Thanks to Ofcom regulations, unlocking your Blackberry phone is not illegal in the UK. As the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications market, Ofcom protects the right of consumers to shop around for the best deal. Most people buy an expensive piece of kit like a Blackberry from a mobile network provider – rather than direct from the manufacturer – to keep the cost down. In turn, these mobile providers lock the device to their own network in an attempt to ensure we see out the full contract, a move which will not only claw back the money that went into subsidising the phone, but also make a tidy profit. Learning how to unlock your Blackberry is a way to free you and your phone so that you can select the most cost effective option for your changing circumstances – for example, being able to use a cheap local sim when roaming in Europe. A free Blackberry unlock code that can be found on giffgaff.com will makes such choice possible – but just how does the process actually work?
Before you are able to use your Blackberry unlock code you will need to get the IMEI – International Mobile Equipment Identity, a unique 15 digit code which is used to identify mobile phones – and MEP ID of your phone. Although this sounds quite technical, it really is an easy process, and simply requires the use of your PC or laptop, and the download of a couple of pieces of software.
First you need to go to the Blackberry site, and download the desktop manager: http: //uk.blackberry.com/services/desktop/. After you have installed the Blackberry Desktop Manager, you will be able to download the Blackberry Reader.
You then attach your Blackberry by USB cable to your computer, and run the Blackberry Reader software – this is as simple as hitting the button labelled ‘read phone’. You will then be given the IMEI and MEP ID of your Blackberry (the IMEI can also usually be found on a sticker underneath the battery in your phone).
If the reader does not work first time round, simply unplug the USB from your computer and then reconnect. The next step is to send the IMEI and MEP ID of your Blackberry to the unlocking service that you have selected.
It should be noted that unlocking your Blackberry in this unauthorised way can invalidate the warranty on your phone – and with other, hardware based methods of unlocking the device this will almost certainly be true. The mobile network that originally provided the device can usually be approached to unlock the phone; however, each network will have certain stipulations built into the original contract about how and when they will do this. These typically include the need to have completed all or a portion of the contract, while charging a fee for the process is also common.
