Straight Talk Review – Bring Your Own Phone and Save
I have been testing out the Straight Talk service for a little bit now, so I figured I would post a review of how it has been going. There have been many questions from readers in regards to this topic, as I am sure many have been wondering how to get away from the big carriers, AT&T and Verizon. Since I am using the Straight Talk bring your own phone program, that is what I will be reviewing. Straight Talk has expanded this service to allow for both AT&T and T-Mobile service depending on where you live. This program was initially just limited to GSM technology, but they have opened it up to some CDMA phones. You can be up and running in less than 30 minutes after you get your SIM card.
Straight Talk Program Breakdown
Straight Talk offers two programs for anyone wanting to move to prepaid. They have their regular service, where you purchase a phone from them and get their service. Their phones are usually lower end smartphones or “dumb” phones equipped with Straight Talk’s service. You pay for service each month and it is pretty straight forward.
Their BYOP program requires you to already have an unlocked GSM phone or CDMA phone and you have to purchase their SIM card if using a GSM phone. Their CDMA program uses phones which accept SIM cards. Most of the newer phones do this. You just have to check Straight Talk’s site for compatibility. The site does indicate their CDMA works with iPhone 4 and 4S, but I have heard it works with other phones as well.
Once the figure out the network that will work best for you, you can purchase the SIM card that will fit your phone, which will be a micro sim or mini SIM. Make sure you check which size you phone will hold. You have options when purchasing the 30 day service, which are $45 for domestic or $60 for international. This includes unlimited talk, unlimited text, voicemail, and unlimited data*.
* Although they say unlimited data, there is a know limit of around 2GB a month. If you are a heavy data user, then Straight Talk is not going to be a service for you.
SIM Installation & Activation
I was able to get free overnight shipping from Straight Talk with my SIM card and my $45/month service plan. They shipped me a card with the plan that included a code in order to activate the plan. If you want to continue the plan without interruption, then they allow you to enter your credit card number for monthly billing.
When my SIM card arrived, I went to the Straight Talk website and activated the SIM card. Since I am testing the service, I decided to just get a new number and make the process quick and painless. You can transfer your current number to Straight Talk, but make sure you have them transfer the number before you cancel service at your current carrier. After putting the in SIM card number, I installed the SIM into my phone. That took about 1 minute total to complete. During the SIM card activation process, I was able to input my plan number, so it was ready to go once the SIM card was active.
Once your SIM is active, you will have to update your phone data settings. This is a pretty easy process which requires you to go into your phone settings and add a new APN into your mobile networks settings. If it is a new phone, then there will probably be one default APN that can be deleted after your create your new APN for Straight Talk’s service. Here are the APN data settings for both AT&T (first table) and T-Mobile (second table).
Service Quality
After getting up and running, I was able to start testing out the call quality and data speeds. The first thing I did was call my wife with the new phone to see how it sounded. The call quality was crisp and sounded better than my Verizon Droid Bionic phone. Now the call quality is going to be dependent on your phone and your carrier. So far I am happy with Straight Talk’s call quality. Since I am using the AT&T network, I should expect it to be pretty good, especially in my area. I have not experienced any drop calls or fuzzy connections, which is good. Here is the current coverage map for Straight Talk’s service.
The second thing I did was to compare my data speeds on my Verizon Droid and my Google Galaxy Nexus with Straight Talk. The best way to do this would be to download the Speedtest.net app. This application is able to run a simple speed test in order to find out what your upload and download speed is.
The data speeds that I received from Straight Talk were comparable to what I receive on Verizon. Both were around 4MB download and 1.5MB upload. While these are not blazing fast speeds, they are more than sufficient for me and how I use my phone. Again, these are not 4G speeds, nor will they ever be. I tested my data speeds in different locations around town. The only place where the speeds were noticeable different were at my house. Straight Talk blew Verizon out of the water near my home. That is an easy win for me.
After testing data speeds and call quality, I decided to send out some text messages. This was an easy test to complete and I found no real differences between Straight Talk and Verizon. Both handled messages, either SMS or MMS, easily. I do not text message as much as some people, but I am happy with the service I get from both providers.
My View on Straight Talk
If you are looking at an alternative to post-paid plans such as Verizon and AT&T, then I would recommend Straight Talk. The setup process was simple and fast along with their pricing. Their BYOP program is a win-win situation for anyone that wants an unlocked phone. The call quality and data speeds are equal to what I receive from Verizon, so I have nothing bad to say there. I have not had to deal with their customer service, but from what I have heard, the best way to get them is by using their facebook page. I am usually pretty handy, so I rarely have to contact customer service. The big plus about prepaid is that if I am not getting the service I expect, then I can just move on to another provider. I am not tied down to anything.
As I continue to use my phone with Straight Talk, I will update this post with anything that may help others in their search for a prepaid provider. There are many prepaid providers out there that can allow you to get away from a cell phone contract. I would recommend that you test out a few before settling on one, but then enjoy your monthly savings, such as putting away your take into a high-interest savings account.
Do you have any experience with Straight Talk’s bring your own phone program? If so, let me know.
great write up. i have been looking at straighttalk for a good while.
this write up helps me understand what i can look forward to and see if the switch will make me happy. my at&t contract is already expired, so if i can use a sim card from at&t but pay less then i am happy.
PJ
I am glad I can help you out PJ.
Hi grayson. I’m not sure if you still go on here or not but my husband and i baught samsung galaxy s duos phones and have straight talk byop service but everytime we try to send each other pictures or anyone pictures for that matter it says failed not sure why we can’t send pictures do we have to add a certain network for that or should i just call straight talk and see what they say ? Please send me a email back if you can help me thank you
Hello Karen,
Do you have the right APN settings for MMS? Straight Talk has specific setting depending on the network you are using. If you have the correct APN settings, then I am not sure what is happening.
i had the same problem with my att phone not sending pictures, i could receive them just not send them. i spent hours on the phone s with st and att and no one could help. i had it for about a month and all of a sudden it started working just fine. so im not sure what the problem was or why it did it.
That is weird. Thanks for stopping by Nicole and sharing your experience.
Thank you for this write up. It is exactly what I was looking for. One Question though…Does the phone have to be unlocked, or can you just use the phone say from AT&T with a sim purchased from them for AT&T?
Thanks again.
Hello Shane. It can be unlocked or AT&T (locked) compatible. If you have been using it on AT&T then you should be able to purchase the AT&T sim and use it with no issues. You might have to mess with a few APN settings, but those are in the manual that comes with the SIM card. Just make sure you don’t get the T-Mobile SIM for the AT&T phone as it will not work.
Help!..I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 Boost Mobile prepaid phone..I was previously with Straight Talk for 3 years….Boost Mobile has the worst service I have ever had…Can I use the Straight Talk BYOP on this phone? Anyway u can help will be appreciated..Thank you!
Hello Kristine. I would go over to this link (http://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/h/byop/registration) and enter the appropriate information to see if they can activate your phone. This should tell you if you can take it over.
Hello, what happens to previous apps? I have a iPhone and wondering how can I use iTunes.
Hello Patricia. Thank you for asking this question, but it would be best suited for Straight Talk to answer this one. I didn’t encounter this as I bought a new phone.
iPhone apps work only on iPhones. iTunes only deals with iStuff (iPhone, iPads, etc.). Apple does NOT like anyone else in their catbox.
Hello All, I just wanted to share my experience with Straight Talk BYOP service. First of all im in Jacksonville,FL using the micro sim cards on the Nexus 4 and couldnt be happier. Its a great deal, you get ATT service at a really good price. Running the Speedtest.net app, I have downloaded as high as 6.39 Mbps and upload 1.52 mbps. The ping time is in the low 100ms range which is fine for what you need to do on your cell phone. I havent used more than 1GB of data, so I dont know if they start to throttle after 2gb or not. I hear that is the new thing. They will not terminate your account, just throttle to Edge speeds (latest info I could find). I highly recommend unless you like to call and talk to the customer service reps for whatever reason. 😉 total comes to 48.92 after all taxes on the 45 dollar plan.
Thank you for the thorough review Ryan. I am glad that you are happy with it. It is a great way to save money.
Anytime,great article
-Ryan
Thanks for the article. I am very interested in trying Straight Talk, but do have questions. The phones I’ve been looking at have the following network frequencies. Since they do have the gsm frequency needed for AT&T, does that mean any of these would work ok? Would any actually be a better option than others? I’d appreciate your input. If these would not be good, please tell me the best network frequency to look for.
GSM 850/900/1800/1900 WCDMA 850/1900/2100MHz.
GSM 850/900/1800/1900 WCDMA 2100MHz.
GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz.
Hello Bob. Thank you for your comment. Straight talk currently only uses the following two frequencies: 850 and 1900 MHz. If you have phone that works on those frequencies, then your phone should work fine.
Is it possible to get 4G on Straight Talk? What phone or specs would I need for it?
Hello Bob, while it is possible to get “4G” on Straight Talk, most have not had success with keeping it. This is only dealing with speeds and it is not 4G LTE that is advertised by AT&T or Verizon. It is more like 4G HSPA+, which is still a good speed, but not as fast as LTE. You have to search the internet to get the right APN settings in order to enable 4G. The APN settings provided by Straight Talk are for their 3G HSPA. Good luck.
