BB 9930 Unable to get IP address when Wifi is On and Data Service Off

[jrab]

Hello everyone,

I have a BB 9930  running 7.0 Bundle 1739 (v7.0.0.374, Platform 5.0.0.552)

I have been reading several postings on the eweb and in the forum describing this very  problem. None of the workarounds have worked for me at all or are targeted for BB 6.0 or 5.0. 

I came across this article form Black Berry Support "http://goo.gl/KpyiN" .

I was able to confirm that I need to keep the Data Service turned "On" to be able to associate my BB with a Wifi hotspot/AP. This is a huge issue for me because. I am constantly traveling oversees and I need to disable the Data Service to not incur in high charges. Most of the time I am at a hotspot, SOHO or enterprise Wifi that I can use instead.  I also tried turning the Data Services "On" before associating  with the Wifi hotspot/AP.  I got a valid IP.  Then I turned "Off" the Data Services and immediately the IP was set back to 0.0.0.0

Anyone from Verizon can confirm if it is strictly necessary to have the Data Service "On"  to have the BB 9930 be able to get an IP address from a Wifi HotSpot or Access Point ? 

Do you have a solution for this ? What can I do besides getting rid off the phone ?

If I unlock the phone will this feature work?

FYI.

Any help will be gladly appreciated