Nokia 8290 help

[SDGAP]

I just recieved a Nokia 8290 from a friend. The phone says "Sim card not accepted" but I know that the 8290 can be used with my Cingular service. My question, do phone providers (Cingular in California and Voicestream in New York) use different sim cards even though they are both GSM. My current phone (Nokia 3395) even works on the Voicestream system.

Any help would be appreciated :confused:

[phonedudes]

Your phone is what you call 'Subsidy Locked':confused:

In a nut shell it means that it is locked to only work on the Carrier it was setup through, VoiceStream (T-mobile).

However if you unlock it then it will accept your Sim Card and operate on the Cingular network. :)

There are basically 2 ways you can do this.. From what we hear T-mobile is pretty good about giving customers the Subsidy unlock code. So if your friend is still a customer of T-mobile he can simply call them up, they have a department that handles that and will give him the unlock code.

The other way is to purchase a Data Cable Adapter for your 8290 and w/some software unlock it.

Phonedudes :D

[SDGAP]

I called the Voicestream customer service and they claim that it is not the phone that must be unlocked. They say that the Sim card must be unlocked, and I am not sure if this is true. Any help would be appreciated.:cool:

[SDGAP]

Also, I was wondering where to look to get free ringtones and logos for Nokia phones. I figure that you would probably be the best source to find good free sites. Thanks a lot. ;)

[wpoole]

The phones are actually locked, not the SIM card. The phone needs to be unlocked by a code from the provider (ex. voicestream, cingular, fido, etc.) or by an MBus cable w/ software. MBus cables are available everywhere on the net between $5-20 USD, try E-Bay.

Be careful with the software, and make sure that you get software for your model phone, otherwise you could damage the handset leaving it inoperable.

good luck.

[PaoloWireless]

Call back Voicetream and ask them nicely for your unlock code. Then you can enter it into your phone, and voila, you can now put your cingular sim card into your phone.
or you can wait untill voicestream and cingular merge.