How much is the SIM card?
Sims from Straight Talk are currently at $14.99, but check places like RetailMeNot to find a coupon code to get it cheaper. There are many ways to get it for about $5.
HI. I have t-mobile. service sucks. all that is available that can get for the sim card is at&t. will this sim card work for my phone? and, do i need to continue buying unlimited plans after transaction?
Hello Pugsy. If you have a t-mobile phone, then you will need the t-mobile card. You will have to have an unlocked phone in order to use either card, so check your phone to see if it is unlocked.
My question with this though, I’m in the same boat as Pugsy where T-Mobile just has horrible service in the area I moved to. If I switch to Straight Talk and get a T-Mobile sim card to work in my current phone, would I still be only using the T-Mobile service network and not AT&T’s?
If that is the case then this really wouldn’t be a viable solution for me as I’d lose the one thing that allows me to use my phone at all, T-Mobiles VOIP service.
I wish this info was more in depth on their site, it’s frustrating only seeing a glorified flier rather than an In Depth help page to make up for not having customer service personnel.
Thanks in advance!
Hello TyDeL,
If you get the T-mobile SIM from ST, then you will be using T-mobile’s service. There would be no point to switch unless you just wanted to pay less. If you are on T-mobile’s prepaid plan, then there would definitely be no reason to switch.
I agree about their website being horrible. They are missing a lot of data and their customer service isn’t good at all. You have to resort to going on forums to find common answers. I guess this is the price to pay for a cheaper cell phone plan. Good luck!
One thing you need to realize, and people really need to raise the complaint levels to Straighttalk about their computerized Data Throttling…while they claim unlimited, they ARE NOT. They will tell you that it is 2gb or 5gb or whatever lie the incompetent rep tells that day, it’s not. It’s whatever, whenever, without warning and is more uncomfortable than eating glass to resolve. And then it will just happen again…and again…and again. They drop you to 0.16mbps for almost any reason…this month I’ve used a little over 900mb of data in the first 22 days. I used about 150mb today & lost data connection alltogether. When I rebooted the phone as a last result, blammo…0.16mbps & they’ll play dumb & swear you’re not being throttled, but you are. It’s computer controlled, so any number of things will trigger it. I know people that have downloaded over 20gb in a month & not been throttled, yet I get nailed for 900mb in 22 days. There is no consistency, no rhyme or reason…and it’s near impossible to get fixed without reprovisioning. If they don’t expect you to use data, why let us bring smart phones? Then we’re trapped paying a bill without it….even for a month it sucks.
Hello Scott,
Yes they do have throttling issues. Most say it is around 2GB per month, but they also say that you can be throttled by using more than 100mb per day, which it seems is what you did. I do agree that they shouldn’t advertise unlimited data. Since ST gets their data allotment from AT&T or T-Mobile, they can only allow so much at one time in order to not slow down other people. If you are using too much, then you get throttled. I don’t agree with the ways that they do it, but it is what it is.
I have two att phones, both are currently “shut off” for non payment (UGH $300 for one month with activation fees), can I use those on straight talk? Or will they not work?
You should be able to use those on ST as long as they provide you with the AT&T sim card. There could be some issues with them being shut off for non payment, but I can’t speak to that on a technical level.
I have used the Straight Talk BYOP program for about 6 months now. No problems. I am not a big data user so I haven’t encountered any “throttling” issues.
I bought a Motorola MB860 off Ebay for $175. Its a decent smart phone and does the job. I was on the Straight Talk monthly plan, just about $50 a month including taxes. I decided to go to their annual plan.for $495.
I get no monthly bills and have no contract. Pay $500 once a year. I hate cell phone bills. I figure I am saving about $50 a month under this arrangement. No regrets whatsoever. Glad I did it!
I am glad to hear it is working out for you. I think ST is great for people that don’t use a lot of data.
Been a Straight Talk customer for about 8 months now, and this will be my last month with this carrier. What initially made Straight Talk attractive to me was their promise of unlimited talk, text and web for only $45/month, and being able to use my AT&T branded/locked Motorola Atrix HD Android powered smartphone.
The big problem with Straight Talk is that their service is NOT unlimited. If you exceed an unknown daily data/web usage limit, they will cut your Internet speed down to a crawling halt, making simple emails almost impossible. Some people claim it’s 2GB/month before it happens – that’s a myth. They have computers setup, that automatically calculate your usage on a daily basis, and the usage threshold is pretty low.
I have had this happen to me after one weeks use, and all I did was write emails, check Facebook, read news articles online and download a few app off the Google Play Store.
The next problem occurs when you call their support department. First you speak with a customer rep, who’s accent is so thick you’ll barely understand the person. They’ll next tell you that you violated section 6 and 7 of the terms of service – which basically says they have the right to cut your Internet speed (throttle), or terminate your service if your data usage is ‘excessive’.
Problem here being that they won’t tell you exactly what ‘excessive data usage’ means, or at what point you reach that limit. When I asked them what the daily or monthly data usage limit is, and what amount of use would be considered ‘excessive’, the Straight Talk customer rep’s answer was simply that the service is unlimited as long as your usage for data/Internet/text/calls is not excessive.
So there you have it folks – It’s unlimited talk/text/data/Internet…Except it’s not. And you’ll have no idea when they’ll cut you off, because they won’t tell you, and it’s not mentioned anywhere in their ‘Terms of Service’ (TOS).
For folks with dumbphones, this might be a good option for you, since you probably won’t consume much data if any. However, if you have an Android, iPhone, Windows Phone, Black Berry, Nokia Symbian, or any other smartphone, you’ll probably want to think twice, or trice, before going with Straight Talk, since you’ll more than likely get into trouble with them sooner or later.
For the smartphone user who wants a cheap prepaid service, there are many other options than Straight Talk, and all of those alternatives will outright tell you what your data usage limit is before throttling occurs – if it occurs.
Both Boost Mobile and Virgin Mobile offer plans with 2.5GB of high-speed data before throttling, and T-Mobile just launched GoSmart Mobile, which offers a whole 5GB of data before slowing you down. With those companies, you’ll at least know where you stand, and how much data you can consume before being throttled…
This is quite the comment James. I agree with you in regards to how Straight Talk deals with their data. They don’t really offer unlimited, but from what I have heard, you have about 100mb per day maximum. If you are playing games and downloading apps, you can easily go over 100mb and that is why I only download things on wifi. Since I am on wifi most of the day, I don’t even get near 1gb per month. I am sorry you have had problems and this comment makes me want to put up a follow up review.
I loved your input about this process. However, I can’t for the life of me, figure out how to get through Straight Talk’s “Shop SIMS” web pages. It keeps looping from the point where you select “any unlocked GSM phone” and enter your zip code, to the next page where it gives you “Important Information” and you select “Continue”… it then goes right back to the page where you select the type and enter your zip code. I would really love to figure this out and keep thinking that if I give them some time to work out the bugs, it will just correct itself. I have also tried to submit a support ticket through their facebook page contact section and it said it couldn’t be submitted because my e-mail address has been deleted from a profile??? Maybe I wasn’t meant to be a Straight Talk customer…
Don’t take a chance on straight talk I’m trying to get reimbursed for 150 dollars of service I ne had to speakver used. While trying to transfer my art to straight talk I sai wanted to use same number and indicated that.After trying to use my phone for several days I tried to contact customer service several people couldndnt speak English. They said they had no record of my phone number or my name connecting my phone. Finally switched back to At& T . After several months I noticed I had been charged for Straight Talk service I never used. Called six times and th finally traced my sum card I removed from phone when I had no service. They said it was connected to another number which I never used, they refuse to reimburse me e though I never used the service.
Sorry to hear that Pam. They don’t have the best customer service, that is the truth. I never had a problem with them, but I can understand your frustration.
I hadn’t gotten around to getting new phones, now ST no longer offers AT&T – just T-Mobile. Any idea what happened? What stats do I need to look for to get the best possible phone for TM service? Thanks again for all your help.
It appears that maybe AT&T stopped providing SIM cards to ST. I am going to be writing an update, but I think the best phone you could get would be a Google Nexus phone. It works with either AT&T or T-mobile SIM cards. It is the cheapest option for a smartphone that will still work on ST.
There is word around the block that T-mobile is now offering 1900 frequency, which would make it much cheaper for ST to carry service. AT&T might have been getting too expensive. No one really knows what happened though.
I have been using ST BYOP plan for over a year now and have been pleased with it – however I do not normally do more than download an app infrequently. That being said I primarily use my cell for calls and texting. I have used two different models – one a generic make android from EBay and a Samsung Galaxy Europa (not supported in US) with no problems. Today I upgraded to a used Samsung Galaxy S Captivate which is an ATT phone. I already was using an ATT sim card from ST and had no problems getting up and running with it. I recently moved from Maine to a MidAtlantic state and have not noticed any problems, change in quality, etc. For several years prior I used a Tracfone and when my usage increased significantly I moved to ST (knowing that they are really the same company). I love being able to change phones at will and knowing that it will be an easy process.
Thank you for the feedback on the service you have received from Straight Talk. I think it is a good service, unless you are a data hog. I had perfectly fine service with texting and call quality. I really appreciate your feedback and I am glad to hear that the AT&T SIM card still works because you cannot buy them now.
