Straight talk zte z288l hotspot experience

I have experience with ST hotspot but I think it is only 3g and it uses Verizon. It appears they may have 4g now but it is through AT&T. Maybe I am wrong....which one are you wanting info on.

It is 4g LTE straight talk on Verizon at wallmart now for sale.

Sorry I don't find a 4g Verizon hotspot on ST. Got a link to it?

There are two new ZTE Straight Talk 4G LTE Hotspots that have just become available. One is on Verizon (the Z288L), the other is on AT&T (Z289G).

Neither is currently available online. The Z289G is listed online but is indicated as "out of stock" as of today (Sunday Nov 2). click here

Both have been reported available at certain Walmart stores. I've seen the Z288L (the one on Verizon) on the shelves at a Walmart last Wednesday. Some Walmart locations will have the one on Verizon, others will have the one on AT&T depending on what part of the country you're in.

Reports I've seen online so far indicate that both are "throttled" ...in other words, are limited to speeds lower than true 4G LTE speeds. Someone has reported the Z288L is possibly "throttled" to 3.5 Mbps down and 1.5 Mbps up ...which is the same speeds that PagePlus LTE phones are limited to (PagePlus being another TracFone division as is Straight Talk). He was getting download speeds just above 3Mbps and upload speeds of just over 1Mbps. He reported his ping times being very low, however (which is good) --in the 29-40 ms range that are typical 4G LTE ping times.

The AT&T model I've heard is also "throttled" but to a lesser extent than the one on Verizon.

I'm still going to wait until I see more speed reports from those purchasing the new Straight Talk Hotspots before I buy one. I'm interested in the one that uses Verizon.

Here is some preliminary information about both ...click here.

I will be watching this thread being I bought the 3G model a few months ago. It works great sometimes and sometimes I have it connected to a booster for a slow connection. I assume this has to do with where I am at. I am also assuming this will not change with a 4G model.

There seem to be 3 models, 288L, 288C, and 289?. Walmart seems to be the only seller of these hotspots. The 288C is on sale on Black Friday for $49.99. The only problem is in the 2 zip codes I put in it would not work. Supposedly it is in stock at my local Walmart but the local zip won't work with it. Ber careful what you buy.

swphotobug wrote:
... The only problem is in the 2 zip codes I put in it would not work. ....

I think that listing on the Walmart is not really active yet. I did a search on the Walmart site and came up with the same unit twice. The $99 unit does work in most ZIP codes I enter, the $49 unit with the same description does not work in ANY ZIP code!!! It shows "out of stock online" and not available in any store. I suspect that the listing will go active on Thanksgiving or Black Friday. Both units show 288C in the description which Straight Talk does not recognize so the C seems particular to the Walmart website.

The Z288L is Verizon, the Z289G is AT&T and I think the Z289L is T-mobile .... as far as I can figure now.

From reading various comments and looking at many different plans as I run across different names to check out, it seems that they are all very limited in the data allowance for the fee , or very little data and then you are throttled. We have been researching for several months and have not found anything that is worthwhile for us without being cost prohibitive.

Straight Talk is a real hit and miss service. Straight Talk uses four networks (AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile). Look at the color of US map on the front. The agents will NOT tall you what network the phone will be on. You have to check the color of the US map.

I was VERY unhappy with a Straight Talk phone through Verizon (red map). You end up on their pre-pay network which is MUCH smaller than their contract network. For an RV'er, that smaller network doesn't work. I switched to a Straight Talk AT&T phone (blue map) and have been MUCH more satisfied. I bought an unlocked GSM phone and the Straight Talk SIM card for AT&T.

I just purchased a Straight Talk hotspot (model ZTE Z289G) with the blue map (AT&T). I'll have to see how well that works.

Straight Talk can be a great service if you understand what you are buying. If you stay in one area that has good coverage, it can be a great value. If you are mobile (RV'er), you need to do more research to avoid being disappointed.

I have an ATT phone via Straight Talk and have been happy with is service. We travel a lot and have always had service.

I am interested in the Verizon Hot Spot service, I ordered it today(Black Friday).