I am on a Galaxy S4 with a Verizon paid up plan and am thinking of going to a Straight Talk plan from Walmart. I use my phone as a hotspot occasionally via PDANet+. I cannot find an answer as to whether I will be able to do that with the Straight Talk plan. The guy at Walmart couldn't tell me and I cannot find any where in the website to ask the question. Can anybody here tell me if I can use my Galaxy S4 as a hotspot occasionally if I quit Verizon and go with a Straight Talk plan?Barney

I have a Verizon branded Galaxy S4 that I purchased on eBay. I used it with Straight Talk and it worked fine with PDANet+. Straight Talk has a "Bring Your Own Phone" plan. Check the following site to see if your phone is compatible:https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/Activate/byop/

I'm curious as well...have you called Straight Talk customer service/tech support?

If you have the Verizon version of Straight Talk and your Verizon phone is unlocked, it should work no problem.

How do I know if my phone is unlocked? It was paid up over a year ago and my Verizon plan expired in January. According to the Straight Talk website my phone is compatible for a BYOP plan. I have not called them but probably will do so tomorrow.Thanks to all of you for your replies. I will update this when I find out something from them.Barney

BarneyS wrote:How do I know if my phone is unlocked? It was paid up over a year ago and my Verizon plan expired in January. According to the Straight Talk website my phone is compatible for a BYOP plan. I have not called them but probably will do so tomorrow.Thanks to all of you for your replies. I will update this when I find out something from them.BarneyVerizon should unlock it for you if you ask. If not, you can buy an unlock code for it on the web for around $5.

Verizon vs Straight Talk and hotspot | Good Sam Community

GoPackGo
Explorer
Mar 14, 2017
BarneyS - I just signed up for the new Verizon unlimited data plan and ported over my Iphone5 from Straight Talk. I am tethering off the phone now instead of using my Jetpack.

The Verizon plan gives me 10 gigs of 4G data, then drops to 3G but is unlimited. $80/month.

You can add a Jetpack for $20/month. That would come with it's own 10 gigs of 4G data, separate from the phone. I will add this option if 3G speeds are just too slow.

Have you considered this new plan ?
BarneyS
Explorer III
Mar 14, 2017
After reading through the WHOLE use policy, I have decided to just keep the Verizon plan I have even though it is a few dollars more than what
Straight Talk offers. It has always worked well when I needed it to and coverage is good everywhere we travel or stay.

I was just thinking I could save a few bucks but now think it may not be worth the risk losing the plan I have for a small gain. Thank you all for your posts! They were very helpful. :)
Barney
Tom_M1
Explorer
Mar 14, 2017
I had Straight Talk a year ago but changed to Tracfone last spring. Neither one allows tethering or hotspot use. I have PDANet+ installed on my S4 and it worked well with Straight Talk and still works with Tracfone. I don't know how they would detect the use of PDANet+.
MrWizard
Moderator
Mar 14, 2017
when you bring your own phone, you are NOT changing anything on the phone, it will still work as it always did, as long as 'data' is available on your new straight talk plan

how ever straight talks std policy is NO tethering allowed

i'm not up to date on any tether or hotspot options that can be purchased
ksg5000
Explorer
Mar 14, 2017
My recollection is that Straight Talk requires you to purchase an additional mobile data hot spot plan to be legit - the pricing on those plans are based date usage.
Gulfcoast
Explorer
Mar 14, 2017
My Straight Talk on Verizon tower phone's will not work as a hotspot.
Merrykalia
Explorer
Mar 14, 2017
Here is their "use" policy. If you read through it, you will see that tethering to a computer is not allowed in their use policy.

Straighttalk use policy
newman_fulltime
Explorer II
Mar 14, 2017
Not with a straight talk pgone and they as well do not allow tethering
crcr
Explorer
Mar 14, 2017
BarneyS wrote:
How do I know if my phone is unlocked? It was paid up over a year ago and my Verizon plan expired in January. According to the Straight Talk website my phone is compatible for a BYOP plan.

I have not called them but probably will do so tomorrow.
Thanks to all of you for your replies. I will update this when I find out something from them.
Barney

Verizon should unlock it for you if you ask. If not, you can buy an unlock code for it on the web for around $5.
BarneyS
Explorer III
Mar 14, 2017
How do I know if my phone is unlocked? It was paid up over a year ago and my Verizon plan expired in January. According to the Straight Talk website my phone is compatible for a BYOP plan.

I have not called them but probably will do so tomorrow.
Thanks to all of you for your replies. I will update this when I find out something from them.
Barney