What’s the process of swapping phones with the byop? And does the phone have to he unlocked?I have a att locked gs2 that I want to put on my account.
Hello Amber. Thank you for your question. Yes, your phone needs to be unlocked. You will also need to get an AT&T sim card, but Straight Talk doesn’t offer those anymore. You can find them on eBay, but they can be pricey.
I bought one (an att compatible sim) off the straight talk website a week ago.. Do you know how I’d go about unlocking it?
Good to see ST is selling the AT&T sims again. You will need to contact AT&T to unlock the phone. Sometimes they do it easily, other times, they don’t. This is the only way you can unlock the phone.
Okay. Thanks for your assistance. This was very helpful.
My wife and I were considering ST’s BYOP option, although I don’t quite understand how they select which carrier is best for you. AT&T has great coverage where I live and according to T-mobile’s website the best I can do is 2G speed, but when I checked ST’s website it will only give me the option to purchase a T-mobile sim card. I am waiting on a respond from ST’s support department.
Hello David, Thank you for stopping by and commenting. From what I have been told and researched, they don’t have the AT&T option any more. Straight Talk said that they ran out of SIM cards, but most people I have talked to said that they think AT&T shut down ST due to overages. This would lead you only to use T-Mobile. It is cheaper for Straight Talk to just support T-Mobile. Good luck on the response from ST.
Grayson, I really appreciate you sharing that info. If I receive a reply from their support department, I’ll post it.
That will be excellent. I would like to hear what they have to say, but I don’t expect much clarification.
Grayson, I have purchased an unlocked phone from Blu Mobile along with a Straight Talk sim card. The phone takes dual sim cards. One slot says GSM, the other says WCDMA/GSM. Which one should I use? I was about to activate the phone, but figured i need to know which slot to use. Thanks in advance.
Hello Michelle. The ST SIM card should go into the GSM slot and you should be ok as long as your phone has the capability to catch the bands that Straight Talk uses. You will find out once you activate the phone if it will work or not. There is not a lot of data out there for Blu Mobile.
So if i bring an unlocked att phone would i be able to use it?
I don’t believe you will be able to use it. They took off the option for an AT&T compatible phone, so I think you will be out of luck.
Can a sprint I phone 4 and iPhone 4S be used on straight talk?
No. Those are two different network capabilities. Straight Talk only allows you to bring an unlocked T-mobile phone to their service now.
Wanted to add a comment – the phone that I began using today is a locked ATT phone; I am using my existing ST ATT Sim with no problems. I used the same configuration I used on prior unlocked phone with same card. (See my prior post for the phones used successfully).
Thank you for the extra feedback Doris.
I purchased a TM sim (thinking it was AT&T). I had to unlock my AT&T phone to use this sim. The TM service is horrible in my area. I went to Wal-Mart today and purchased a cheap $40 ST phone with an AT&T sim card in it with hopes to get back on the AT&T network. Can I transfer this sim to my AT&T phone or am I out another $40?
I would try to just pull out the SIM and put it in your phone. It is a simple trick that might just let your phone work. Since your SIM is already active, why not.
I had purchased a byop sim for AT&T from ST about a year ago and went to buy three more recently for my unlocked iPhones ( wanted to be an the AT&T service) , but when going to their site the only options were the T-Mobile sims so I did a Google search for the program and found them at Walmart. I purchased three about a month ago for my phones and they are all running on the AT&T network. Again I could have bought the T-Mobile ones because all my phones are factory unlocked but I wanted the AT&T ones. On another note I have a iPhone 4s and it is getting 4G on the network.
Thank you for the information, that is good to hear that you were able to do that. Glad it is working out for you.
I have the straight talk bring your own phone plan and I’m wanting to change phones I currently have at&t lg escape but I’m wanting the iphone 4 do I have to buy a new sims or can I use the sims I have in my escape?
You should be able to use the same SIM card in the iPhone.
I have a HTC Thunderbolt from verizon. Can I get it switched to ST?
No, Verizon uses CDMA which is not compatible with Straight Talk. Your phone is probably locked as well to Verizon’s network.
I have a Nokia E7 I got from India. It works with all sim cards in India and is enable for 850 and 1900 Mhz. Will the ST Sim work in this phone. also I am a heavy user of international calls. Any idea about the cut-off on that.
I would say go and try it. I don’t think you will have much luck with international calls, but there are a few apps for that. You will have to be on wifi though because that would be a data hog.
I have a sprint HTC EVO 4g design and a ST sim card do you think it will work ??
Hello Thadd. Sprint is on a CDMA network just like Verizon, so you wouldn’t be able to use the phone. You can only use GSM phones with Straight Talk.
I think it’s pretty cool that once you activate and register the micro sim serial number your basically paying a monthly fee for the sim regardless of what phone you put it in (as long as it falls in the AT&T compatible or unlocked requirements) I found this out when mid month on my plan someone gave me a brand new unlocked AT&T HTC 8x to try out. I changed the apn and SMS settings which this phone let’s you do they have it right there in the settings and popped out my ST byop sim I been using in my iPhone 4s and putcitcin the HTC 8x everything worked perfect for a couple days I tried all features…then I popped it out and back in my iPhone 4s everything is still working fine. So it’s nice if your using the BYOP deal you can have the chance to try a newer model phone out first to see if you like it then choose which one you want. As long as your not a Data hog and can just WAIT to take your Internet game moves like Words for Friends etc once you GET HOME and on WIFI and use the service in a sensible matter I personally highly recommend Straight Talk
I have a galaxy s2 through sprint what would I need to do to get it over to str8 talk
If you bought it from Sprint and it is locked to Sprint, then you won’t be able to use ST. You need a GSM compatible phone and Sprint is a CDMA provider like Verizon. You can only use phones that come from AT&T or T-Mobile or ones that are completely unlocked.
I have a iphone 4s and was having trouble with no more AT&T cards, so I went to Ebay and
bought a AT&T sim card, granted it cost $50+ but it was worth it, as soon as I received it, I
popped it right in and service……
I have heard of others doing that and it has worked out for them. Thanks for sharing.
I was thinking, my grannies Just5 phone is an unlocked phone that works with GSM 850/900/1800/1900MHz. It is a simple phone suited for the elderly but it does not have internet access. Is there any possibility that I can offset internet data charges for a plain call and text service?
There are many other services out there besides Straight Talk that will cost much less for just calling and text service. Net10 comes to mind.
Straight Talk BYOP program is NOT working for me. My phone does not work at my place of employment at all, even though I have several co-workers who do have service, but the phones they are using are Staright Talk phones. I am a single parent and I need to be connected. I have the T-Mobile MyTouch Phone because I left Verizon to go to Family Mobile and I did not have service at my job, so I brought that phone over to Straight Talk thinking it would work since my co-workers have service in the same building. I am very unhappy. Help!!!
Do you have to continue to purchase a $45/mo plan to use the BYOP option, or can you drop to the $30/mo “limited” plan? I use very, very, very little data. Probaly only get on the net 5 or 6 times a year with my phone, and I only use about half of my alotted talk/txt. I’m currenly using the $30 plan with a standard phone, but lost the phone a few days ago and now I’m considering an upgrade. TM is terrible in this area, so I’ll have to try and find an ATT sim.
Hello Mark, Yes, the BYOP program has to have the $45/month plan. The $30 plan is just for a phone that you purchase with Straight Talk. The BYOP has the $45 as minimum and I think they also have a $60 plan. You can look on eBay for AT&T sim cards that I have heard people have had luck with.
Is the $45 and $60 30-day plan the only option with BYOP? I was wondering if I could purchase one of the: 3-month, 6-month, or 1-year plans.
Hello Troy, BYOP only works on their $45 or $60 plan.
YES, you can buy 3, 6, or 12 months at a time.
Both my wife and I use AT&T compatible iPhones with Straight Talk SIM cards (aka BYOP). For the first year we were using ST’s auto-pay function to pay for 30 days of service each month. Then I got an email from straight talk suggesting their multi-month subscriptions. Now we pay just once a year, $495 for 12 months of service. This is the same as buying 12 months at $45 per month; we just get one month free each year!
https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/myportal/home/shop/serviceplans
I have heard and read on straight talk blogs that it runs also on verizon. Phones that have a g are at&t and phonte that have a c are verizon. When u put in your zip, the site picks the best plans for you. I am getting a verizon sim, and always purchase my phone on ebay. ;+) See online videos on how to convert even a Iphone to ST. ;+)
I don’t know if there BYOP program runs on Verizon. Their regular program where you purchase the phone through them has the ability to run on Verizon, but most of the time it runs on Sprint or T-mobile. Unless they changed it to include Verizon, I am not sure if the BYOP can do that.
I’ve decided to actually go with a verizon plan instead. I can get a discount through work and for an extra 15 a month over straight talk, I can have a shared smartphone plan that includes a pair of Iphone 4s, AND doesn’t have any reception issues out here in the sticks…
I’m a little bit confused about this, but lets say I have a ATT Iphone 4s, can I bring it in and use on the BYOP plan?
Yes, you can bring in an AT&T phone, but I don’t think they sell the sim for AT&T anymore. You can find them online and it will work.
