vB Easy Archive - 7100v in US

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7100v in US
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Posted by: nonhuman

I'd really like to get a 7100v to use in the US. I don't care if it has Vodaphone branding, but the question is whether or not I could get an unlocked one to use with T-Mobile over here and how hard it would be to do so.

Has anyone done this or know where I could look to find one (eBay is the obvious one, but I'd prefer to go somewhere else if possible).

Posted by: JMF0

Myself and a handful (maybe 1-2 others) have used and are using 7100v here in the US on TMO's network. No problems however to be safe MAKE SURE you get a 7100v from Vodafone Germany instead of Vodafone UK unless they specifically say it is unlocked. You want an UNLOCKED version to use with TMO here in the states. Pop in the SIM card and you are golden. Theme will be the Vodafone theme but you can change that to any of the themes available to the carriers (see this board and others on how to do that)....works wonderfully....I have seen them on eBay for about $200 lately. Go for it the keyboard and form factor is superior....THX JEFF

Posted by: nonhuman

Quote:

Originally Posted by JMF0

Myself and a handful (maybe 1-2 others) have used and are using 7100v here in the US on TMO's network. No problems however to be safe MAKE SURE you get a 7100v from Vodafone Germany instead of Vodafone UK unless they specifically say it is unlocked. You want an UNLOCKED version to use with TMO here in the states. Pop in the SIM card and you are golden. Theme will be the Vodafone theme but you can change that to any of the themes available to the carriers (see this board and others on how to do that)....works wonderfully....I have seen them on eBay for about $200 lately. Go for it the keyboard and form factor is superior....THX JEFF

So one from Vodafone Germany will already be unlocked?

Posted by: JMF0

Yep it will be unlocked. Mine was and I just popped in the SIM card and activated with TMO.

Posted by: nonhuman

Sweet. Time to talk to some Germans.

Thanks!

Posted by: TokyoElectric

So I bought a 7100v on eBay, and it was supposedly unlocked. However, when I pop my SIM in, the device powers on but says it is "searching for network". I am on TMo and I am using my SIM from my Nokia 6230 (unlocked). I also tried a SIM from a TMo 7230, and that didnt work either.

Is there any menu setting that i can check that will tell me whether the phone can be used on TMo and is truly unlocked? I tried the "scan for network" function but it said the scan failed ..

any ideas? Thanks!

Posted by: JMF0

Depending on if it is from Vodafone UK or Vodafone Germany my understanding is Vodafone UK LOCKS all their BBs while Vodafone Germany does not. I got mine from Vodafone Germany. You can call T-Mobile and give them you IMEI number and PIN to see if they can see your device....Perhaps they can work through RIM to get it moved but if it comes up as a Vodafone UK device you may be outt aluck unless you can talk with them and see if they will shoot you the unlock procedure and code....There also are some services that will unlock for you...you send the device to them and they unlock for you....Boingo Wireless is one such company...Let us know how it goes....

Posted by: TokyoElectric

Thanks for the IMEI and PIN idea, perhaps I will call TMo back and see if it works. Oddly, I just did a re-scan for network in the manual setting and it detected the ATT and Cingular network, but not the TMo network, which is strange. I wonder if ATT/Cingular run their data on 850Mhz but TMo runs it on 1900Mhz and the phone is having trouble switching between frequencies for some reason?

I just did a hard reset and still didn't pick up the TMo network. Strange thing is that the guy I bought the device from used it in the US, so I am pretty sure it is unlocked.

I also talked to TMo helpdesk but they were not too excited about assisting me in getting the 7100v running on their network. After three escalations the final guy gave me the 1-800 number for RIM technical support, and warned me that I would probably have to pay for the call ... (I'm not an enterprise user..)

Posted by: TokyoElectric

I got it to work ... previously the device would scan and pick up Cingular but not TMo. So I upgraded the firmware using TMo's 7100t firmware 4.0 and flashed it to the vodafone device. I removed the XML file that tagged the phone as TMo before the upgrade as well.

When I popped the TMo SIM in, it scanned and found the network A-ok. Just thought I'd share how it all worked out!

Whew!