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Carrier $45 Unlimited Talk, Text, Data on Straight Talk (AT&T MVNO)?

S

sdowney

macrumors newbie
Mar 9, 2010
3
0
I just set up StraightTalk on my wife's iPhone 4 end of Dec 2012. It's an older AT&T phone which I unlocked legally through AT&T when the old contract expired. It is not jailbroken. It works great on StraightTalk with 3G, MMS, etc. It's AT&T's network. The only issue I had was configuring the data settings which were not accessible through this particular iPhone's Settings panel. I think access to this can be limited by ATT. But I used a pretty slick online utility to set them at http://www.unlockit.co.nz/unlockit/
It seemed legit and so far I've experienced no trojans or malware.
The only negative is the lack of customer service at ST...
 
C

corvus32

macrumors 6502a
Sep 4, 2009
761
0
USA
dinggus said:
What do you mean? I wouldn't want to keep paying AT&T if I am trying out Straight Talk.

I was told the iPhone 5 on 6.0 would nee to be unlocked, is that true?
Click to expand...

No. An AT&T iPhone, locked or unlocked, will work with ST and Net10.
 
S

sabika

macrumors newbie
Jan 5, 2013
8
0
ST not compatible with locked iPhone

As confirmed by ST, data services will not worked with a locked iPhone. This may be a change with ios 6 (I am running iOS 6.0.1.).
 
Bawstun

Bawstun

Suspended
Jun 25, 2009
2,374
2,999
sabika said:
As confirmed by ST, data services will not worked with a locked iPhone. This may be a change with ios 6 (I am running iOS 6.0.1.).
Click to expand...

This is false. I'm using a locked AT&T iPhone right now with StraightTalk. Any AT&T iPhone will work with StraightTalk. You just go to a simple web URL and download StraightTalk's APN settings. And you don't have to be jailbroken to do this.
 
U

umiwangu

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2006
478
0
Malawi
I've been using Straight Talk with my 3GS for the last 9 months or so and while I've loved the service (not too many complaints), I'm just finding that I don't really use my phone that much as a phone. I only recently moved back to the US, so I don't text very much and most of my data usage is via wifi. I'm thinking about moving to a cheaper AT&T MVNO that's prepaid (such as Red Pocket or Air Voice).

I've enjoyed not having to worry about limits, but I think I'll probably save even more by going prepaid.
 
T

TyShawn

macrumors 6502
Jul 17, 2010
262
8
Will an unlocked Iphone work with the file for data and mms? Or do I still need to heck my way into making MMS work?
 
K

kalex

macrumors 65816
Oct 1, 2007
1,336
56
TyShawn said:
Will an unlocked Iphone work with the file for data and mms? Or do I still need to heck my way into making MMS work?
Click to expand...

you need to use tmobile sim swap trick. i just got an iphone 5 and the website file load only activates data not mms
 
I

isephmusic

macrumors 6502
Oct 31, 2012
416
0
any atnt phone will work with straight talk 45$ plan. it really is unlimited as long as you dont go over 2gb within the month then you get throttled. there are proxies that releive you of this ! i stream netflix all the time ! GPS, online games and everything i love it.

i can even pop in my sim into my dads iphone 5 on straight talk and it works. soon straight talk will have nano sims for now just cut it down with a nano sim cutter or sizers
 
T

TyShawn

macrumors 6502
Jul 17, 2010
262
8
kalex said:
you need to use tmobile sim swap trick. i just got an iphone 5 and the website file load only activates data not mms
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, and I may be missing it. But I thought the point of buying the unlock was to gain access to those settings was did I misunderstand that fact when I brought the unlock? And if that is the case could someone let me know what are we getting when we unlock these phones?

Kalex I also though the Tmobile trick only worked on the 4s and not the 4, because I currently have the 4 and not the 4s.
 
R

Rlk

macrumors newbie
Jan 26, 2013
1
0
iPhone with Straighttalk

Yes you can use a iPhone 4 with straighttalk! I bought mind on Craig's list and had it unlocked for $30 and then put my SIMM card in it from my active phone! That's all that was needed because it worked instantly!! But you can get a SIMM card from straight talk to work in the iPhones. Also I am able to send text and picture messages and surf the web without any problems!!! This is the best move I have ever made!!!
 
U

umiwangu

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2006
478
0
Malawi
TyShawn said:
Thanks for the reply, and I may be missing it. But I thought the point of buying the unlock was to gain access to those settings was did I misunderstand that fact when I brought the unlock? And if that is the case could someone let me know what are we getting when we unlock these phones?

Kalex I also though the Tmobile trick only worked on the 4s and not the 4, because I currently have the 4 and not the 4s.
Click to expand...

Unlocking will allow you to use other networks' SIM cards in the iPhone. That said, Apple has hidden the Cellular Data Network menu options if you use a SIM that belongs (or appears to belong, as Straight Talk does) to an official carrier.

For example, AT&T is an official carrier. Straight Talk runs on the AT&T network. Therefore, the iPhone thinks you don't need to know what the CDN settings are (Mother Apple knows best) and hides the menu. If you use a SIM card for an unsupported network and the phone is unlocked, the menu item will appear immediately. You can even pop your AT&T/Straight Talk SIM out, put in a SIM card from an unofficial carrier, and the menu item will appear immediately. I believe this is how the SIM swap method works (I've never had to use it).

