topic Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry in Get Support

2nd phone... an old Blackberry

CatCanyon1 — Wed, 05 Jan 2022 09:53:10 GMT

Good day,

This morning I tried to hook up my new SIM card to my old BlackBerry.

Before I signed up for this 2nd account I checked the IMEI number and all looked well...UNTIL...I got a note on my phone saying that my phone was locked and I needed a MEP code. 🤔

I've been trying to unlock the phone, but, alas I can't get the code to do the required input... any ideas would be welcomed.

Thanks...

@CatCanyon1

AKA @CatCanyon

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

computergeek541 — Sat, 11 May 2019 18:01:30 GMT

@CatCanyon1 wrote:
Good day,
This morning I tried to hook up my new SIM card to my old BlackBerry.
Before I signed up for this 2nd account I checked the IMEI number and all looked well...UNTIL...I got a note on my phone saying that my phone was locked and I needed a MEP code. 🤔
I've been trying to unlock the phone, but, alas I can't get the code to do the required input... any ideas would be welcomed.
Thanks...
@CatCanyon1
AKA @CatCanyon

This thread has been moved from The Lounge to Phones & Hardware.

MEP refers to unlock code. Your phone is locked to another carrier. To unlock, you can contact the original carrier. You can also purchase an unlock code. I believe they're about $1on eBay.

Which model is this phone? If it's really old, it may not be compatible. In addition, devices running Blackberry OS before version 10 cannot use Public Mobile data services.

One you get the unlock code, you may want to take a look at a website with some instructions such as this one: https://www.gsmliberty.net/shop/blackberry-imei-mep-unlock-code-p-135.html

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

CatCanyon1 — Sun, 19 May 2019 15:23:44 GMT

Good morning. Thanks for responding. Il check out e-bay.

My old provider was Bell. The phone model is 9800. I checked the IMEI before trying to set it up and it was compatible.

So, thanks forre pointing out the next step. I'll try Bell first.

@CatCanyon1

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

CellGirl — Tue, 21 May 2019 02:07:40 GMT

@CatCanyon1

Hi, your blackberry 9800 (Torch) has an ancient OS. I'd be surprised if it works with public mobile. Let us know 🙂

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

cavemantoronto — Tue, 21 May 2019 02:34:20 GMT

@CellGirl wrote:
@CatCanyon1
Hi, your blackberry 9800 (Torch) has an ancient OS. I'd be surprised if it works with public mobile. Let us know 🙂

It will work but no data and no mms

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

CatCanyon1 — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:41:28 GMT

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post.

Even though it's ancient technology, I'm still intrigued with the possibility of a glimmer of usage from the old gal! 😉

In the end, I may have to give it up if my goal of using the blackberry as a second line doesn't pan out. 😏

@CatCanyon1

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

CatCanyon1 — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:45:54 GMT

Thanks for the information... I'll post my findings.

Love my old dear blackberry! 😉

@CatCanyon1

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

bridonca — Tue, 21 May 2019 15:48:07 GMT

@cavemantoronto wrote:
@CellGirl wrote:
@CatCanyon1
Hi, your blackberry 9800 (Torch) has an ancient OS. I'd be surprised if it works with public mobile. Let us know 🙂
It will work but no data and no mms

Compared to the junk I have successfully configured to work on Public Mobile, the Blackberry 9800 is a modern phone! You will get data and MMS on this phone. It does need work to configure it properly though.

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

Anonymous — Tue, 21 May 2019 17:11:35 GMT

@bridonca wrote:
@cavemantoronto wrote:
@CellGirl wrote:
@CatCanyon1
Hi, your blackberry 9800 (Torch) has an ancient OS. I'd be surprised if it works with public mobile. Let us know 🙂
It will work but no data and no mms
Compared to the junk I have successfully configured to work on Public Mobile, the Blackberry 9800 is a modern phone! You will get data and MMS on this phone. It does need work to configure it properly though.

@bridonca

Well now I'm curious. The fine print here says that BB OS10 is needed for MMS and data. Doesn't really make sense as an internet connection is an internet connection. So I'm curious if you have had prior versions of BB OS's working for data and MMS.

Plans page T&C #3: "Picture messaging on BlackBerry smartphones requires the BlackBerry 10 operating system."

