Blackberry 9930 Verizon some help please

[Ulic]

I have a Verizon Blackberry 9930 about 18 months old. I had it unlocked last year when I was in Phuket and used AIS as my phone provider.

Was not all smooth sailing but the girl was tenacious and with help from head office was able to get it working just had to be on a higher plan.

This year I am in Jomtien. I brought my phone into AIS for a new sim card and service. After an hour no joy. I paid 650 baht for the sim and monthly

plan and was told to go to a repair place. They worked on it and after some time realized that the CDMA does not service the 2100mhz.

So I guess AIS 3G does not work with my phone any more. Would have been nice of AIS to tell me that. No money returned. Tough luck.

Can anyone tell me which cell phone service providers support CDMA 1900? AIS was no help at all.

Thanks in advance

[Rimmer]

Moved to mobile internet and devices forum

[lomatopo]

This model looks to be some sort of CDMA/GSM hybrid, and it looks like it supports 900 MHz and 2100 MHz 3G, so theory might work with AIS: either their older/existing TH GSM 900 MHz (3G), or their newer 2100 MHz 3G. Your model also looks like it supports GSM so might be able to use lower speed EDGE with AIS and/or DTAC.

Can you share any details on the exact SIM you have? Please provide any/all details. Is it a Freedom 2100 3G SIM?

Are you able to configure APNs with your BB?

It should/might work but who knows for sure without tinkering.

AIS is under no obligation to insure you have a compatible phone, they just assume you do. There are no CDMA service providers, any more.

2100 MHz 3G roll-out is just beginning; AIS probably has the widest deployment as of today but not sure about Jomtien.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/649816-a-i-s-one-2-call-3g-pre-paid-sim-on-2100-mhz-3g-a-review/

edited to add: I know nothing about Balckberries, but do understand they use data a bit differently. BB used to be popular here a few years ago but nobody really sues them anymore so not sure how many BB data plans are on offer these days.

Edited July 28, 2013 by lomatopo

[Ulic]

This model looks to be some sort of CDMA/GSM hybrid, and it looks like it supports 900 MHz and 2100 MHz 3G, so theory might work with AIS: either their older/existing TH GSM 900 MHz (3G), or their newer 2100 MHz 3G. Your model also looks like it supports GSM so might be able to use lower speed EDGE with AIS and/or DTAC.

Can you share any details on the exact SIM you have? Please provide any/all details. Is it a Freedom 2100 3G SIM?

Are you able to configure APNs with your BB?

It should/might work but who knows for sure without tinkering.

AIS is under no obligation to insure you have a compatible phone, they just assume you do. There are no CDMA service providers, any more.

2100 MHz 3G roll-out is just beginning; AIS probably has the widest deployment as of today but not sure about Jomtien.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/649816-a-i-s-one-2-call-3g-pre-paid-sim-on-2100-mhz-3g-a-review/

edited to add: I know nothing about Balckberries, but do understand they use data a bit differently. BB used to be popular here a few years ago but nobody really sues them anymore so not sure how many BB data plans are on offer these days.

Thanks for the reply. It is a Freedom 2100 3G sim. As for configuring APN's you are way beyond me. I am just a neophyte. I will check out DTAC.

As I mentioned I used AIS last year and it worked great. I guess they upgraded the system and then not so good for me. Is EDGE with AIS and

is that what I should be asking for? A sim that uses there EDGE system? If all this fails could you recommend a moderately priced smart phone

I can purchase here. I am not married to Blackberry. I just really like the keyboard but am always able to adapt.

Just went on line and you are correct this phone also has quad band gsm connectivity 850/900/1800/1900 and UMTS 2100/900

Could the phone have been re-locked when I used it in Canada the last 6 months?

Edited July 28, 2013 by Ulic

[lomatopo]

Sorry, I have no BB experience.

I doubt your phone got re-locked but I guess anything is possible once a Blackberry is "repatriated".

I think you need to configure your phone to use mobile data. Maybe consult the user's manual?

GPRS and EDGE are names for low-speed, GSM mobile data services.

Throwing another SIM at the problem may not solve it.

[Harper99]

If your phone was unlocked before and it used to work with AIS, im sure it would work again. im just thinking that you might need to do the unlocked again, or if you have friends using of SIM provider. Try those SIM wether is working or not. cos Unlocked BB should atleast work with AIS EDGE for sure.

[Ulic]

I did finally get to the bottom of it kind of. As I said earlier for some reason Blackberry Verizon phones cannot be used on a

BBM/ E-Mail service plan only and need a data plan as well. Probably part of Verizon up sell strategy. When I asked the

AIS girl to upgrade the service she said that was not the problem and when I as diplomatically as possible asked her to try

she was furious, and indignant. She said if it did not work I would have to pay whether it worked or not. I agreed. She sent me away

said she tried the upgrade, it did not work. I paid the 650 baht and left with no service. I then read the information here and discussed

it with a friend who works for Bell Mobility in Canada. Everyone agreed if it worked before it should work again.

I went to D-TAC, got a new sim card, selected a service package with BBM/E-Mail/Data package, added 200 baht for talk/text credit

and in 15 min. I was out the door, 650 baht total, phone working perfectly. Moral of the story, if the service girl cannot get the phone

to work, don't help or advise. There was no way it was going to work after she said it was not going to work. End of story. Take your

money back and go to a different shop/service provider. There was no way she was going to loose face.

Thanks to everyone for your advice and incite.

Edited September 30, 2013 by Ulic