If you jailbreak your iPhone (not necessarily recommended), you can purchase apps on Cydia that will allow you to access the CDN settings.

I hope this helps.

--------

By the way, when I say CDN, I mean the settings that control MMS and Cellular Data. The unlockit site (unlockit.co.nz) helps with data, but for some reason the MMS settings don't work.
 
U

umiwangu

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2006
478
0
Malawi
bohbot16 said:
For those of you who got lost in the many (I'm seeing 40) pages of this thread and looking for a simple "walk me through it" version I created this page: http://www.squidoo.com/prepaid-iphone-plan.
Click to expand...

Thanks for this! I've been looking at Air Voice, and it's good to see a bit more information on them. I think I'll be ordering a SIM this evening. I've found I really don't use my phone as a phone that much any more and I'm usually around wifi when I need it.

And I only see 32 pages for this thread. ;-)
 
bohbot16

bohbot16

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2009
674
10
umiwangu said:
Thanks for this! I've been looking at Air Voice, and it's good to see a bit more information on them. I think I'll be ordering a SIM this evening. I've found I really don't use my phone as a phone that much any more and I'm usually around wifi when I need it.

And I only see 32 pages for this thread. ;-)
Click to expand...

Glad to help. I had a good experience with Airvoice when I was using almost no minutes.
Yeah, I know the pagination is configurable and different per person.
 
B

Baggio

macrumors 6502
Oct 18, 2012
442
1
It seems like Straight Talk and Net10 are only offering a T-Mobile SIM card online. Did they drop AT&T MVNO status? Options for the phone were: any unlocked GSM phone and T-Mobile compatible phone. I chose unlocked GSM phone and the only SIM I could order was a T-Mobile compatible SIM.

I was going to pick up a prepaid SIM for someone who is visiting from outside the US to use in my old unlocked iPhone 4 while they are here.

Could it be that they are out of AT&T SIM cards or are they only using T-Mobile for GSM phones now?
 
U

umiwangu

macrumors 6502
Sep 4, 2006
478
0
Malawi
Baggio said:
It seems like Straight Talk and Net10 are only offering a T-Mobile SIM card online. Did they drop AT&T MVNO status? Options for the phone were: any unlocked GSM phone and T-Mobile compatible phone. I chose unlocked GSM phone and the only SIM I could order was a T-Mobile compatible SIM.

I was going to pick up a prepaid SIM for someone who is visiting from outside the US to use in my old unlocked iPhone 4 while they are here.

Could it be that they are out of AT&T SIM cards or are they only using T-Mobile for GSM phones now?
Click to expand...

You're right... that's weird. I just sent them an email to find out why.
 
bohbot16

bohbot16

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2009
674
10
Baggio said:
It seems like Straight Talk and Net10 are only offering a T-Mobile SIM card online. Did they drop AT&T MVNO status? Options for the phone were: any unlocked GSM phone and T-Mobile compatible phone. I chose unlocked GSM phone and the only SIM I could order was a T-Mobile compatible SIM.

I was going to pick up a prepaid SIM for someone who is visiting from outside the US to use in my old unlocked iPhone 4 while they are here.

Could it be that they are out of AT&T SIM cards or are they only using T-Mobile for GSM phones now?
Click to expand...

Straight Talk is claiming (seen second hand from HoFo) that they haven't cancelled the AT&T plan and aren't cancelling service for existing subscribers. They say that they are currently sold out of AT&T SIMs. The SIMs are apparently still available in Walmart stores and on eBay (of course).

There's speculation that since the 1 year anniversary of the BYOP program is next week that this is related to some contract negotiations between Straight Talk's owners and AT&T.
 
K

kevink2

macrumors 68000
Nov 2, 2008
1,842
294
With the hassle I had to go through to get everything working on the iPhone I gave to my brother in law (finally the sim swap method worked to get MMS to work), I wonder whether the tmobile SIM would have been the better method for him. For his usage, edge speeds would probably have been OK, for at least the short term since tmobile is adjusting 3G bands.

The phone was unlocked at 25 months before I upgraded to the 5.
 
B

Baggio

macrumors 6502
Oct 18, 2012
442
1
umiwangu said:
You're right... that's weird. I just sent them an email to find out why.
Click to expand...

Let me know if you get a response. Thanks! :cool:

----------
bohbot16 said:
Straight Talk is claiming (seen second hand from HoFo) that they haven't cancelled the AT&T plan and aren't cancelling service for existing subscribers. They say that they are currently sold out of AT&T SIMs. The SIMs are apparently still available in Walmart stores and on eBay (of course).

There's speculation that since the 1 year anniversary of the BYOP program is next week that this is related to some contract negotiations between Straight Talk's owners and AT&T.
Click to expand...

I saw the SIMs on eBay and they were anywhere between $20-$50 for a unactivated SIM and no plan. I'll wait it out a bit. My guest isn't coming for couple months anyway. Thanks!
 
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