Straight Talk phone service

[Bob_Vaughn]

We have had Verizon for our phones but the cost has gotten so expensive I am thinking of going with Straight Talk. It is about 1/2 the cost of what I am paying now. We hardly ever make or get calls.....so why shouldn't I?

[rjsurfer]

From what I'm have read there is a two step process to activate the unit when you buy it at Walmart, often its not done. Its worth a shot but go back there and ask or call the manufacturer about that.

Ron W.

[Bob_Vaughn]

Well You guys convinced me that ST would be swell to use.....So I went to the ST web site and checked the compatibility site. Yea my number said I can switch over....so off to Wal Mart and bought one kit for me and one kit for my wifes phone.....So I go on line to activate it and thats when things went to hell in a hand basket. I enter all the numbers then I get a message that my number is not valid....We have 4s iPhones. So I do not know what is wrong now.. I emailed ST and just waiting for their answer......PS the activation kits are non refundable so looks like I am out 125 or so dollars....

[Dutch_12078]

kohai wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:

kohai wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Be aware that you cannot tether or use a Straight Talk phone as a hotspot for data service for your other devices.

I believe this is one of those terms of service/fine print issues. I have ST and occasionally tether (not much). It isn't a phone limitation (I brought an unlocked phone to ST).

In googling about it, it looks like they may only get after you if you use too much. ST is only 3 gb of data, so if you're using it a LOT, it isn't the best option.

Yes, it's clearly stated in the ST terms of service. If you're willing to risk losing your service, go for it.

The FCC ruled that carriers offering tiered bandwidth pricing can't restrict tethering. That is why you now see the major carriers not restricting it on tiered plans.

It is unclear why ST, with a stated 3gb plan, passively restricts tethering.

The FCC ruled that the carriers couldn't restrict tethering, but Tracfone and its divisions are not carriers, only MVNO's. I wonder if the FCC ruling even applies to them. ST limits high speed data to 3GB per 30 day cycle, but total data is unlimited.

[ncscz]

americanrascal wrote:
... For all practical purposes I rarely have any signal anywhere I go.Now I must change out phones again if i stay with ST. Lesson learned-- be careful which network you connect with through ST-- which is dictated by the phone model you choose.
...

ST allows multiple phones on your account. Once you have registered them, it only takes a few minutes to go to the web page and transfer your number to a phone on a different network. I used to keep a Vzn phone & an Att phone. Then I moved the number between the phones as I moved around.

[kohai]

Dutch_12078 wrote:

kohai wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Be aware that you cannot tether or use a Straight Talk phone as a hotspot for data service for your other devices.

I believe this is one of those terms of service/fine print issues. I have ST and occasionally tether (not much). It isn't a phone limitation (I brought an unlocked phone to ST).

In googling about it, it looks like they may only get after you if you use too much. ST is only 3 gb of data, so if you're using it a LOT, it isn't the best option.

Yes, it's clearly stated in the ST terms of service. If you're willing to risk losing your service, go for it.

The FCC ruled that carriers offering tiered bandwidth pricing can't restrict tethering. That is why you now see the major carriers not restricting it on tiered plans.

It is unclear why ST, with a stated 3gb plan, passively restricts tethering.

[Robin1953]

Bob Vaughn wrote:
We have had Verizon for our phones but the cost has gotten so expensive I am thinking of going with Straight Talk. It is about 1/2 the cost of what I am paying now. We hardly ever make or get calls.....so why shouldn't I?

Take a look at Consumer Cellular as well. Although it is on the AT&T system I have been very satisfied with the service. I have no connection to the outfit but just a customer.

[Dutch_12078]

kohai wrote:

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Be aware that you cannot tether or use a Straight Talk phone as a hotspot for data service for your other devices.

I believe this is one of those terms of service/fine print issues. I have ST and occasionally tether (not much). It isn't a phone limitation (I brought an unlocked phone to ST).

In googling about it, it looks like they may only get after you if you use too much. ST is only 3 gb of data, so if you're using it a LOT, it isn't the best option.

Yes, it's clearly stated in the ST terms of service. If you're willing to risk losing your service, go for it.

[kohai]

When I moved houses, my Verizon phones had poor coverage at my new home. ATT was the better coverage so I switched to Straight Talk on the ATT network and brought my own phones (high end smart phones). I just got on Amazon and found unlocked phones that worked on the ATT network. I transferred my phone numbers and things have been good since then. I have not traveled yet, so I'm anxious to see how that turns out. I was happy with Verizon's coverage in rural Utah (but for some reason in the populated area at my new home they had poor coverage).

One note with ST: If you are going to transfer a phone number, do not activate the SIM card until you are ready to transfer the phone number. I activated the SIM card to test ST before transferring my phone numbers but then I couldn't transfer my number without getting a new SIM. They seem to encode the SIM somehow and they can try to switch the number but they run the risk of bricking the SIM somehow.

I had to go buy another SIM to have them set it up again with the transferred number. It was a hassle so I highly recommend planning ahead.