I have a verizon galaxy s3 4G LTE phone model # SCH-1535 ….will it work with the straight talk byop plan and if so what do I have to do. I do have a sim card in the phone…..I have gotten 2 different answers from straight talk …..one said it will work with the byop plan and another one said no it will not work…..I can email a pic of the back of my phone showing the sim card if you need it…….any help is appreciated 🙂
Hello Kylie, Your Verizon phone will NOT work with ST’s BYOP plan. It has be able to run on a GSM network, but Verizon runs on CDMA. There might be some ways to hack it in order to get it to work, but I wouldn’t advise it unless you know what you are doing. Straight Talk only uses the CDMA network with the phones that you purchase through them. Sorry.
Thank you…..one other question…..would you know why I have a sim card? I was told my straight talk if my phone was CDMA there would be no sim card….really dont understand all this network stuff lol ….Would it be so I can go with other carriers? Virizon told me my phone could be used with other carriers just take it to the one of my choice and they would know what to do ….again thank you for your time 🙂
Kylie, check this out: http://straighttalkbyop.com/
Thanks for passing this over Groverboy. I didn’t know straight talk now allows CDMA phones to come over, but when you read it, it won’t work with 4G phones, iphones, blackberries, or any of the branded ST phones. That kind of limits it.
Thank You Groverboy. 🙂
I have a HTC EVO design sprint am using a gsm card but the phone is stuck on edge network.I can’t change to 3g anytime I change to wcdma preferred or only the phones picks and drops the network ..please hlp me have a 3g setting only only my phone
Are you saying that the phone is a Sprint phone? Is it unlocked? Sprint uses a completely different network, as in CDMA, and you are trying to use a GSM sim card. If the phone is a Sprint phone, then it probably won’t work with GSM.
Hi. I presently have AT&T and an iPhone 4S. They are eating me alive with charges! My phone bill is over $120./mo and that’s with unlimited data (grandfathered in). I would like to try Straight Talk, but my coverage is so poor in my neighborhood that I have to use a AT&T Microcell. Can I use my Microcell with Straight Talk?
Hello Kay. I know what you mean. I have heard that you can use the Microcell with your phone once you move it over to Straight Talk, but ST doesn’t sell AT&T sim cards anymore. You would have to get one from eBay. Also, the microcell would still need to be associated with an active AT&T wireless account.
http://www.howardforums.com/showthread.php/1695232-AT-amp-T-microcell-with-straightalk
Hi Greyson I’ve been with st about a month with one of their LG phones. A friend gave me a at&t HTC inspire for my bday, now my question is, I was told by a st rep that I might not have picture messaging if I use my own phone. Have you heard anyone having any issues after using the byop? After dealing with st customer service I’m ready to terminate my service with st. Anyway have you heard weather or not the issue has come up with not being able to use pic messaging after switching? Plz email me I don’t get much time online. Thank you
Hello RK. Thank you for stopping by. The only phone that I have heard that doesn’t have MMS (picture messaging) is the iPhone 5. I have not heard of any other phones that don’t have it. When I was using the service, which I have since switched to Walmart Family Mobile, I was able to get picture messages fine.
The only other scenario is if you use Google Voice as your telephone number carrier. If you have your phone number hooked up to Google Voice, which then redirects the call to your ST phone number, then you won’t have MMS.
hello. I tried talking to the ST people about this and looking online and this website has seemed to be the most useful but i still have not found answers. I ordered a new phone offline to use for the BYOP program. it had all of the requirements needed. and i also ordered the att sim card to go with it which is what it uses. My phone works, and the ST people said it showed the sim card works when it was all transferred over but they do not work together. how do i fix it so i can use my new phone which i love??? or should i just send the phone back and try again?
oh, the phone is a Z.Doxio Android phone. its unlocked and its att. it said online it was compatable with straight talk and the company said it was also when i emailed them. the only thing they could figure was the sim card. ST said since its a dual sim maybe i could try a different sim card but what should i try..? thanks!
Interesting question Sonya. Where did you get the dual sim card from? ST used to offer AT&T cards, but they don’t anymore, so you have to get them off of eBay. It would be best to find a ST AT&T sim card on eBay instead of a dual sim card. You can try that and see if it works.
Correction sir ST brought back offering ATT sims for a couple months now! I know I ordered two a week ago. They offer standard and micro.
Hello Russ. You are certainly correct there. I have not been to their site in some time and glad to see them back in stock!
Hello Sonya,
Sorry for the misinformation. ST does offer the AT&T sim cards now. I had not checked in some time since they took them off.
Again, did you get the SIM card from Straight Talk? I have not even heard of the phone you talk about. Does it have the appropriate band to work with AT&T?
hi, I have a Iphone 5 will the ST sims fit walmart has them right now for 69.00 but want to make sure they fit….thanks
Hello Linda,
No, you can only use an iPhone 5 on ST by buying the phone from walmart. ST doesn’t sell the size sim card to work in the iPhone 5.
YES, you can use your AT&T iPhone 5 with ST. You just need to cut the sim card.
1. buy your sim card from straighttalkbyop.com
2. cut your sim card to the correct size for your iPhone 5 by following the directions at
http://www.androidcentral.com/bold-cutting-your-own-nano-sim-card
(either buy and use a sim card cutter, or cut it very carefully with a sharp scissors).
3. insert sim card into your iphone.
I tried to use straight talk’s byop program and it was a total disaster! I entered my meid number into their website to see if my phone is compatible. It said it was so I paid $15 for the access code. Then I paid $50 for the plan. However, it turns out that my phone is not compatible. I did live chat with customer service who informed me that the money I paid is not refundable….even after explaining to her that it was a mistake on the part of their website that prompted my purchase. At that point, customer service disconnected from live chat. Just like that. I have been a straight talk customer for years…today ended that!
Hello Angie,
Thank you for providing your experience with Straight Talk. I am sorry that this has happened to you. I would reach out to them via Twitter to see if they can do anything about it. Putting your grievances on Twitter helps out quite a bit.
I got the byop plan yesterday and am using a HTC one x from att it takes the micro card and what I was wondering is if I could use the other att sim regular non mirco card provided in the byop kit because it is a HTC inspire from att… instead of having to buy a whole other byop kit
Hello Matthew,
If your phone takes the micro sim card, then you need to get the micro sim card. The regular sim card will not work.
What he meant to say is:
If your phone requires a micro sim card, you will need to cut your sim card to fit. Your regular sim card will work just fine once you cut it to the correct size. You can see instructions here:
http://www.androidcentral.com/bold-cutting-your-own-nano-sim-card
there are also several youTube videos showing how to cut it.
I have been with straight talk for almost 4 years now. Never had any problems. yea service drops when your out in the middle of nowhere sometimes, but what carrier doesn’t. as far as all the complaints about throttling your data it says clear as day on the activation card, box the phone comes in, and the website about your data speeds which slow down after 2gb. but honestly ive never had this happen and im a pretty average data user. I use my gps all day at work frequently check facebook, twitter, and my espn apps. as well as surf the web but never had any problems with throttling. I love straight talk and im never going back to contract phones. Thanks for the review on the byop my phones getting old and I need to update im thinking of buying a nice used at&t phone and trying this feature out.
Thank you for your overview David. I appreciate it. ST didn’t have the 2gb limit on the BYOP program at first. No one knew what it was. They just said that they can throttle you when they deemed necessary. That has since changed and now they are much clearer about their limits.
I have a IPhone 5 will the ST sims fit ?
No.
It will fit just fine, but you have to cut it.
here is how you cut the sim card to make it fit in the iphone 5.
http://www.androidcentral.com/bold-cutting-your-own-nano-sim-card
I am looking at buying a Droid Bionic i was told i could use it on stright talk im already with stright talk but im looking to upgrade my phone is it posable to have this phone put on stright talk
Straight Talk can handle the Droid Bionic. Is the phone unlocked? That will be important.
i was told i had to go to walmart and get the bring your own phone plan the phone is a verizon phone but it takes a sims card
never mind walmart sells the CDMA bring your own phone kits witch i will have to buy to transfer it to a stright talk phone thank you for your help
Did Verizon unlock the phone? Sometimes if your phone is not unlocked, it won’t work on a different network. Good luck William!
i was told tht the phone is already an unlocked phone
Who told you it was an unlocked phone? Did Verizon say it was unlocked?
dont work cuz it has a sims card it wat i was told 2day last night i was told tht it would this would b the 2nd time straight talk told me something tht costed me money and it didnt work
The CDMA sim card didn’t work? Did the card actually fit or were you just not able to activate the phone? Are you able to verify if the phone is truly unlocked by Verizon?
they dnt have a cdma sims card cdma is for phones with no sims
You are correct. I didn’t think about it before I wrote it. Sorry you are unable to use your Droid Bionic.
i have a sims in it the sims is active but i cnt do nothing no call text or internet
how can i get verizon to unlock a non global phone
You just have to ask them. Sometimes they do it, sometimes they don’t. Unfortunately, they are not required to, so many times they won’t, but it can’t hurt to ask.
pls see this link. It gives a lot of info on unlocking phones with different carriers. Since late 2012 or early 2013, carries are actually required by law to unlock your phone-provided you have satisfied all contractual obligations: i.e. paid your early termination fees or completed your contract time. All have different ways on how to request it and the time it takes and the number of times you can do this.
