BlackBerry phone to be used in a country with a different SIM card

Question

Hello Everyone
I have got a BB phone which was purchased through o2 retailer (english mobile operator) in the United Kingdom as I lived there for a long time. I am back in Italy where I hoped to continue and use it by simply inserting an italian SIM card. I tested few SIM cards of friends and went to an italian retailer (Vodafone which is also known in UK) but apparently my BB doesn't recognize the new SIMs becuase it is probably clocked by o2... Does anyone know whether it can be fixed somehow? Or do I have to go back to o2? Or what are the possibilities.
Thank you all very much for your help.

Answer 1

Hi and Welcome to the Community!
There's nothing to add to your BB per se. Using the BB-specific services is a matter of your carrier providing those to you. And there are some things that must happen for them to do so.
Any BB can be used on any carrier that runs the same radio frequencies that the BB is capable of (and I've no idea if your's are such). But, to bring a BB onto a carrier network that they did not sell to you, there are several hurdles to cross:
1) The carrier must say "yes" to the fact...they own their network and have every right to say what devices will be allowed to connect to it. If they say "no", then that's the end of it.
2) You must be sure that your BB is properly unlocked from it's originally manufactured-for carrier...see this helpful thread for details:
http://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/General-BlackBerry-Functions-and/Unlocking-your-BlackBerry-Gu...
3) You must get all of your voice level services functioning on the carrier, before you even try anything about data
4) You must subscribe, from the carrier, to an adequate data plan to enable the BB-proprietary services you desire
5a) If the carrier directly supports your specific model BB, then you can proceed with registering the BB onto their network, generating the proper Service Book delivery to your BB, and proceeding to function.
5b) But, if the carrier does not directly support your specific model number of BB, then the challenges are much greater as most carrier systems will not deliver, to the BB, the necessary service books to enable the BB-proprietary data services, even if you do subscribe to them.
So, depending on all of that, your BB may or may not ever fully function on that carrier network. It can be quite tricky to accomplish, especially if 5b applies. So take a look at all of that and decide how you wish to proceed. Most folks wind up just buying a new BB if 5b applies.
Good luck and let us know!
Occam's Razor nearly always applies when troubleshooting technology issues!
If anyone has been helpful to you, please show your appreciation by clicking the button inside of their post. Please click here and read, along with the threads to which it links, for helpful information to guide you as you proceed. I always recommend that you treat your BlackBerry like any other computing device, including using a regular backup schedule...click here for an article with instructions.
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