[kohai]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
Be aware that you cannot tether or use a Straight Talk phone as a hotspot for data service for your other devices.

I believe this is one of those terms of service/fine print issues. I have ST and occasionally tether (not much). It isn't a phone limitation (I brought an unlocked phone to ST).

In googling about it, it looks like they may only get after you if you use too much. ST is only 3 gb of data, so if you're using it a LOT, it isn't the best option.

[americanrascal]

Have been an ST customer for several years. Been through 2 phones and now on my third. The first one had a glitch and seemed to be dialing folks on the west coast even when it was turned off! Had to change numbers and phones at my expense which was frustrating. The second phone worked well for 2 years. Both the first 2 phones rode on the Verizon network and had good signal almost everywhere we went in the eastern US.

When I had to change out the worn out second phone I thought I had acquired a ST phone that rode the ATT network which should have been OK- but instead I accidentally acquired the phone they recommended for my area which was on the Sprint network. For all practical purposes I rarely have any signal anywhere I go.Now I must change out phones again if i stay with ST. Lesson learned-- be careful which network you connect with through ST-- which is dictated by the phone model you choose.

When traveling to Alaska last year we had no service option with Straight Talk while passing through Canada. We shut down service with ST for that month and connected with ATT on another phone with roaming while in Canada and AK.Started ST when we returned to the south.We're headed back to AK this year and will probably use ST entirely for the trip- with no service in Canada. My son says they have ST in AK now.

[Oilman]

Signed up the wife's phone with Straight Talk a little over a year ago. No problems whatsoever. We are on the verizon towers.

For my seldom used phone I went to Page-Plus Cellular prepaid. $80 for 2000 minutes. Minutes are good for 1 Year. I signed up in August and to date have used less than half my minutes. It will work out to about $7 a month. This is also on the Verizon towers and service is excellent.

[nineoaks2004]

We have been using TracFone for a couple of years and have had no problems, we use our phones seldom (especially me) and get double minutes for life on mine and triple minutes for life on the D/W phone.
We get reception here at home which we did not get with Verizon or A.T.T. It cost me 20.00 every 3 months for days and I get 120 min for the 20.00.

[fcooper]

RoyB wrote:
...text deleted

I am kinda in the same situation here paying so much for the Verizon Plans... I use the older Motorola DROID-X phones here...

I have to use the VERIZON NETWORK as that is the only one that works here where we live... ...text deleted

Roy Ken

Roy ...your Motorola DROID-X phone (what I use) is completely compatable with verizon prepaid, and much cheaper is page plus that runs on the verizon prepaid network (should be the same verizon coverage you now have). Check out a page plus dealer. Another new player using verizon prepaid network is puppy wireless cellular. Google "puppy wireless cellular" to find their web site. Sample rates from the puppy wireless site are


$7.95 - 50 Minutes, 50 Messages, 5mb of Data
$9.95 - 150 Minutes, 150 Messages, 15mb of Data
$11.95 - 250 Minutes, 250 Messages, 25mb of Data

Fred

[Skylark]

Bob, you can get prepaid unlimited talk and text with 500 mb of data for $45 per month, and with auto pay you get i gig of data from Verizon. More data is $20 for 3 gigs to be used up to 90 days.
If your phone is out of contract, or you own your phone you can get this plan.
I had an iPhone 5 for over 2 years using straight talk. I had no problems with talk and text but with data was extremely slow compared to my wife's 5 on the Verizon plan and she had better talk performance when out in the country. Now I understand that straightalk does have 4g lte if your phone has it. The FCC recently fined st for advertising unlimited data and throttling after 3 gigs. In fact if you had st and was throttled, or data turned off, you can file for a refund in a class action. Most of the time, I would get about 1 meg down and .25 mg upload while wife was getting 30 Meg's down and 20 Meg's up at the same place.
My son gave me a iphone 6 plus for Christmas and put me on his plan. We own 2 iphone 6 and 2 iPhone 5. If you own your own phone, Verizon give a $25 per phone discount. My phone is $15 per month plus data with unlimited talk and text. At the breakfast restaurant, I get 30 plus Meg's down and 20 plus megs up, at the same place, st never got over 1.5 megs. I will not go back to st.

[rexlion]

lampooner wrote:
Just a thought, you may want to look at Consumer Cellular before you make the final decision. They give discounts for seniors and have very inexpensive plans starting as low as $10 dollars per month. They are endorsed by AARP. They provide phone, text. internet, etc. They notify if you get close to a monthly limit. You have to the end of the month to upgrade your plan to get price break. You can also then downgrade the next month at no charge. I also believe there is no charge to switch to them initially. They seem to provide good coverage and excellent customer support, you can actually talk with a real person.

I have been with them for 5+ years and very very happy. Just a customer not connected with them otherwise.

+1. Our monthly Consumer Cellular bill for 2 phones is $37 total for my wife and me. Your bill could be less than that if your usage is less than ours.