on the spur of the moment i bought a blackberry from a lost property dept that was selling unclaimed items. It is a vodafone 8700v. I am on an orange contract so want to unlock it to that.

Even turning it on without a sim card in it asks for a security code so i guess this is the first thing i need to unlock it. I have seen an add on ebay that costs £15 and sends you the code to unlock it if you send them the IMEI from the back of the unit. It says that this doesnt work on all lost or stolen phones which i guess this is (even though not dodgy but i guess could have been recorded lost by the owner and blocked out even if they didnt go to the lost property) so i dont know if it is worth the risk of spending the money.

Total new to this unlocking phones thing so has anyone got any advice?

s asking for a security code without a sim in, then the security code needs resetting. this has nothing to do with unlocking the phone to other networks. theres 3 different codes, 1) phone code (which your is asking for), 2) sim code, 3) unlock/simlock code. the vodaphone default code is 12345 unless changed by previous owner.

cheers mario. 12345 doesnt work. any idea how i can crack the phone code? I guess flashing it should wipe the memory but i know about as much about that as i do the female menstration cycle.

i know about as much about that as i do the female menstration cycle.

 

LOL :rofl:

 

Paying for an unlock code won't help as that will just be to unlock it for other phone networks.

I'm not sure if you will even be able to flash it if you can't unlock it?

Even if you can it's not usually that easy if you don't know what you're doing.

 

There's probably a factory reset procedure which will clear the code and erase the phone memory if it's like most other PDA/smart phones.

If so it will be in the manual which you should be able to download from the Blackberry site.

 

Quick look on their help site:

 

About the device password:

If you type your BlackBerry® device password

incorrectly five times, you must type blackberry before

you can continue. The next time that you type your

password, and on subsequent password attempts, the

characters that you type are displayed.

If you type your device password incorrectly ten times,

all information is erased from your device for security

reasons.

 

Not sure if this will reset it completely but worth a try.

The only other mention of resetting it is to select "Wipe Device" from one of the menu's but you can't get that far.

Yeah - if it's the "Handheld is locked" followed by "Enter Password" screens, just bash any old crap in 10 times in a row, and the BB will reset itself to factory defaults.

Surely if the phone has been lost, the owner will have reported it and had it banned from the network (IMEA number?), rendering it useless so they can get a replacement through their insurance?

Surely if the phone has been lost, the owner will have reported it and had it banned from the network (IMEA number?), rendering it useless so they can get a replacement through their insurance?

 

yeah i thought that before i bought it but they were selling stuff so cheap i thought it was worth a try.

 

should i give the wrong password ten time a go?

Yes if it's been locked after loss or theft then it won't matter anyway.

The only option then will be to look into flashing it with a new ROM but I'm not sure if that will work either.

After that the next stage is the bin! LOL

reflashing the software on ANY barred phone doesnt work. the IMEI number is stored in whats called the UEM chip on the circuit board. this has to be replaced & reprogrammed, which i wont go into as it is illegal & carries a heafty fine of up to £5k, or 5 years inside ;) . if it is barred, then its nothing more than a paperweight.

You can change IMEI's on Sony Ericsson's phones but it is illegal and like mario said if you get found out you get police on you.

ok well i put the pin in wrong 10 times and it wiped the memory and it is now up and running so i guess it hasnt been reported lost or stolen.

 

I guess i now need to unblock it for orange so it will accept my sim card???? Is the site on ebay the best way to unblock a phone or is it easier/cheaper to take it to a shop?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLACKBERRY-UNLOCK-CODE-VODAFONE-VODAPHONE-8707v-8700v_W0QQitemZ250224714929QQihZ015QQcategoryZ45586QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I supose it could still all wrong if the former owner belatedly reports in then i guess it will suddenly go dead on me???

ok well i put the pin in wrong 10 times and it wiped the memory and it is now up and running so i guess it hasnt been reported lost or stolen.

 

I guess i now need to unblock it for orange so it will accept my sim card???? Is the site on ebay the best way to unblock a phone or is it easier/cheaper to take it to a shop?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BLACKBERRY-UNLOCK-CODE-VODAFONE-VODAPHONE-8707v-8700v_W0QQitemZ250224714929QQihZ015QQcategoryZ45586QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

 

I supose it could still all wrong if the former owner belatedly reports in then i guess it will suddenly go dead on me???

 

Are you just going to use it as a phone or were you intending on using the blackberry email services? Even if you get your Orange sim card working in it you'll still need to add the blackberry service to your contract at an approx cost of £10 per month. Don't believe it can be done with PAYG.