My boost screen displays please wait to enter special code and its 8 digits

Call Nextel and have them activate that phone to your account.

Nextel, Sprint, and Boost are the same company.

Nextel is the iden network,
Sprint is the CDMA network
and Boost is the prepaid network. But their owned by Sprint

Hey I see you posted this a couple of months back. I'm having the same problem. Can you tell me how you fixed it??

When you place a new or a existing SIM card from another phone provider into your mobile phone and it asks for a Security Code then :-
This phone is locked to the original mobile phone provider. You need to contact this mobile provider to ask for the unlock code (Security Code) for this phone. You need to provide proof of ownership etc and the phone's unique IMEI number which is located inside the phone under the battery. They use this number to generate the unlock code for your phone.
They should provide you with instructions on how to enter this code into the phone.
Once you unlock the phone, then you can insert a new SIM card in this phone or sign up with another phone provider using this phone.
You could ring the phone provider and ask for the unlock Security Code because you are going overseas and wish to use your phone with a prepaid SIM card from another country. This maybe a free service.
The other way to get your phone unlock is to use a phone unlocking company on the Internet, they usually charge a couple of Dollars for their services. Use Google and search for "Security unlocking code” companies in your area.
You can also try this WEB site :-
http://www.mobileunlockguide.com/mobile-phone/
The IMEI number is unique the each mobile phone.
The number is printed on the label under the battery.
You can also get the IMEI number by entering this on your phone
*#06# It will then display your IMEI number and you may also get a unique global serial number. Your IMEI number should be 15 digits

Sound as though maybe you're trying to use a "boost" sim card on a Nextel phone. The phone has to be unlocked in order for that to work.

your Boost Mobile phone cannot work with t mobile even if it is unlocked, they are two different technologies, iden and GSM

boost only uses boost sim cards
you cant put in a nextel sim in a boost phone
call customer service

When you are using a Nextel sim card in a Boost phone, The Boost phone recognizes that it is not the alotted sim and will automatically lock up. This doesn't happen in all cases but it does happen often. There is no way to fix this issue besides replacing the phone, which you can do through warranty if you can not return it to the store.

If this phone was originally a Boost phone, it is more then likley on the IDEN network, which is exclusive to Nextel/Boost. Once the new SIM from the company other then Nextel/Boost is put in the phone, it will ask for a special code- thus rendering the phone useless on the new network. IDEN is only used by Nextel/Boost and another company out of the South called southernlinc.

There is no actual "Special Code". The phone is programmed for one, but it won't work. If you can get to a Sprint Nextel repair center, ask them to use RSS to unlock the codeplug. Also note that many Nextel SIM cards will do this to a Boost phone.

I need a special code for my cell phone. its i580