Straight Talk for Cellular

Halm · 07-14-2012, 12:10 PM

I heard about these guys on another forum and started checking them out. I can come close to cutting my AT&T bill in half and increase my talk minutes from 450 to 1,000, not that I ever use the 450.

The down side is their customer service based on what I am finding. Also it doesn't appear that I can move my sim card among my phones easily.

Anyone have any more comments about them? This almost seems to be too good to be true.

Rick V · 07-14-2012, 01:39 PM

Also look at Boost, I had them for a few years and it was great, until Nextel shut down the tower I used at home

dennis in se pa · dennis in se pa's Garage

I have ST. Great service. Around here they use ATT or Verizon towers depending on your service. Forget about customer service over the phone. You get Central Americans (English is the second language) with no brains. If they come to the USA they will be qualified to work for TSA!

I use Facebook to get customer service and that works. Each sim is matched to a phone. So they will move your # to the sim in the new phone. Do that via FB trust me.

Teutonics · Teutonics's Garage

My techie brother in law switched he and my sister over a couple of months ago. They both love the unlimited everything, and so far haven't mentioned any issues. If I didn't have a company provided phone, I would be switching too. I guess that would be an indirect endorsement...

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

Will this work with an iPhone? They don't have removable sims that I know of and I know nothing about how this all works, but the prospect of shaving half off my monthly bill in exchange for giving up customer service that I never use anyway (and AT&T isn't exactly known for anyway) is awfully enticing.

Halm · 07-14-2012, 05:39 PM

Actually, depending on which iPhone you have, There is a sim. The first 2 had a standard size sim, and the 4's use mini-sims. Straight Talk talks about a iPhones so I guess they support them.

dennis in se pa · dennis in se pa's Garage

You will need to buy a ST phone. There are a few that can "come over" but not many. Search on FaceBook for Straight Talk.

stomachmonkey · 07-15-2012, 05:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Will this work with an iPhone? They don't have removable sims that I know of and I know nothing about how this all works, but the prospect of shaving half off my monthly bill in exchange for giving up customer service that I never use anyway (and AT&T isn't exactly known for anyway) is awfully enticing.

iPhone sims are removable, they even give you the little tool (paperclip) in the box.

SM sounds interesting but looks like no family plans?

stomachmonkey · 07-15-2012, 06:22 AM

Hmm, even at $45 straight for 3 phones I would save $50 a month.

But I still have the coveted/grandfathered AT&T unlimited data.

May pull the daughters phone off family and give it a try.

She costs me $9 for the line but we are upgrading her to a smartphone this year so I'll be in for another $30 on data anyway.

Halm · 07-15-2012, 07:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

. . . But I still have the coveted/grandfathered AT&T unlimited data. .

It has been reported on a couple of smartphone websites that AT&T is going to force people off those plans. And FWIW, ST has unlimited data on all plans $45 and above.

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

Quote:

Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile

Will this work with an iPhone? They don't have removable sims that I know of and I know nothing about how this all works, but the prospect of shaving half off my monthly bill in exchange for giving up customer service that I never use anyway (and AT&T isn't exactly known for anyway) is awfully enticing.

All AT&T iPhones have a SIM card.

Porsche-O-Phile · Porsche-O-Phile's Garage

You're right - I did some checking on this. Sounds promising - I may try it. My AT&T contract is up in a couple of months and I'd love to not renew it...

http://www.google.com/search?q=iphone+4+sim&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en&client=safari#miuv=0

http://m.straighttalksim.com/view/page/p/88719/straighttalksim-mobile-home

http://www.idownloadblog.com/2012/05/03/the-silent-iphone-partner/

Halm · 07-16-2012, 04:40 AM

What got me started looking into this was a few guys discussing integrating ST with Google Talk: get a Google Talk account and port your current cell phone number to it. The forward all calls from Google Talk to the new ST phone / phone number.

I don't know what happens with Caller ID in that scenario, but like using TZO for DNS, once your account is there, it doesn't matter who the physical provider is.

stomachmonkey · 07-16-2012, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Halm

It has been reported on a couple of smartphone websites that AT&T is going to force people off those plans. And FWIW, ST has unlimited data on all plans $45 and above.

They are throttling above 3 GB.

I love how limited "unlimited" really is.

So with ST you bring your own equipment which means no subsidized phone upgrades.

Hmm

red-beard · red-beard's Garage

I couldn't find any information on how the phones work outside the US.

TimT · 04:25 PM

Sort of old thread.....

What are peoples real world experiences with Straight Talk? After examining my bill from Verizon (Big Red) I decided there has to be a better way.. The mysterious surcharges etc... add up!!!

Id rather have a pre-paid then post-paid service any day...Straight Talk $45/Mo unlimited talk/text/ data ...... yes I know data gets throttled after 2.5GB use...

My typical months data usage is about 1Gb (crafty use of smart actions and Wi-Fi)

Recently Google came out with a new Nexus... $349 unlocked for 16Gb storage.. $399/32Gb

Nexus 5

This is making it really easy to say goodbye to Big Red.. Just wondering if those who made the jump are satisfied?

Halm · 11-22-2013, 04:41 PM

ST and AT&T got into a pissing contest before I could pull the trigger and port my number. So now, it is either T-Mobile or Verizon with them.

AT&T has started their own prepaid service, Aio Wireless. Pretty close to what ST was offering. I may well go that way.

And I got a Nexus 5 yesterday. It is one of the few phones that I knew I would keep within 15 minutes of basic configuration. Just a touch (1/32") longer than my old Gnex. Great screen, really fast and feels great in the hand despite being an all plastic phone.

TimT · 11-22-2013, 05:10 PM

Quote:

ST and AT&T got into a pissing contest before I could pull the trigger and port my number. So now, it is either T-Mobile or Verizon with them.

Straight Talk is still offering ATT sims... Wonder if they stopped pissing.

Many phones wont work on Verizons 4G band, apparently the whole Verizon data network uses different protocols than the other providers... and off contract Verizon phones will not work with other carriers 4G and LTE networks...

Which is why I cant wait to get away from them..

Nexus 5 and a prepaid.....

F Verizon

Halm · 11-22-2013, 05:17 PM

Right you are. ST is offering a AT&T SIM again. Now I'll have to compare plans again.

motion · 11-22-2013, 05:47 PM

I am digging thru this maze, consequently. I've heard that Straight Talk doesn't support visual voicemail on the iPhone. Not sure if that's true or not. I ordered an unlocked iPhone 5S from Apple for AT&T. Now, just gotta decide between Straight Talk, Aio and the pre-paid service AT&T offers on their website.