Thank you for the link. I have actually added that information to a post for my other readers at https://wealthbytes.co/how-to-unlock-your-phone/.
While they might be more obligated, the ways to unlock your phone are difficult for some. Look at Sprint’s requirements. They make you jump through some hoops and then all of the carriers don’t actually have to unlock your phone. They just have to give you an option to do it. They have many ways to get around this and I have talked with many who have been denied.
I’ve read this entire thread and am still confused.
My son has an iPhone 4s he purchased at WalMart over 2 years ago. His carrier is AT&T. He is out of contract now and wants to make a change as he is paying over $100/month. He can’t afford to buy a new phone.
In some questions/answers on the thread it says that the 4s will work with the BYOP plan and in others it says no.
Which is right?
TIA for your time…
It really all depends on if it is unlocked. The 4s should work on Straight Talk and since he got it at Walmart, he can go ask them if it is locked to AT&T. That being said, if he really wants to know, then he can pick up a SIM card from Straight Talk, then he can pick on up on their website for 50% off right now. He can then sign up for one month of service with a new number. Put the SIM in and see if it works. If it doesn’t, then put the AT&T card back in and still have the original service. You would lose about $50 bucks, but that could be much less than the hassle of switching the number and realizing it doesn’t work.
I actually looked into this a little more and ST does provide the option to bring over an AT&T compatible phone. I would see if the 4s will work with that compatibility.
I have a AT&T Samsung I had the service turned off, but have a plan with AT&T. I am using a small phone like a 9.95 a month phone. Can I use my Samsung on ST even tho no service is on it. I plan to cancel my service with AT&T in March of 2014. Do I need to wait or can I get a new number and go on ST even tho I still have a plan with AT&T.
If you phone is AT&T compatible, then you should be able to use it on ST. Do you want your current number? If you want your number, then you have to transfer it to ST. They do it for you, which will then cancel your plan with AT&T. If you want to make sure the service will work, you can just buy a SIM card from ST and put a new number on it. Put it in the phone and see if it works. If it does, then you would have to buy another SIM and transfer your current number on there.
Hello, I was thinking about switching over to ST from att. I think my question was answered a few posts up but I wanted to make sure. Basically I have att service still but im no longer under contract. WHen I get my ST sim will I be able to just pop the att one out, then use the ST to see if i like the service? If i have to change apn settings to get the ST to work will I have to revert those to the earlier settings If I prefer my att service? Thanks.
Hello Sean. Are you planning on just trying out the service with a new number and keeping your other number with AT&T? If your phone is unlocked or AT&T allows you to use it on ST, then you can just buy the SIM and put it in. You should be able to create another APN record with the new SIM information and use that. You other APN settings should stay in there, but it depends on the phone.
Yeah exactly, I just want to compare the call quality before I shut down att completely. I have an iphone 4s which isnt unlocked but from what Ive read should work no problem with the ST sim. Ill just write down the old apn settings before I start to be sure. thanks for your help.
Good luck Sean. Let me know how it goes. I have heard different stories about a phone being unlocked, so I would be interested to see if it works for you.
Will a verizon phone work on straight talk??
It is debatable. It depends on if the phone is compatible and if the phone is unlocked. Many times, the phone is not unlocked and cannot be used. You can check here http://stbyop.com/straighttalk/ to see if your phone is compatible. Then you need to check Verizon to see if they can unlock the phone.
My husband bought me an Iphone 4S from an Ebay-style website. He got the IMEI from the owner and did the research on ST.com It said “Good news! Your Iphone is compatible” and then he bought it and the BYOP plan. WEll, guess what…not sure what the good news was about…and why they said it was compatible, cause it is NO WAY compatible. Really upset. Merry EXPENSIVE Christmas to my husband and me. The carrier in the phone says Sprint 15.5. Wouldn’t the IMEI that we entered to check compatibility state it isn’t compatible!!! ARGH!!
Hello Brenda,
Thank you for sending over this information. I have heard of these problems. I am assuming that the phone is not actually unlocked. If you don’t have an unlocked phone, then you can’t use it on another carrier. Can you confirm that the phone is actually unlocked?
Everything went well except for not being able to get mms. I used a locked iphone 4s from att and it was working within 5 minutes! I found a workaround to get mms going using tmobile micro sim to get some menu to appear so you can adjust apn settings. Just waiting for the sim to get here.
My question deals with this. My phone was purchased in a different area code and I moved. I want to keep my number so it is not long distance for my family to call me on their home phone lines. Would Straight Talk be able to work with me for that. I mean honestly, I use my phone on my wifi, is that also still possible with them so I do not use the data on the phone itself? This seems like it is too good to be true at some instances.
Hello Steve,
You can transfer your number to Straight Talk and it should be OK if you are living in a different area code. Many people use a number that doesn’t belong in that area code. Most phone companies do not deal with long distance if the calls are within the US. If your phone has WiFi, then it won’t use the data from ST. You will only use it when you are not near WiFi. If you are near WiFi all of the time, then check out Republic Wireless.
Hey Grayson,
I have an iPhone 4s from at&t that is NOT unlocked. Will this program work for me? And if it won’t work with a locked phone, aside from going through at&t, do you know how I could go about getting it unlocked? I really miss being able to use my iPhone.. I had to get a “dumb” phone for now to get by. I would really love some resolve. Thanks for your time 🙂
Hello Jessica,
In order to unlock a phone, you have to get AT&T to do it. You might be able to get the service on the phone while it is locked. The only way to do it is to just try. You can buy the AT&T sim card from straight talk, then put it in your iPhone. Setup the ST service with a new number just for testing. Go through the activation process and see if it works. If it does, then you can buy a new sim card again and transfer your number to it and you will be on your way.
Hi, I have been using ST for 4 + years and i am unhappy with their phones. I want to purchase an unlocked phone online however I’m confused about something and their representatives are not very helpful. can I purchase a ‘factory unlocked gsm phone ‘ ( does not list a previous carrier) and use ST’s att sim card or do I need to purchase an att phone ? ( I know T-Mobile is an option too but the coverage is poor in my area) I don’t want to buy a gsm phone that advertises it will work with any gsm carrier if straight talk/att will not accept it. Ebay charges a 25% restocking fee :/. Thanks for any help !
Hello Kasey,
Thank you for your question. This is how I used Straight Talk. I bought an unlocked phone that was not tied to any carrier. It was factory unlocked. I bought the AT&T sim card and popped it in. You change the APN settings and you should be good to go. As long as the phone you are buying works on the same frequency range. Those will be listed in the specs of the phone (or should be).
do not buy a vorizen htc thunderbolt to use with strighttalk even though sellers are saying they will work. i called straightalk, give them the esn # of the phone i was thinking of purchasing. The rep told me it would work with my zip code. Paid $100 for the unlocked phone, paid $60 for the sim card, called straighttalk back like they told me to. GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!! They forgot to ask if it was a 4G phone. NOW they informed me it won’t work. Yes i can get my $60 from walmart, but i’m out the $100. Maybe if there was english speaking folks answering the phone at straighttalk, this ###### wouldn’t happen.
Sorry to hear that George. Straight Talk does not support LTE phones, from what I have heard. Sorry you had to find out the hard way.
My mom gave me a iPhone 4s for my 18th birthday. Its a at&t phone. Can I use this phone for straight talk? I hope so because I don’t want to be tied to a contract.
Hello Xavier,
You should be able to use the phone. If it is unlocked, then it would be easier. You would need to make sure to get the AT&T sim card.
I recently purchased a z.doxio android from from E Bay new and I bought the BYOP sim I have tried all the different APN config. listed on this page and with none of them will my phone open picture messages 🙁 I receive the picture message and when I press download it says its downloading but it never completes and shows me the picture 🙁 any suggestions how to make it work?
Hello Melissa,
Thank you for reaching out. I actually just updated the two APN pictures. They updated them on Straight Talk. You can look at this page to see if you need to make any changes. APN setting changes might not work depending on the phone model. I have not heard of your phone before, so I don’t know if it will work or not.
http://www.straighttalkbyop.com/program.php
Hey Grayson,
If I bought a locked AT&T iPhone 4 and get the AT&T micro sim through ST’s BOYP program, once I change the APN settings I should be operating a full functioning iPhone using AT&T’s network through straight talk? Also would I be able to use that phone through AT&T afterwards should i not like straight talks service, what would have to be changed if anything?
Hello Teddy. Thank you for the comment. If you have a locked AT&T phone, you should be able to purchase the AT&T sim from ST and then change the APN settings. Since it is already AT&T, you can get away with it. If you don’t like ST, then you can just go back to AT&T and change the APN settings back.
hello I have a Verizon galaxy s3 I was wondering if I could get it transferred to straight talk byop service and still get 4g lte
Hello Nick,
You would need to check on their site for CDMA phones as that is what Verizon uses. You can do that here: http://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/h/byop/registration
They indicate that they have 4G LTE available, but I have not heard anyone using it with a CDMA phone.
now if i choose need an access code and it brings me to a purchase screen does that mean it will work?
by the way it does not have a sim card in it yet
I would give them a call. I know it can be bad sometimes to call them, but it would be better. I can’t answer the question for you. If you want to continue to use Verizon Towers, but not deal with the high prices, then check out Page plus. They only deal with Verizon and it should be much easier. I have heard of issues with ST and them bringing over Verizon phones.
