How-to: Unlock your Cingular Treo 650 for use with another provider
As you may or may not know, US cellphone carriers are running a huge scam on you. The valuable phone hardware that you buy from them, at a discount sometimes but offset by enormous contractual service agreements, is locked via software so that it cannot be used with another service. This, of course, is outrageous, and eventually will be made to go away. Already there is a law that makes them unlock your phone if you ask for it when you switch to another provider. You can only switch after your ridiculous 2 year contract is up, but most people don’t know about this, and go out and buy new phones. Many US cellphone carriers do use incompatible technologies too, such as TDMA, or CDMA, but the world standard is GSM, which comes in 4 frequencies (some phones labeled Quad-band GSM support them all, typically called “world phones”) which are 850 MHz, 900 MHz, 1800 MHz, and 1900 MHz. Most US carriers use 1900 Mhz, but the phones often support more than that. Here’s a great article from TravelInsider that breaks it all down. In any case, even if your phone supports frequencies in other countries, you cannot use it with other services, being forced to pay super-high international rates with your existing provider.
Well, not me.
There has been much controversy over the last year since the Treo was released as to if and how the Treo might be unlocked. Many phones can be unlocked, sometimes via simple numeric codes, sometimes with more complicated software upgrades. There are services everywhere, from EBay to Craigslist that claim to unlock your phone, and I imagine many do, for anywhere from $40 to $100. But in the case of the Treo 650, DO NOT WASTE YOUR MONEY WITH THESE SERVICES.
I learned most of what I am going to tell you by reading every single comment on this very long Engadget post about this very subject. Readers argued of paid for services, Cingular customer service, and the formula for the secret codes. I have now successfully unlocked my Cingular Treo 650, and this is how it is done.
Unlocking the Treo 650 is done very easily using a simple code punched in the phone. It will always look like this:
*#*# 8 number code #
then press dial
The code is different for every phone, and is derived or looked up via the unique IMEI number on the inside of the battery compartment. The only FREE way I know of getting this code is simply calling Cingular customer service.
Once on the phone with them, the normal customer service will be useless. They will insist that no such code exists, that you need to call Palm, and that “we are not going to tell you how to use the phone with other carriers.” This is all bullshit. Insist on speaking with International customer service, who will know what the hell you are talking about.
Now, in my case, my story is legit. In fact, my US Cingular service has been put on “hold” until I return (for $10/month), so the rep had no reason not to believe me. You explain that you do not intend on canceling your contract with Cingular, but that you will be traveling outside the US when Cingular does not have service, and will need to use prepaid cellphone SIM cards (like those available from Etisalat in Dubai) with your current equipment. They will need your Cingular account, and the IMEI number from the phone. 10 seconds later, they will give you the code and the instructions on how to do it.
In my case their instructions were good, but I have read that they have screwed it up in the past, so here’s the important bit: You NEED the existing Cingular SIM card in the phone in order for the code to work. Once unlocked, you can then insert the SIM card from another GSM provider. In my case Etisalat, but in the states (and only god knows why you would do this…) you could use a T-Mobile SIM card. (Cingular and T-Mobile are the only GSM providers in the US that I know of, at least in the NY area, but there may be more.) So, with the Cingular card in there, you type *#*#, then the 8 digit code number, then a final #, then hit dial. Some message about the SIM being unlocked comes up, and that is it. You ready to go. For very free, compared to $40 from some nerd in Utah on EBay.
That’s it. It works for sure. Enjoy.
UPDATE 7/8/06: For Nokia GSM phones (not what this article is primarily about, but just in case you’ve stumbled here by accident) these guys over at lur.nu have up a little site to get the unlock codes for free. All you need is the IMEI number and you are set. Congratulations to all you Nokia owners out there. Enjoy freedom you already paid for.
[…] In this series, expect to see the following at a minimum: How to get DSL and a wired/wireless modem/router working without much help from Etisalat, How to get Skype working in Dubai, even though Skype.com is blocked, How to unlock your Treo 650 from Cingular so it can work with other GSM service providers, including Etisalat in Dubai, How to surf those sites you’re not supposed to surf in Dubai (subtitle: how to get around most proxy servers…), How to work with Flickr from Dubai, even though it’s blocked, and finally, How to watch your favorite US TV shows in Dubai, even though they aren’t available here (subtitle: how to put together a basic broadcatching setup on your Mac or PC). I’ll start with a few today, and work my way into the rest. I guess, as the posts are up, I’ll come back and link this post to them. Hope you enjoy the lessons… posted by chris on 03/31/06 @ 9:02 am | filed in technology, tv, hardware hackery, dubai […]
Cingular actually uses 850Mhz band too.
damn son - quite prolific Mr. Wizard
You little sweetheart you.
Smarty pants.
[…] I am in the midst of a technology catastrophe tonight. I went ahead and bought myself an extravagant birthday present, a brand new GSM cellphone, not available in the US. I thought, shit, if I am going to be here, I might as well take advantage of something like that. Well, this phone is ridiculously nice, the Nokia 6280, slider phone, MP3 player, built-in radio, 2 megapixel digital camera, EGDE and 3G network capable, serious, serious technology. So I get it all working and charged up this afternoon, and get ready to switch from my newly-unlocked Treo 650 to this thing, and so I swap out the SIM card, and blammo. The phone switches over to Arabic. Now I can’t fucking read the menus and I have no fucking clue how to switch it back. Reading the manual = useless. Scanning the Arabic manual = useless. Fuck. I switched back over to the Treo, and I am hoping somebody at work in the morning can read Arabic. […]
How to unlock my Nokia 6280 from Uk in “3″?? Can anybody help me??
IMEI: 357603000469379 Plece help me…;(
i want to unlock my nokia 6280 and i want the code to unlock iam leave in itlia and the phone is blocked in 3g network
I have a treo 600 currently on at&t. They replaced it with a treo 650 but the sim cards do not interchange and the phone is on cigular. I like my at&a program as it was a great deal 2 years ago and still beats the other deals by far. is there a solution? can we can the sim card or is there a way to copy a sim card over & unlock (as a friend instrucked me to say) the treo 650? I am no techy so a lot of help is needed
Steve
please can any1 help me unlock my nokia 6280 my serial no is 357603003953254 purchased in uk thanks please be quick its an emergancy
I just called cingular myself, said I was going to Czech, and they hooked it up. Said they would email it out to me
JP
Hi I live in Colombia, have a treo 650 taht worked with cingular, somebody unlok it and selll it to me, Can I upgrade the palm software, what version i have to use, this probably look my treo again???
Thx.
i want to have my blackberry 8100 unlcok
who can help me ??
cingular blackberry 8100 352127018674585
Worked like a charm. The Cingular people didn’t give me a clue as to how to actually unlock the phone. In fact, they told me I would have to put the new SIM card in first.
I was scared to death you had posted this site as some kind of prank and my phone would explode, but it didn’t, my old Treo is unlocked and I’m off to Italy. Thanks.
I just called AT&T International Customer Service at 916-843-4685 and they didn’t hassle me at all. They asked for my IMEI number and said they’d send me the unlock code & instructions via email within 5-7 days. Thanks for the tip!