Plans page T&C #4: "Data service on BlackBerry smartphones requires the BlackBerry 10 operating system."

Always interested to hear if things work when it says it shouldn't 🙂

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

computergeek541 — Tue, 21 May 2019 17:15:09 GMT

@bridonca wrote:
@cavemantoronto wrote:
@CellGirl wrote:
@CatCanyon1
Hi, your blackberry 9800 (Torch) has an ancient OS. I'd be surprised if it works with public mobile. Let us know 🙂
It will work but no data and no mms
Compared to the junk I have successfully configured to work on Public Mobile, the Blackberry 9800 is a modern phone! You will get data and MMS on this phone. It does need work to configure it properly though.

As stated earlier, this phone will not work for data or MMS. The operating system of this phone requires BIS or BES for data use. Public Mobile doesn't offer either.

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

mh1983 — Tue, 21 May 2019 17:32:32 GMT

The best kind of "vintage" BlackBerry phone to get these days is a BB10 phone; as others said, they don't require BES or BIS for data/MMS. They work on any given smart phone plan, provided the service provider allows them on their network. (PM does. I use a Q10 without issue.)

Caveats: BB10 is end of life, BB World along w/ other services are shutting down at the end of the year, and it's not 100% clear that BB10 will continue to work as it does today. It'll likely be okay, but there's dependencies on BlackBerry IDs which call up certain servers, so you may not be able to do backups any more. And you can't get apps unless you sideload them (native BAR files or install Android APKs directly; mileage, again, will vary). I love BB10, but proceed with caution if you go that route.

Better yet, if you want the BB keyboard experience w/ a modern OS, go for something in the Key series. They natively run Android and all the most common apps will work.

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

Anonymous — Tue, 21 May 2019 18:02:01 GMT

@CatCanyon1 wrote:
Thanks for the information... I'll post my findings.
Love my old dear blackberry! 😉
@CatCanyon1

So I flipped through all the BB's listed on gsmarena to find what might work here. Assuming they're right and complete, it wasn't until OS10 that LTE showed up.

So the list would be:

Bold 9000, 9700, 9780, 9790, Touch 9900

Torch 9860, 9800, 9810

Pearl 3G 9100, 9105

Curve 9360, 9380, 9320, 3G 9300

Porsche Design P'9981

?? 9720

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

Anonymous — Tue, 21 May 2019 17:50:42 GMT

@mh1983: I still use a Z30 which took over from a still working Z10.

It would be my opinion that the phone should keep working after the end of this year. I think using it as a phone and texting and some browsing (being aware of security issues) will be fine. I find some security issues blocking me trying to connect to some wifi's (which may be for the better anyway). Some websites don't work.

Sure...no backups (who does those anyway 🙂 ), no new apps, limited 4.3 Android runtime...but it should still work.

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

computergeek541 — Tue, 21 May 2019 17:58:16 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:
@CatCanyon1 wrote:
Thanks for the information... I'll post my findings.
Love my old dear blackberry! 😉
@CatCanyon1

So I flipped through all the BB's listed on gsmarena to find what might work here. Assuming they're right and complete, it wasn't until OS10 that LTE showed up.
So the list would be:
Bold 9000, 9700, 9780, 9790, Touch 9900
Torch 9860, 9800, 9810
Pearl 3G 9100, 9105
Curve 3G 9300
Curve 9360, 9380, 9320
Porsche Design P'9981
?? 9720

Just from eyeballing it, I can see that Blackberry Curve 9320 is missing from that list. More imporantly, many of those devices had different variants, each supporting different 3g freqencies. For example, a Blackberry 9700 from Wind Mobile or T-Mobile (u.s.), or even factory unlocked variants meant to be sold elsewhere in the world would not work at Public Mobile.

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

Anonymous — Tue, 21 May 2019 18:03:59 GMT

@computergeek541 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:
@CatCanyon1 wrote:
Thanks for the information... I'll post my findings.
Love my old dear blackberry! 😉
@CatCanyon1

So I flipped through all the BB's listed on gsmarena to find what might work here. Assuming they're right and complete, it wasn't until OS10 that LTE showed up.
So the list would be:
Bold 9000, 9700, 9780, 9790, Touch 9900
Torch 9860, 9800, 9810
Pearl 3G 9100, 9105
Curve 3G 9300
Curve 9360, 9380, 9320
Porsche Design P'9981
?? 9720
Just from eyeballing it, I can see that Blackberry Curve 9320 is missing from that list. More imporantly, many of those devices had different variants, each supporting different 3g freqencies. For example, a Blackberry 9700 from Wind Mobile or T-Mobile (u.s.), or even factory unlocked variants meant to be sold elsewhere in the world would not work at Public Mobile.