I use Straight Talks SIM card, bring our own device program. I just purchased a SIM card, inserted it into an unlocked Android I bought and voila.
Color me stupid. I am not generally a totally techno idiot, but I feel thus at this juncture. I have a stupid phone with Straight Talk, Samsung GMA. I happen to live in no-where-ville Oregon. I use the $30 plan and do not come close to using the 1000 text/talk minutes.
I have been told, GMA has limited coverage and that I should obtain a CDMA phone for all around better service. I have researched this ad nauseam and have not come to any conclusions other than the phone I now possess is a pain in my arse.
I purchased the phone from Straight Talk and it has performed nominally for a year. The issues I have are:
1. When roaming it won’t allow me to access my voicemail.
2. The phone was set to PST and now has reset itself to RMT until I travel 20 miles north of my home, then it reverts back to PST. I cannot physically change it.
3. I too am unable to send or receive photos via text.
4. I am unable to update i.e. as with verizon *228 when contacting the company concerning this issue I receive no help what-so-ever.
When observing the coverage of GMA vs. CDMA it appears the GMA is better, however it does not seem so at this juncture.
Help!! Do I need to purchase a sim card for AT&T, which is a poor second for service in this area compared to Verizon. T-Mobile is defunct in this area. I do have a SIM number but no little card that I’m aware of, unless it came installed in the phone.
Any information, assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Hello Celeste,
GMA and CMDA work every differently in different parts of the country. It sounds that your phone is not very good and is having problems. If Verizon works best for you, then I would check out Page Plus. They are a Verizon MVNO that just deal with Verizon towers. They have a good service that could work for you. Verizon also now has no contract plans that start at $45 a month, I believe. If your current phone is already GMA, then it will be using either AT&T or T-Mobile towers already, so buying a different SIM is probably not going to do much for you.
How do I unlock my iphone 4s so that I can go to straight talk?
You need to ask your current carrier if they can unlock it. You can try to take a locked on to ST, but will need to head over to their website to see if you can bring it over locked.
Okay so I have a question about dual sim phones I just recently bought one for my mother and would like to know if I can even get it to work for her. And how I would do that? Please.
You should be able to do it with just the correct SIM card from Straight Talk.
I saw this page and I was wondering if I got a new unlocked BLU phone don’t yet know which one would I be able to use it with a straight talk plane? If so how? I have a bring your own phone kit. It says 4G LET and HSPA + available.
Thank you
You should be able to use an unlocked BLU phone. You just have to make sure it accepts SIM cards and then buy the right size from Straight Talk.
I have ST svc, using an AT/T phone and SIM as of now. Is it possible to switch my SIM to a Tracfone (GSM) phone and it work with ST?
I have not heard of anyone doing that Von. You would have to try it and see.
I just bought a ST starter pack and im was wondering if i am able to test out the network by activating it with a new number and if it works well then i want to port my number over. Is that possible? or do i have to do it right when i activate the account?
Hey Tyler, yes it is possible. The only thing that you have to do is buy another starter pack when you are ready to port your number over. Yes, it does cost money to get two starter kits, but it can be worth it if you don’t want to port your number over yet. This is exactly what I did when I tested it before I used it.
Hello I have Samsung Galaxy s3 with Tmobile that was given to me by a friend. I transferred over my verizon number to the S3 with Straight talk. ST confirmed the transfer went great but when I attempt to make a call I get error message: not registered on network. I have full bars I have reset taking out battery and SIM 100x I have followed everything I could try on Google nothing works…..
I assume you got the T-Mobile SIM card from Straight talk? If you did, then you would need to contact them about it. I do not know why it would be throwing that kind of error.
Hi ! I did not know straight-talk had a program where you can bring your phone. Can you please tell me how it works in simple terms. I read all the information and was just pretty confused. Like can any phone work? Would a HTC inspire phone work or a Samsung phone? If so, what is the process of getting it to be compatible with straight-talk? Please write back when you can. Thank you 🙂
Unfortunately, there are no real simple terms to how the program works. You buy a phone or bring one you have as long as it is compatible. You can check on Straight Talk’s site to see if it is compatible. You will have the best luck if your phone is unlocked and already using AT&T or T-Mobile. I have heard very few actually get a Verizon phone to work. If they say it will work, then you have to buy their SIM card kit, wait for it to be delivered, then follow the instructions in the packet. That is about as simple as I can go with it.
has there been much luck with unlocked phones through Verizon?
I have heard more and more are using CDMA phones, but I still think it is hit or miss.
Hi. I have a Sprint iPhone 5 with no service, but it’s activated. I bought the R-Sim 9 pro unlock (hardware unlock) for it; it works, just not on verizon (my family carrier) or sprint for that matter (I think it’s because I’m trying to unlock CDMA (Sprint) to CDMA (Verizon). And I was wondering if I could get the Straight Talk sim for it and use 4G/3G and MMS/SMS. I know that the Straight Talk sim is GSM, but my R-sim unlocks GSM (worked for China telecom roaming on AT&T). I heard that the CDMA code works with no SIM card but only works on iPhone models below the 5 (4/4S). So I need some help. I read your write-up on this site and it was helpful, I just need to know if my unlock will work for MMS/SMS/4G/3G. Thanks in advance!!!
I can’t help you here with that. I don’t deal with unlock software and especially doing it with a CDMA phone. Staight Talk has a CDMA service, but I haven’t heard good things about it. You can always purchase service for a month on a new number and see if it works. That will cost you $45, but you don’t have to worry about complicating your number if things go wrong.
Hi,
I am considering to buy a straight talk SIM card on the BYOP program, and I have a few questions. I have a Sprint iPhone 5 with no service, but is activated. I’m wondering if I buy a straight talk sim for AT&T, could I use 4G/MMS? The phone itself is not unlocked but I have an R-Sim 9 pro hardware unlock for it (a sim interposer) and it does not work for Verizon (my family carrier) but works for other GSM carriers. (Also, ST is a lot cheaper than VZ.) I just want to know if 4G/3G/SMS/MMS will work on it and if I need to buy the “CDMA code” for it (I heard it doesn’t work for iPhone 5). Thanks in advance!
I replied to your other comment. Sorry for the delay. I recommend you just by the CDMA code with a new number and try it out. Don’t lock your number up if it doesn’t work. This is what I did in order to test the service.
Great review, Grayson! My wife and I have been thinking about availing this service for some time but we wanted to make sure it’s working good before we do. Our cell phones are pretty essential to our work and we can’t afford to have a crappy provider. Thanks for sharing this!
Thank you Jeremy. It is a good program and uses AT&T towers, so you should have good service.
I am using the galaxy s3, and I can not send or receive picture messages. I have tried everything I can think of, but nothing works. How can I fix this problem?
Many people talk about having issues with Straight Talks’s MMS, but all you can do is try different MMS settings in your APN. Try the proxy settings in this thread…http://forums.androidcentral.com/t-inspire-4g/325406-cant-send-receive-picture-messages-straight-talk-att-htc-inspire.html
Hey, I was wondering..If I bought a Samsung Galaxy s3 from Boost Mobile, could I switch it over to Straight Talk?
Quick answer is no.
Quick question. I am currently on Virgin Mobile network. I recently bought an Iphone 5 online on ebay. Not an 5c or 5s. I need to purchase a sim card for it. I called and Virgin will not sell me a sim card because i did not purchase the phone from them and said I cannot use that phone on their network that it has to be a 5c or 5s. My plain 5 is unlocked and originally with verizon. It has the same frequency that virgin uses so I am confused. I want to use my plain 5 phone on a network but do not which sim to buy. when I talked with verizon, they will sell me one but the service is close to $100. I noticed verizon only sells 5c and 5s as well but my 5 will work with their network. Do you have any ideas on how my 5 will work on the virgin mobile network or will I be able to use straight talk as well without a contract and unlimited talk, text and some data? thank you.
Sorry for the late reply Jackie. Virgin Mobile doesn’t allow you to bring your own phone. You have to buy a phone through them. This is why they won’t set you up or sell you a SIM. Yes, the phone can work on Virgin (aka Sprint), but the don’t do it. I would go to Straight Talk and use their CDMA compatibility tool to see if your phone will work on their network. Their tool can typically tell you quickly.
Another option is to try Boost Mobile. They allow you to bring your phone and they are using Sprint, as is Virgin. Their price is better than Verizon. If you want the Verizon service, you can also try out PagePlus. They are a Verizon MVNO and cheaper than Verizon.
Hi Grayson,
I was curious how long have you used the Straight Talk service (if you are still using it)? I’m currently looking to leave Verizon for a low cost provider and it seems like ST is the best deal. Did you ever have any service disruptions (calls, texts or data)? I live in NYC and figured on the ATT network service shouldn’t be an issue but I neevr used a service other than VZ or ATT and was interested in your experience.
Thanks!
Dan
Hey Dan,
I used Straight Talk for about a year. I have moved on to Cricket Wireless, which uses AT&T. I didn’t have any problems with ST and the service worked fine for me. If you like Verizon’s service and you have a Verizon phone, have you thought about Page Plus? They are an MVNO for Verizon and you can get a cheaper rate for relatively the same service.
