I got a new BlackBerry Passport and I wanted to unlock it. That is, I wanted to free it up from the carrier I was using now and switch to another carrier. This video will show you how I did it in a few easy steps.
When I announced to my son that I was about to unlock my Passport he gave me that look and said, “Dad, get somebody else to do it. You don’t want to brick your phone.” It’s an expression that is a perfect mixture of pity and disdain with a side of superiority. If you are over 50 and have kids you know what I mean.
I told him that I’d make him eat his words. I didn’t need to go to some dingy little storefront. I could do this myself.
Having taken the challenge, I now had a real motivation – to make my son eat his words. Did I do it? Watch this video and find out.
First my disclaimer. This video is produced to show you what I did. ITBusiness.ca does not endorse unlocking a device on your own. Because we are not recommending you do this any damage done – if it voids your warranty, violates your cell phone contract or results in any damage to the phone or loss of data – is your responsibility.
Spoiler alert. I had no problem at all.
I can’t take all the credit. I got what I needed to know at Crackberry.com – it’s my first stop for information about anything BlackBerry.
I found a service that supplied with me the numbers I needed to unlock my phone. That was the one thing that bugged me a little.
I’m not sure I’d trust just anyone who offered a service like this. I checked out a few sites by searching but I settled on the unlock code provider mentioned at CrackBerry.com. I took that as one indication they might be good. But I did a little more due diligence. I also read their social media postings. They don’t edit the postings so you can see everything – complaints and all.
That was a good sign. I’ve heard far too much about sites that have paid for or simply forged their own glowing reviews. I read a lot of compliments. They seemed genuine. But I also read one flame from someone who thought they had ripped him off. I saw how the site responded – politely and solidly determined to help. Then I read the apology that this guy who complained sent in when he found the email that he had missed that solved his problem. Funny how a well handled complaint gave me more comfort than dozens of compliments.
They also had Paypal for payments. I checked the page out carefully. Am I paranoid? Probably. But you never know. I always think twice before pulling out my wallet.
All in all? I thought I’d take a chance.
I went to their site. http://www.blackberrycodesource.com/unlock-blackberry-passport.html
So I put that in their form and sent in my 27.95 via credit card. I got a response right away, thanking me for my business and promising to get back to me quickly. The next day I got an email with the unlock code.
- Step 1 – I first backed up my phone using Blackberry Link
- Step 2- Replace the old Nano SIM in my phone with the new one.
- Step 3 – Go to System Settings/Security and Privacy/SIM Card/Unlock Network and enter the unlock number
- Step 4 – Phone your cell provider and ask them to activate the new SIM Code
- Step 5 – Call my son (on my newly unlocked phone) and triumphantly exclaim “Booyah!”