Hi
I recently bought a SIM unlocked AT&T-branded BlackBerry Priv off Amazon's US site. It was only about $400 US so it seemed like a great deal compared to $900 CAD.
It worked fine for a bit but as of last week, it's been acting up with any SIM card I try inside. Sometimes, it'll recognize the SIM and say that there's a data connection (indicated by the "4G LTE" and lack of an exclamation mark") and show full signal strength, but when I open any browser, the browser says the phone is offline, and refuses to connect - and apps like Google Maps, Whatsapp, etc, also cannot receive anything.
Other times, it'll randomly refuse to recognize the SIM inside, saying "no SIM card". It'll then take at least 5 reboots in a row before that error goes away and I can get online... and then it either disconnects or stops reading the SIM an hour later (or less).
I have tried multiple Canadian sim cards, as well as my prepaid T-Mobile sim card (for when I travel stateside). All of them shared these issues, and all of them worked perfectly well in other phones.
Connecting through Wi-Fi isn't a problem, but obviously when I'm outside, I can't depend on that.
These issues conveniently started only after the 30 day return period was over so I can't get a refund through Amazon! I've been very frustrated with the Priv this past week and have had to use my old phone because the Priv has turned into an ipod touch half the time.
I tried submitting a warranty claim, using BlackBerry's web form for Amazon-purchased devices, but the IMEI isn't recognized as an Amazon device. I did some digging into this issue and realized that this Amazon purchase wasn't fulfilled by Amazon.com but rather by a third party, thus it isn't actually an Amazon device. I can't go to AT&T because I'm not an AT&T customer - I don't even live in the US. I'm now afraid that I might have just blown $400 US for nothing.
Does anyone know what I can do to get this phone repaired or replaced by BlackBerry? Is it possible to mail it from Canada (would prefer not to drive 2 hours to the border)? Thanks.