Thanks Grayson! I had not heard of them, I will definitely look at them as well, thanks for the quick reply very much appreciated! Keep up the great work!
You are most welcome Dan. They are lesser known, but I’ve had many tell me they are good. If you have a phone which will work on AT&T and can accept SIM cards, then both Cricket and Straight Talk are good.
I am currently using straight talk. I WANT to buy a an unlocked iphone 5s. Will I be able to use the BYOP WITH Straight Talk on this model iphone?
Hello Jimmy. Yes, you can use an iPhone 5s on Straight Talk. They even sell the phone.
Do not for any reason whatsoever think about straight talk for a phone. They have been a month replacing a warranty phone. Refused to let me buy a new one and get credit when the defective one was returned. Literally, a month to get a replacement when I paid to ship the broken one back because I waited for 10 days to get a waybill to send the broken one back without response. That was 2 weeks ago. Worst customer service ever. You will hate your self if you choose the cheap price, not worth it.
Sorry to hear about your experience when you bought a phone through them. I only reviewed their BYOP program as I like getting my phones at a discount.
Tmobile to ST. Hmm.. been a solid week, and I have had 7 conversations. and 2 emails sent to them. No resolve. As of today, my now USELESS Iphone 4s, has lost all service. Only when I am connected to wifi can I send texts to iphone users only. No phone call service, texts to non iphone users or data. The NO SERVICE is in the corner of my phone. The Tech support doesm’t understand why. The only thing they will do for me is reset my phone. Was advised that that still probably wouldn’t work. Was told they don’t have any other options. hmhh… new phone, new sim card that worked fine until today, and now only limited to WIFI conncetion use to iphones only. I am so fed up and frustrated I seriously don’t know what to do.
I wish I had a solution for you April. The good thing is you no contract, so just leave. Try out Cricket Wireless.
I have very limited cell phone use, but like my smartphones. I am wondering if I buy a factory unlocked smartphone ( blu) after the initial activation (which I read requires the $45 plan) can I downgrade to the “all you need” $30 plan ? I cant seem to find this info anywhere on the site and would rather eat glass than deal with calling their customer service. Please help!
I do believe they won’t let you do that with a smartphone. I think a smartphone requires the $45 plan, especially for data. If you don’t use your phone that much, have you thought about the Republic Wireless plans?
Hi Grayson! First let me say, Straight Talk should offer you a job!!
My son had service with them for about a year and I enjoyed it-other than the occasional complaint from him that the network wasn’t working. Unfortunately, I decided to add him back to my AT&T plan for whatever reason-to get a new phone I believe. Anyway, I have been with AT&T for about 17 years. A few weeks ago, I made a partial payment of my bill. I guess I must have forgotten to pay the balance, and it rolled over to my new bill and they shut off my service-which includes 3 phones and 2 Ipads. My son and husband were about 4 hours away at a hunting lease, with no way for me to call them or let them know. Anyhow, AT&T was not willing to work with me at all, and said that my full amount had to be paid to restore my service, about $500.I literally almost threw up!!
I’d like to switch everyone in my family over to straight talk!! I have the Iphone 5, my husband has the Iphone 5s, and my son has the Motorola moto X. I am not to concerned about my son’s #, however, my husband and I have had the same #’s for quite a few years. Will AT&T simply let us have our #’s even though we are still under contract? Also, would it be as simple as buying the micro sim, installing it, activating, and then requesting your number be transferred?
Thanks so much for all the time you have taken. Its nice for those of us who speak English!!
Well thank you Leslie! I wouldn’t take it though!
I don’t have good news for you. You won’t be able to switch. AT&T won’t let you walk away in contract with a balance due. They will hold your numbers and they have every legal right to do so. Unless you pay your balance, your numbers are going to be locked and can’t be moved.
The process would be as simple as buying the SIM cards, buying the ST service and having the numbers transferred, but you won’t get those numbers without paying.
Sorry!
I have been online for 6 hours looking at info and can not get a good answer….or the answers were outdated..I even called ST and went on their forum. I just ordered a IPhone 4s Verizon from Groupon. ST states that I can bring a CDMA phone over on their BYOP program. However, some people say it works and some say it does not. How do I know this without the esn number? Do you think it will work? ST’s site says cdma byop will not work on certain phones and phones with LTE? Any advice would be appreciated. On the ST site they have, “Some CDMA, LTE phones (including iPhone 5, 5c &5s) are not compatible with this program”…..
I’m sorry you are having issues Savannah. CDMA works very differently than GSM. You can’t find the answer to your question because there is no answer. I wouldn’t bring a CDMA phone to Straight Talk. There are too many issues with it from what I hear. If you have a Verizon compatible phone, why not try out the Verizon ALLSET program? It’s cheaper and has 4G LTE. You can read more about it here.
Been a straighttalk subscriber for almost 2 years using my samsung s2.it was time to upgrade to a Samsung s5 , SO I purchased an AT&T phone on eBay. Purchased SIM card through straight talk, Changed the APN settings that was on StraightTalks website, and it all took less then 5 mins to do! Now I have 4G LTE !!!!
Thanks for the feedback Ray! I know a lot of people who are happy with Straight Talk and it’s nice to see how easy it was for you to switch over to a new phone.
For the last 3 years I have been a straight talk customer using iphones and google nexus android phones. I have seen the changes in service and still the best option you can have. I use the ” bring your own phone program” and need to be honest…. I am saving a lot of money with the deals. I used to pay AT&T 130.00 for basic 2 lines service with gubernatorial employee discount and now I am paying 96.00 for the same service with straight talk. I am saving 408.00 a year, which is very convenience when you are a single mother with a senior student!
A friend of mine just tested the R-Sim 9 pro with a locked phone from Sprint to use it with straight talk and also works. Sprint phones are very hard to unlock and even unlocked is not guarantee that will work with other carriers. Even with the new law about unlocking carrier phones, Sprint managed to make it very difficult to do so. They ask for standing account, no problems with payments and other stuff. My friend bought that little r-sim 9 pro card and made the Sprint locked phone work with straight talk. It is a process to follow with that sim card but it work. So there is a good news for the ones that have iphones that are locked with Sprint! BTW The straight talk lowered the price on the sim cards. I got mines for .99 each. just now on dec. 2014!
Thank you for your feedback Maria. This will certainly help others looking at Straight Talk as an alternative to the other carriers.
Have you heard anything about ST with an unlocked Amazon Kindle Fire phone? I’m about to try it.
I have not heard anything about it, but good luck and let me know if it works.
Can you buy any Verzion or At&T phone? or can you by the phone from the stright talk web sight. I’ve been on the phone all morning with stright talks customer service and all I can say is “bless it” how horrible. The guy tells me to buy a phone with No CDMA I’m totally lost….I ordered two phones in Dec. from stright talk and come to find out they are T-Mobile and DO NOT work for me in my area.. Please help for I’m not very smart when it comes to buying phone. I’ve always had Altell and now they no longer are availible.
I want to use stright talk but have no Idea what phone to purchase that will work.
If you want to use Straight Talk, I would recommend getting an unlocked GSM phone from AT&T or online. I have heard issues with Verizon phones on Straight Talk, so you shouldn’t go that route. You need to get the phone, then get the AT&T SIM card from Straight Talk. Just buy the phone from somewhere else, then just buy the SIM card. It’s easier.
Hi I have had ST for a couple of years and have been satisfied but am considering switching to walmarts family mobile mainly because of being able to get the phone I want 100 dollars cheaper and the five dollar savings for two lines. Grandkids really want a phone. Was wondering if the service is pretty similar to ST. Any help is appreciated. Might share I’m 60 miles from the nearest Walmart and not very technical savy. Thanks
Well, what service are you using on Straight Talk? Are you getting AT&T’s cell service or T-Mobile’s? I only ask as Walmart Family Mobile is just T-Mobile. If you want to really save money, then just get your grandkids the $30 plan from T-Mobile, which has a lot of data, but very few minutes (100). You can also think about Republic Wireless. They have plans starting at $5 per month. I have reviewed all three plans. Check out my Walmart Family Mobile review, how to get the T-Mobile $30 plan, and my Republic Wireless review. These should provide me insight.
Hi! I just want to say I had a Sprint Unlimited plan for over 15 years. It was 99 a month, but actually over 150 with taxes and fees. My service with Sprint was spotty at best, there were several times last year where there would be no service at all. I rarely got picture mail within 48 hours of it being sent. I am in Houston, nearly all towers are 4g/LTE. I should have had good service. My final straw with Sprint came when my daughters cheap $30 Straightalk phone consistently got better service, better coverage, and better data speeds on 3g, than my Galaxy on LTE. I got on Amazon, found me a nice smartphone (Blue LifeOne) then got the BYOP kit for $55, it came with both ATT & T-Mobile sims, I chose ATT. I ported my 15+ year old number. I had my service in under an hour. At first my texts weren’t going thru, but when I double checked the data settings, I realized it was my error. I fixed that and have had great service ever since. Both my daughter and I get better service than I did from Sprint. Her phone bounces off Verizon, she 3G, I’m 4, yet seem to both have the same great service. After purchasing both phones, and buying 2 1 year plans, plus the set up 1 month cards, (13 months service) I’ve spent $1300. Roughly 8 months of 1 Sprint Unlimited plan. So ST is a deal. The Data is unlimited too. The first 3G’s are high-speed, the rest are 3g mobile speeds. They are not bad. My daughters rolls about 2 weeks into a new month, and it is slower on you tube and streaming, but everything else is pretty good. I’ve since gotten high-speed internet and Wi-Fi at home. If I paid monthly, 2 phones, high speed internet, my Wi-Fi for up to 21 devices is $15 less per month than 1 Sprint Unlimited. I highly recommended ST, just do your research, decide what you need, and go from there.