You need those eyeballs checked then 🙂 The 9320 is on the Curve line.

I was just going from gsmarena. I wasn't doing an in-depth analysis of all variants.

Edit: I edited my post to make one Curve line. I'm aware from going through them on gsmarena that some of the same-name models had different number variants. I didn't list them if they didn't have the PM 3G freq's.

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

JackQuint — Tue, 21 May 2019 18:02:05 GMT

@mh1983 wrote:
The best kind of "vintage" BlackBerry phone to get these days is a BB10 phone; as others said, they don't require BES or BIS for data/MMS. They work on any given smart phone plan, provided the service provider allows them on their network. (PM does. I use a Q10 without issue.)

Caveats: BB10 is end of life, BB World along w/ other services are shutting down at the end of the year, and it's not 100% clear that BB10 will continue to work as it does today. It'll likely be okay, but there's dependencies on BlackBerry IDs which call up certain servers, so you may not be able to do backups any more. And you can't get apps unless you sideload them (native BAR files or install Android APKs directly; mileage, again, will vary). I love BB10, but proceed with caution if you go that route.

Better yet, if you want the BB keyboard experience w/ a modern OS, go for something in the Key series. They natively run Android and all the most common apps will work.

This ... the Key2 is an excellent phone (although at its MSRP should have a bit better internals and wireless charging) but nonetheless, a very good product.

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

srlawren — Tue, 21 May 2019 19:54:10 GMT

@bridonca wrote:
You will get data and MMS on this phone. It does need work to configure it properly though.

@bridonca do you have access to a BES server through your employer or something? As already noted, BB7 and older needs a BIS or a BES for mobile data (WiFi of course is fine but you can't do MMS over WiFi).

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

bridonca — Tue, 21 May 2019 20:00:51 GMT

@srlawren wrote:
@bridonca wrote:
You will get data and MMS on this phone. It does need work to configure it properly though.
@bridonca do you have access to a BES server through your employer or something? As already noted, BB7 and older needs a BIS or a BES for mobile data (WiFi of course is fine but you can't do MMS over WiFi).

Oh my, you are right. I did not know RIM was so nasty! There is a hack of course, but I have never tried it. https://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-7-f245/guide-how-enable-mms-without-bis-1105542/

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

computergeek541 — Tue, 21 May 2019 20:03:46 GMT

@Anonymous wrote:

You need those eyeballs checked then 🙂 The 9320 is on the Curve line.
I was just going from gsmarena. I wasn't doing an in-depth analysis of all variants.

Edit: I edited my post to make one Curve line. I'm aware from going through them on gsmarena that some of the same-name models had different number variants. I didn't list them if they didn't have the PM 3G freq's.

You're right that I missed that, but it looks as if you see partly see why I did, the other part of it me not looking carefully enough. Lol. But, the list is missing the Blackberry Curve 9310.

The part about there being multiple variants of some models was my main point.

Re: 2nd phone... an old Blackberry

Anonymous — Tue, 21 May 2019 21:33:32 GMT

@computergeek541 wrote:
@Anonymous wrote:

You need those eyeballs checked then 🙂 The 9320 is on the Curve line.
I was just going from gsmarena. I wasn't doing an in-depth analysis of all variants.

Edit: I edited my post to make one Curve line. I'm aware from going through them on gsmarena that some of the same-name models had different number variants. I didn't list them if they didn't have the PM 3G freq's.
You're right that I missed that, but it looks as if you see partly see why I did, the other part of it me not looking carefully enough. Lol. But, the list is missing the Blackberry Curve 9310.

The part about there being multiple variants of some models was my main point.

The 9310 doesn't appear to be on gsmarena. Like I said...it wasn't an exhaustive everything list. I just whipped through the ones on gsmarena. So sue me 🙂