Unlocked Telus Q5 behaves like a locked phone

Question

Hi,
Maybe easier to present a question as bullet points.
1. I bought a prepaid Telus Q5, unlocked it and it worked fine for 3 weeks on Wind network.
2. I inserted friend's Wind SIM card to check if her card was working.
3. I received a text message from Wind "You successfully changed XXX. Your new IMSI is XXX. XXX=are 15 digit #s. And if it makes any difference, her SIM card wasn't working.
4. I put back my Wind SIM card - "SIM card is not recognized".
5. I put in a Telus SIM card - it works, I can even make a phone call.
6. I tried using my original Wind SIM card on another BB and it works fine.
7. I went to Wind mobile - they tested with one of their own SIM cards, not recognized.8. Tried another carrier (public mobile) - doesn't recognize.9. Popped Telus SIM - works again.10. The phone shows everything unlocked under SIM setting.
Any ideas? Thanks. ramil

Answer 1

golroch wrote:
Your correct in saying I have tried everything, the only reason I posted a response was because the issue was exactly like mine. Telus phone won't work on WIND, but flawless on Bell network. I used to think computer OS were a pain ;-) There are multiple sub-models of each major device model. I can't recall how many different Q5's there are, but I recall 4 of the Z10 and 5 I think of the Z30, likewise 4 of the Q10. The primary difference between each sub-model is the radio technologies and frequencies that the device supports...those must match what your chosen carrier uses, or it just won't work (e.g., if the carrier is CDMA, but the device does not support CDMA, then they just won't work together). Again, while I don't have a reference for the Q5, here are the references I have for some other devices, which display the differences between the sub-models:http://forums.berryverse.com/threads/210-BlackBerry-Q10-Different-Models-Explainedhttp://www.bbin.in/2013/03/4-types-blackberry-z10-models-fits-better/?utm_campaign=4-types-of-blackberry-z10-models-which-one-fits-you-better&utm_medium=twitter&utm_source=twitterhttp://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-z30-f401/z30-models-supported-frequencies-850736/Oh wait...I am wrong...here are the models for the Q5 (CB likely has a sticky thread for each other BB10 model):http://forums.crackberry.com/blackberry-q5-f398/q5-models-supported-frequencies-820086/With such variety of technologies among the different carriers, it's quite impossible for any device manufacturer to make one model device that supports them all...the device would have to be so physically large (to hold all the different antennas required) that no one would buy it. Hence, multiple sub-models of each BB10 device. So, I don't think that this is an OS problem...rather, a compatibility problem between the specific device and the carriers on which you are attempting to use it. The harder information to find is the technologies and frequencies that the carriers use...takes even more digging. Good luck!