Hi again Everyone,

As long as I'm logged in I thought I would submit another post.....

My wife bought a BlackBerry from Etisalat. She obviously subscribed to the BB plan (AED 185/month?) but did not get a 'MyPlan' so she basically pays per call.

She was traveling to Germany and wanted to get a local German SIM to save on roaming. Most service providers will give you the unlock code if you request it so I called Etisalat. They informed me that all BBs they sell are locked and they do not have the code for any BB sold after 2010.

I spent quite a bit of time on the net looking for a trusted supplier of unlock codes but ran out of time before she left so wasn't able to unlock the BB. Low and behold, when she was in Germany she installed a Vodafone SIM and it worked! I guess it was unlocked after all.

Just wanted to let everyone know so they don't waste time and money trying to unlock BBs. Also curious if anyone else had a similar experience.

Thanks for reading and any feedback.

M

That's a good point I had the same experience with an US at&t Blackberry. I good way to check if your Blackberry in actually locked to a network

On your BlackBerry, go to Options > Advanced Options > Sim Card.

2. At that screen type MEPD on your keyboard. The characters won't be displayed as you type, a new menu will pop up.

As a side note If your BlackBerry has a SureType keyboard i.e. (71xx and 81xx devices) you will need to double-tap the P, so the actual keys entered become M E P P D.

3. Look for Network in the list.

4. If your Blackberry is "unlocked", next to the Network it should say Disabled or Inactive. If it says Active, it's still locked to that carrier.

There are a ton of sites selling unlock codes, I have used unlockmybberry com they email codes to you literally minutes after you place the order.

Hope that helps someone out there.

I did not know about these phone unlocking sites this is a big surprise to me because a while ago I lived in Hong Kong for a year and hiked around all over looking for a shop that could do it for me this would have saved me loads of time. oh well.

If you decide to use an on-line unlocking service make sure you read the independent reviews for the service provider. Not all unlock services/codes are created equal!

you dont have cell shops to unlock em?

There are a ton of shops that can do it. Similar to the self-service sites, finding a reputable one is the key....

It was quite a usual exercise in UAE that mobile operators used to sell "locked" BBs. They still do that with some models (not sure about what new models are sold locked). Maybe the best idea is to buy the new phone from a mobile shop (such as Axiom). It will be a little higher in price, but you'll get the peace of mind (and warranty as well) after all.