The BlackBerry 8100 is one of the models of the BlackBerry Pearl smartphone, released in 2006. It was the first BlackBerry smartphone to incorporate both a camera and a media player. The trackball can be backlit in different colors, which can be customized by the user. It also contains a modified 20-key keypad for text input instead of a full QWERTY keyboard.
You might wonder, why unlock a cell phone? The BlackBerry Pearl is capable of international roaming, using any GSM network. But you have to unlock the BlackBerry cell phone before it can use a network other than the network belonging to the carrier that first sold you the phone.
Why unlock a cell phone if you are happy with your carrier? First of all, there is no risk to your phone. It is manufactured unlocked, and Research In Motion added a SIM lock at the request of the carriers. By unlocking the cell phone, you are merely restoring it to factory settings. It does not void your warranty, and the phone will remain unlocked even if Research In Motion rolls out new software to your phone. Unlocked phones also have higher resale values than ones that are still SIM locked.
You can get the phone unlock codes you need to unlock the cell phone for free by explaining to your carrier that you wish to travel out of the country. They may require that you have been their customer for more than three months before they will give you the codes. Because the process to unlock a BlackBerry cell phone is somewhat complex, you may wish to stop into your carrier’s store and have them perform the phone unlocking for you.
If you do not have access to the phone unlock codes for free, don’t worry. You can always purchase a SIM card from a different phone carrier and buy the correct codes from a third party vendor online.
You can unlock your BlackBerry 8100 by following these steps.
1. Power on your phone, and go to the home screen.
2. Press the BlackBerry key.
3. Select Options.
4. Select Advanced Options.
5. Select SIM Card.
6. Press the keys on your keypad associated with the letters MEPPD. (You don’t need to hit keys multiple times to choose a specific letter – just press the key that shows that letter.)
7. The phone shows that network locking is active.
8. Press the keys on your keypad associated with the letters MEPP then press and hold the Alt key while pressing the 2 key.
9. Enter the unlock code that you were given.
10. Press the trackball.
That’s all there is to unlocking your BlackBerry 8100! Now you can use your BlackBerry 8100 with any GSM network.