Thanks for the great resource. I’m looking to make a change from AT&T and this looks like a nice option!
Hello Grayson,
Thanks for such thorough information! It really helps those of us who are too busy and not tech savy enough wade through the issues. I’m currently paying Verizon about $215/mo for two mobile lines, 1 home line and FIOS internet connection. I desperately need something cheaper. In addition to checking out ST, I’m also going to check into the others you mentioned: Page Plus and Cricket Wireless. My question is do I have to cancel my plan with Verizon first? My contract expires in May and also do the other plans offer a bundled package similar to Verizon i.e., home internet and a home line service.
Thanks much!
Hello Valeria,
You’re going to be hard pressed to find a solution that offers all three. Straight talk has mobile service and home phone service, but they do not provide internet service to your house. Only a few companies carry such an offer. I think Verizon and AT&T are the only ones that can offer such packages deals with all three.
Ok, thank you. If I have to separate the services I’m willing to do it if it will save me money in the long run. Do you have recommendations for providers who offer home internet service at more affordable rates?
Home internet and affordable are two terms which don’t got together well. Unfortunately, those services are typically held by the big telecom companies, such as Cox, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Verizon, & AT&T. You can pit the few services against each other, but a low cost doesn’t really happen often. I only have two services to choose from in my area for high-speed internet and they don’t move much on price.
Ok understood. Thanks!
Sorry, I couldn’t be of more help. If you have any other questions, please let me know!
I have a at&t phone currently on service with them. If i do the bring your own phone and use my current phone which st says is able to switch. Is my phone considered to be unlocked sense it currently has service. Once the phone is canceled will it effect my phone service through st?
Many of the newer phones are already unlocked, but you can ask AT&T to confirm. I’m not sure I know what you mean by your phone being cancelled. If you have already paid for the phone, then it’s yours. You can do what you want with it. If you did one of AT&Ts monthly payment plans for the phone, then you have to pay for it before you can move services.
Hi, I’m currently a Straight Talk customer – I have the Samsung Centura (for about 1.5 years now) and it is acting up now! I don’t know if the battery is dying overall, or if there is not enough RAM… ?
I cannot get my music/photos/videos so save to my SD card (14 GB SD card I purchased separately) – everything saves to my internal memory (it says USB memory). So I wonder if that has something to do with my phone freezing / turning off randomly / acting up in general.
I’m thinking of buying a new phone. Should I buy one online from ebay or something and BYOP to Straight Talk? What should I look for when trying to purchase a new phone so that it is faster, doesn’t freeze up, etc.? I don’t have a phone in front of me to enter in the information and “check the compatibility” like the website says to.. and I don’t want to buy another phone if it won’t work with StraightTalk.
Sorry to hear about your phone. It’s probably full of music/photos/videos and not enough RAM to handle it all. I would look for an unlocked phone that works on GSM. One good phone is the Moto X 2nd Gen. It’s a great phone for sure. Fast processing and plenty of space. I know that phones works on Straight Talk. Depending on the phone, you might need to buy a new SIM card. I would look on eBay or Amazon. I have purchased phones from both with good experiences.
Horrible and Horrible Customer Service Reps. The company is out of florid and because of identity theft be ready for your bank to make you unblock your payment each month before you can pay. SUCKS!
What does Straight Talk have to do with identity theft? Did they steal your identity or did you have someone do it and then, because of your bank security, you had to unblock your payment? While I would say their customer service leaves some to be desired, you didn’t provide any information about identity theft and that’s the first time I heard of someone blaming Straight Talk for it.
im wanting to change my phone to straight talk its t mobile and i dont get good signal at all if i change over will i get better signal? i use to have straight talk but i used one of there phones i didnt bring my own
Well, you need to switch to Straight Talk and get the AT&T service then. Don’t switch and have them give you the T-Mobile SIM card. It will not be any better and could actually be worse.
From reading all the posts, it sounds like its pretty safe to buy an AT&T or Unlocked Galaxy s5 or s6 phone, but how can you be sure if ST has the Sim Cards for the newer phones like the S5 and S6.
The Galaxy S5 has a micro-sim card slot, which ST sells. The S6 uses the nano-sim card, which ST also sells (iPhones use the nano-sim).
thank you so i need to get the at&t straight talk sim?
That’s what I would recommend.
A couple of things to be aware of with StraightTalk, based upon my current experience:
– With the BYOP program, you will not have group texting available, at least if you have a GSM-type phone, such as those from AT&T’s service. It took me quite a while to finally get this answered by ST. (This may also be true of all other Tracfone programs; it is certainly true of Net 10.)
– The coverage map is really only for voice. You will find many places with 4 bars of coverage that won’t allow you to text or use other data. Don’t be fooled by that map!
This company’s service is fine. Their customer service not so fine. This is another sorry company that has decided to outsource to the philippines. God help you if you need to contact them. Most you can’t understand or they will put in transfer hell. Your initial contact with one of their filipino droids won’t know what to do so they will want to transfer you. Even after you’ve pressed 20 buttons as to what your problem is in their stupid menu system. You may even be transferred 2 or 3 more times since they still can’t understand a simple thing you’re trying to accomplish. Good luck ! !
I’ve been looking for a new phone and found a virgin mobile, will it work with ST
No, Virgin Mobile phones are locked to Virgin Mobile. They don’t work outside of VM.
I have AT&T at present. Poor coverage in my area. Can I use straight talk BYOP on s different network such as Verizon with my AT&T phone with the straight talk sim?
Thanks
I highly doubt you will be able to use your AT&T phone on Verizon. They use two different networks and bands.
The old Samsung phone I’m using (because AT&T locked out my iphone for nonpayment) has other access points to fill in that are not on the list. What is the Proxy, port, user name, password, server, mcc, mnc, authentication type, apn type, and bearer supposed to be? Mine still won’t download pics. Is it because these aren’t filled in? Also, the straight talk website’s has something different in the table. I’m just not sure which to use and if I need to have these other things filled in or just what you have in the table. Thanks!!
You should go with what is on the ST site. This is an older post, so the information may have changed.
Wow, you have helped a lot of people over the years! It’s appreciated.
I have never had luck with the Straight Talk phones. For the last year I have been using a BYOP Verizon phone (S3) on Straight Talk for the last year. It worked great until my niece broke it. I would like to purchase another phone and use on the BYOP plan. Where do you suggest to look? Do I search for Verizon phones and unlocked phones? All help is appreciated. Thanks.
I never had luck with Verizon phones on Straight Talk, so it’s good to see that you did. You can search for unlocked verizon phones on eBay to see if you can find any. The main thing is to look and see if the phone will work on ST and if they cellular band will match up with what Straight Talk offers.
can i use straight talk iphone 6 in india??
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-Talk-Apple-iPhone-6-LTE-16GB-Prepaid-Smartphone/39665237
I don’t have an answer to that question. You would need to contact them.
I have never been so thoroughly disgusted with straight talk. I had an iphone 4s and upgraded to a 5s 4 months ago. My phone number never transferred completely to my new iphone 5s. The new phone never worked correctly and after spending nearly 20 hours on and off the phone with the worst customer service, my iphone still didn’t work. No credits appeared in my account either. I had NUMEROUS missed and dropped calls as well. It would take me 7-8 tries to get the phone to make a call. I finally decided to take my business elsewhere, but needed to purchase ANOTHER iphone 5s to do this. VERY dissatisfied FORMER straight talk user.
In the straight talk byop package, it come a with 3 different SIM cards, can I use more than one of these SIM cards on two different phones? Or do I need to buy another to use on the other phone?
All of those SIMS use the same identification number, so only one phone and you’d have to buy another package for another phone.
Don’t get Strait Talk. A couple years ago my phone randomy stopped recieving service even though I just paid the bill. I brought back the recipt and the card i bought and no one was able to belp me. When I told walmartthey refused to give me a refund and just told me to call Straight Talk who lied and said they would send me a new phone. Its been 2 years and no word from them. I called multiple times and got the same result. I looked online to see if anyone else had this issue and others recieved the same treatment. Straight Talk should be ashamed. I enjoyed their service until then. I would have been their champion.
Straight talk now gives 10 gig before slowing you down on the BYOP plan. This started in October.
I pre-pay for my phone service and during the month I prepaid the cellular data stopped working in the middle of big city where I work. I called and spoke to three representatives for over an hour and none of them spoke clear enough English to understand well, think understanding every third word and trying to put it together like a puzzle. I asked to be transferred to a supervisor who couldn’t speak or understand English well. She told me my data works fine (even though I have zero data in the city). I prepaid for a service that Straight Talk stopped providing and they do not hire customer service that can speak understandable English or resolve technical issues.