Wed, Jul 16, 2008 9:47 EDT

Attention Verizon BlackBerry 8830 Users: Unlock Int'l GSM for FREE

Topic: Personal Management

Current Rating: Comments: 29

This post is short and sweet, but all you Verizon Wireless BlackBerry 8830 World Edition users out there want to listen up: You can reportedly unlock the international GSM portion of your phone's radio (900/1800 Mhz) through your wireless carrier without dropping a dime. That's great news for folks who travel internationally, and who are sick of being stuck with exorbitant wireless fees.

After unlocking your BlackBerry 8830's international GSM—Verizon's U.S. network uses CDMA 1xEV-DO technology, but the 8830 can operate on both CDMA and GSM networks—you can use any international wireless carrier's subscriber information module (SIM) card, purchase pay-as-you-go service and avoid those gargantuan Verizon service bills, according to BerryReview.com. I haven't tried this myself, as I'm not a Verizon customer and don't use a BlackBerry 8830, but assuming it's true, this is a valuable tip.

Supposedly all you need to do is call the Verizon international support line at 1-908-559-4899, tell them you plan to be travelling out of the United States and that you'd like to unlock your device for use with a Verizon/Vodafone international SIM—Verizon Wireless is a joint venture between Verizon Communications and Vodafone. Verizon will then drop such a card in the mail for you, and after receiving the SIM and redialing the support number, you'll be issued an unlock code that will not only enable your device to be used with the Verizon/Vodafone SIM, but any other international carriers' SIMs, as well, BerryReview says.

Thanks go to Ronen at BerryReview.com for pointing this out. And if anybody gives this a try, please let me know how it works out for you.

FREE CIO BlackBerry Newsletter

Get better use out of your BlackBerry and keep up-to-date on the latest developments. Sign-up »

You do not have flash or javascript support.

Average (4 votes)

All Comments Comments

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 3:14 EDT

Unlock Verizon BlackBerry 8830 World Edition

Posted by: Wayne1114
Rating: 83.3333

Your advice on unlocking the BB 8830 worked without a hitch. After following the technicians instructions,entering a bunch of letters and numbers, turning off the connections and powering down then back up, the technician announced my phone is unlocked! Muscic to my ears. Now to see if it will work when I get a sim card in Europe later this year. Thanks for saving me $40 to $60 smackaroos!!!
Wayne

You do not have flash or javascript support.

Reply to this comment | Post new comment | Report as spam

Wed, Jul 23, 2008 9:48 EDT

Glad to hear it...

Posted by: Al Sacco
Rating:

Hi Wayne,

Thanks very much for your response. I've been anxiously awaiting word on whether or not this "trick" really works. I don't usually post information on my blog without vetting it first, but in this case, I thought the advice was valuable enough to post with the caveat that I had not actually tried it.

Anyway, I'm glad to hear it worked for you. Also, if you could check back after you return from Europe to let us know how the unlocked 8830 worked for you, I'd be much obliged.

You do not have flash or javascript support.

Reply to this comment | Post new comment | Report as spam

Thu, Jul 24, 2008 15:41 EDT

I spend anywhere from 2

Posted by: Anonymous
Rating:

I spend anywhere from 2 weeks through 2 months in Ireland every summer. I found it alot cheaper to just buy a cheap pay as you go phone at Vodafone. Once this unlocked process is done could i simply switch the sim card out of my vodafone, or do you have to use the special verizon/vodafone card? Do you have to pay for that special card at all.

You do not have flash or javascript support.

Reply to this comment | Post new comment | Report as spam

Thu, Jul 24, 2008 15:54 EDT

Re: I spend anywhere from 2

Posted by: Al Sacco
Rating:

Howdy Anonymous,

You should be able to use the Vodafone SIM card once your BlackBerry 8830 from Verizon is unlocked.

Let us know how it works out for you.

You do not have flash or javascript support.

Reply to this comment | Post new comment | Report as spam

Sat, Jul 26, 2008 14:11 EDT

Unlock code

Posted by: Julia
Rating: 83.3333

Hey my name is Julia. I have been looking for this sort of help for the last few months! Thank you soo much! I'm going to try it out in a few minutes and let you know if it worked. I still have my German SIM card from O2 so I can tell you if it worked. I am a singer and my hometown is germany and I travel alot so it's good to save money where you can =]

thanks!
julia

You do not have flash or javascript support.

Reply to this comment | Post new comment | Report as spam

Post new comment

* Subject:

* Username:

* E-mail:

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Homepage:

* Body:

Allowed HTML tags: <a> <em> <strong> <cite> <code> <ul> <ol> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <img> <blockquote> <strike> <p> <br>
Lines and paragraphs break automatically.

More information about formatting options

Are you a person?: *

* Denotes required field.

About this Blog

Al Sacco writes about (and drools over) anything and everything mobile or wireless as it applies to the global workforce--with a focus on BlackBerry smartphones.

Got tips? Send 'em Al's way.

Follow this blog on Twitter: @MobileWorkHorse.

Hot Conversations