Straight Talk question about available phones

[glen]

I was thinking about buying a TMO Samsung Galaxy S 3 outright, and using it on Straight talk. I called them to see if that would work. The customer service guy said it only worked with the phone available on the Straight talk website under my zip code, which BTW are all sort of crappy phones. Is there a way around this?

 

[Dulanic]

You can bring T-Mobile phones to straight talk you just need their T-Mobile SIM.

http://www.straighttalk.com/ShopSims

 

[ilkhan]

Buy phone
Buy Straight Talk (T-Mobile) SIM
Activate SIM
Insert SIM in phone
Talk/Text/Surf.

 

[glen]

Is there any down side to them?

 

[ImDonly1]

Is there any down side to them?

Awful customer service, caps/throttle, uncertainty, no roaming, shaddy company. Otherwise no.

Depending on how many minutes you need, I would rather get t-mobile's $30/mo plan with 100 min, unlimted text, 5gb of data.

 

[klod]

Depending on how many minutes you need, I would rather get t-mobile's $30/mo plan with 100 min, unlimted text, 5gb of data.

Link please? Not finding it. Thanks!

 

[soulcougher73]

Link please? Not finding it. Thanks!

http://prepaid-phones.t-mobile.com/prepaid-plans

 

[Plugers]

I'm signing up for that plan soon also, my Nexus should be showing up tomorrow as well as my T-Mobile SIM.

I will be trying it with GrooveIP and seeing how that works out, if not I'll try straight talk.

 

[Bman123]

Don't waste your time using groove IP I did it and went to straight talk

 

[CrystalBay]

the new tm sg3 use micro sim that tmoblie will not sell on the $30 plan.

you need to do surgery to cut the sim down to use on the $30 plan.

 

[gregulator]

Don't waste your time using groove IP I did it and went to straight talk

Can you elaborate? I am thinking of switching to the Tmobile $30 plan and using grooveIP. My Verizon bills are killing me, and I am fine taking a cut in terms of coverage, but use an average of 300-400 minutes a month. However, a lot of that is at home or the office and I can use wifi in both places. Any suggestions for a Tmobile phone? It seems as though the Google Galaxy Nexus is the best, but what about something for half the price?

Straight Talk is confusing the crap out of me regarding devices and providers, but I would guess being in Maine, they will likely use Verizon towers. After some reading, it seems that this would mean I have to buy a ST branded phone (unless I wanted to enter a legal gray area).

 

[AstroManLuca]

Can you elaborate? I am thinking of switching to the Tmobile $30 plan and using grooveIP. My Verizon bills are killing me, and I am fine taking a cut in terms of coverage, but use an average of 300-400 minutes a month. However, a lot of that is at home or the office and I can use wifi in both places. Any suggestions for a Tmobile phone? It seems as though the Google Galaxy Nexus is the best, but what about something for half the price?

Straight Talk is confusing the crap out of me regarding devices and providers, but I would guess being in Maine, they will likely use Verizon towers. After some reading, it seems that this would mean I have to buy a ST branded phone (unless I wanted to enter a legal gray area).

Straight Talk has contracts with all four major networks. Which one(s) you use depends on the phone. If you bring your own device, it will use either AT&T, T-Mobile, or both. You'll only access Verizon or Sprint towers if you buy a phone from Straight Talk, but I wouldn't recommend that.

 

[Zaap]

So any unlocked GSM phone will work with StraightTalk?

I've decided not to fall for Verizon's SGS3 trap- screw them. I'm holding off on upgrading and letting my plan expire in October. Brrr....long way to wait, but so be it. Had it with carriers and their hostility toward their customers.

So far I'm liking the idea of just buying a phone outright and using a sim card/ST service. I hardly use any data- the only thing I really care about is talk time and texting.

So is it possible I could get a phone like an unlocked LG 4x and use it? (The more I read about that thing, it seems perfect- quad core, huge screen, microSD slot, it's not 'kid-sister' roundish, it's actually not all that expensive... the damn thing is just near perfect.

I'm SURE there has to be a catch and it won't work on StraightTalk or anything else. There's always a ****ing catch with these things. I'm just sick of Verizon's nothing-but catches.

 

[soccerballtux]

Can you elaborate? I am thinking of switching to the Tmobile $30 plan and using grooveIP. My Verizon bills are killing me, and I am fine taking a cut in terms of coverage, but use an average of 300-400 minutes a month. However, a lot of that is at home or the office and I can use wifi in both places. Any suggestions for a Tmobile phone? It seems as though the Google Galaxy Nexus is the best, but what about something for half the price?

Straight Talk is confusing the crap out of me regarding devices and providers, but I would guess being in Maine, they will likely use Verizon towers. After some reading, it seems that this would mean I have to buy a ST branded phone (unless I wanted to enter a legal gray area).

grooveIP works acceptably if good wifi signal.

 

[soccerballtux]

So any unlocked GSM phone will work with StraightTalk?

I've decided not to fall for Verizon's SGS3 trap- screw them. I'm holding off on upgrading and letting my plan expire in October. Brrr....long way to wait, but so be it. Had it with carriers and their hostility toward their customers.

So far I'm liking the idea of just buying a phone outright and using a sim card/ST service. I hardly use any data- the only thing I really care about is talk time and texting.

So is it possible I could get a phone like an unlocked LG 4x and use it? (The more I read about that thing, it seems perfect- quad core, huge screen, microSD slot, it's not 'kid-sister' roundish, it's actually not all that expensive... the damn thing is just near perfect.

I'm SURE there has to be a catch and it won't work on StraightTalk or anything else. There's always a ****ing catch with these things. I'm just sick of Verizon's nothing-but catches.

no catches. AT&T network better. Just do research and make sure the radios it has will work with AT&T or T-Mobile or whoever it is you want to be with.

carriers pissing off a lot of people. They better watch out prepaid grew 30% last year, seeing it more and more on these forums, tons flocking to Straight Talk.

 

[Ksyder]

i also had good luck with groove ip... however, I'd be wary if you were on a network with lots of traffic... I'd assume that pretty low latency would be helpful in getting acceptable performance.

 

[ponyo]

You don't even need unlocked GSM phone with Straight Talk. AT&T and T-Mobile carrier locked phone will work as long as you get the compatible Sim card.

 

[Zaap]

no catches. AT&T network better. Just do research and make sure the radios it has will work with AT&T or T-Mobile or whoever it is you want to be with.

Thanks for the info. At least while I wait, I have several months to research all this.

carriers pissing off a lot of people. They better watch out prepaid grew 30% last year, seeing it more and more on these forums, tons flocking to Straight Talk.

I wish there would be a mass exodus. Lots of people complain about the horrible state of the US carriers, yet in the end, it's all the people putting up with their crap that lets them get away with it. Giving me a phony subsidized price on a crippled/bloated device just doesn't do it for me anymore.

 

[AstroManLuca]

The catch is their 2 GB data limit, and unlike other prepaid carriers, they will cancel your service if they determine you're too much of a burden. The others either cap you, throttle you, or charge overage.

It's fairly safe if you are careful and always use wifi when available. But that's the catch.

 

[Zaap]

Personally, I've never gone over 500MB in a month, and that's strictly from use in the car. The main places I am most of the time I'm wifi-covered. I'd literally have to drive 4x more to hit the limit.

So the Optimus 4x lists 4 bands, 850 900 1800 1900 and StraightTalk says it requires 850 and 1900 for GSM... so I'm assuming this means it would work? (I never assume anything is a no-brainer when it comes to phones and networks.)