlocked.