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Walmart and Straight Talk Wireless Now Carrying iPhone 5

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clavier223

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2012
31
0
Is anyone else having cellular data service and MMS messaging problems on their new Straight Talk iPhone 5?

My friend just bought one in-store. At the checkout, the cashier actually unwrapped the iPhone, took it out of the box, and then connected it to their PC with iTunes and did some sort of setup to it.

Then, my friend brought it home and did the normal setup, and everything seemed fine until we tried cellular data service and MMS messaging - neither are working.

We went back to a different Walmart, and they said that the cashier we bought it from wasn't suppose to open the box and do any sort of setup to the iPhone - no Walmarts are allowed to do that ... another cashier said that the carrier was wrong - the iPhone says TFW 14.0, and this cashier said it's suppose to be TFW 13.1 ... another cashier said that the "VPN number" was wrong ...

We tried ST online support, and this is the transcript from the help session:
> 3:04:13 PM You wrote: Hello. I am not receiving any cellular data service or MMS messages on my new iPhone. I think it might have something to do with the carrier which is set to TFW 14.
> 3:04:34 PM Hayley: Good day! Thank you for visiting Straight Talk Wireless. I would be happy to assist you today. May I have your Straight Talk phone number?
> 3:04:53 PM You wrote: XXXXXXX
> 3:05:15 PM Hayley: Thank you. Please allow me a moment as I check your account.
> 3:10:24 PM Hayley: Thank you for waiting. Before I provide you with the information on your account, I need to ask the security question on your account. XXXXXXX?
> 3:10:35 PM You wrote: XXXXXXX
> 3:11:24 PM Hayley: Please dial *22890. Once the phone has been programmed, please access your browser.
> 3:12:08 PM You wrote: Does wifi need to to be turned on since I don't have cellular data service?
> 3:12:44 PM Hayley: No. Please turned off the Wi-Fi.
> 3:12:56 PM You wrote: okay, wifi is turned off, and will dial the number
> 3:13:08 PM Hayley: Thank you, Rodney.
> 3:13:38 PM You wrote: it said "welcome ... please hold ... airtime free."
> 3:13:48 PM You wrote: *background music*
> 3:14:02 PM You wrote: and said it's programmed successfully
> 3:14:22 PM You wrote: accessing browser
> 3:14:50 PM Hayley: Please let me know if you encountered an error message.
> 3:15:33 PM You wrote: and a window just popped up and says "Could not activate cellular data network. You are not subscribed to a cellular data service."
> 3:16:07 PM Hayley: I see. Please allow me a moment as I check your account.
> 3:19:18 PM Hayley: Thank you for waiting. Does your phone displays "TFW"?
> 3:21:07 PM You wrote: Hello, yes it says "TFW 3G" in the upper left hand corner, and under Settings > General > About > it says the Carrier is TFW 14.0
> 3:22:00 PM Hayley: I see. When you tap them "Carrier," does it give you an option?
> 3:23:58 PM You wrote: In Settings > General > About, when I tap on Carrier, it changes and shows the PRL number, and then ERI, and then NAI, and then MSID, and then starts back again at Carrier.
> 3:24:51 PM Hayley: Alright, Rodney. I need to check again your account.
> 3:29:33 PM Hayley: Thank you for waiting. Can you dial again the *22890?
> 3:29:51 PM You wrote: okay, will dial the number
> 3:30:18 PM Hayley: Thank you.
> 3:30:24 PM You wrote: says "welcome ... please hold ... airtime free."
> 3:30:31 PM You wrote: *background music*
> 3:31:07 PM You wrote: and said "your phone has been programmed successfully."
> 3:32:09 PM Hayley: One moment please...
> 3:32:16 PM Hayley: Good. Can you access again the browser?
> 3:32:31 PM You wrote: yes, will open again
> 3:33:07 PM Hayley: Please let me know if you still have the same error message.
> 3:33:37 PM You wrote: and received the same message as before: "Could not activate cellular data network. You are not subscribed to a cellular data service."
> 3:34:39 PM Hayley: One moment please...
> 3:34:47 PM Hayley: I'm sorry to know that. In this case, we will need to speak with you directly for us further investigate the issue. Please contact one of our customer care representatives at 1-888-251-8164. For your convenience, our representatives are available Monday-Sunday from 8:00 AM to 11:45 PM EST.
> 3:36:40 PM You wrote: okay, thank you
> 3:37:00 PM Hayley: You are welcome. Thank you for chatting Straight Talk Wireless.
Click to expand...

So basically, when we try to use cellular data service, we get the message "Could not activate cellular data network. You are not subscribed to a cellular data service."

Finally, we called for help ... twice ... The first time, the person had us connect the iPhone to our computer using iTunes to set it up - she said that after we restored it, we were suppose to get a message saying something about there being no SIM card, and then a new window is suppose to pop up. That didn't happen, it was just stuck at the "no SIM card screen" with a little lock in the upper right hand corner. The next phone call just had us do the same stuff that the online support had us do ... still no cellular data service or MMS messaging.

Does anyone actually know what they're doing??? It'd be great to find someone who can actually resolve this problem.
 
Last edited:
E

etbull

macrumors newbie
Nov 7, 2007
24
1
clavier223 said:
Is anyone else having cellular data service and MMS messaging problems on their new Straight Talk iPhone 5?

My friend just bought one in-store. At the checkout, the cashier actually unwrapped the iPhone, took it out of the box, and then connected it to their PC with iTunes and did some sort of setup to it.

Then, my friend brought it home and did the normal setup, and everything seemed fine until we tried cellular data service and MMS messaging - neither are working.

We went back to a different Walmart, and they said that the cashier we bought it from wasn't suppose to open the box and do any sort of setup to the iPhone - no Walmarts are allowed to do that ... another cashier said that the carrier was wrong - the iPhone says TFW 14.0, and this cashier said it's suppose to be TFW 13.1 ... another cashier said that the "VPN number" was wrong ...

We tried ST online support, and this is the transcript from the help session:


So basically, when we try to use cellular data service, we get the message "Could not activate cellular data network. You are not subscribed to a cellular data service."

Finally, we called for help ... twice ... The first time, the person had us connect the iPhone to our computer using iTunes to set it up - she said that after we restored it, we were suppose to get a message saying something about there being no SIM card, and then a new window is suppose to pop up. That didn't happen, it was just stuck at the "no SIM card screen" with a little lock in the upper right hand corner. The next phone call just had us do the same stuff that the online support had us do ... still no cellular data service or MMS messaging.

Does anyone actually know what they're doing??? It'd be great to find someone who can actually resolve this problem.
Click to expand...

I have the ST iPhone 5 working on verizon with zero issues. Are you trying to use the iphone 5 on verizon or with an att/tmob sim? Has your friend tried setting it up again with itunes as a NEW iPhone, ie not from backup? Perhaps when it was plugged into the walmart pc a setting was changed?
 
A

alent1234

macrumors 603
Jun 19, 2009
5,688
170
Is there a SIM card in the phone?


carlgo said:
Where is the plan where I can buy and use any phone and then pay a carrier per phone call, per text, per unit of data. The carrier would be selected by rates, reception, speed, reliability and reputation for good service. Pretty much like any other product except phone companies!

I want to only pay for what I use, not to subsidize those who use more than me or to pay carriers for services not even used.

Not interested in hacking, filing down sim cards, manipulating the system.

There will be cheap months and expensive months, much like my gasoline expenses. Depends on what is going on.

This seems fair enough.
Click to expand...
 
C

clavier223

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2012
31
0
etbull said:
I have the ST iPhone 5 working on verizon with zero issues. Are you trying to use the iphone 5 on verizon or with an att/tmob sim? Has your friend tried setting it up again with itunes as a NEW iPhone, ie not from backup? Perhaps when it was plugged into the walmart pc a setting was changed?
Click to expand...

Just trying to use the Straight Talk iPhone 5 ... on Straight Talk. The only SIM issue I mentioned above was the fact that iTunes shows you a "no SIM card screen" after restoring it ... not from backup since it's new. If there were any other issues I would have mentioned them ...

I don't even know what the cashier was doing with it when it was bought ... It was just plugged in, and saw him click on stuff in iTunes ... I don't know.
 
E

etbull

macrumors newbie
Nov 7, 2007
24
1
clavier223 said:
Just trying to use the Straight Talk iPhone 5 ... on Straight Talk. The only SIM issue I mentioned above was the fact that iTunes shows you a "no SIM card screen" after restoring it ... not from backup since it's new. If there were any other issues I would have mentioned them ...

I don't even know what the cashier was doing with it when it was bought ... It was just plugged in, and saw him click on stuff in iTunes ... I don't know.
Click to expand...

Can your friend return it to walmart and get another one?
 
C

clavier223

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2012
31
0
etbull said:
Can your friend return it to walmart and get another one?
Click to expand...

Yes, there is a 30 day guarantee.

I wonder if it was bought at a Walmart where they didn't unwrap it and take it out of the box to do stuff, then maybe there wouldn't have been any problems.
 
Last edited:
C

clavier223

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2012
31
0
Update ... not that it's helping anybody or anything ...

Tried:
ST LiveHelp
ST phone support
ST forum support

Everyone just has us do the same thing ... restore phone, do setup process, turn off then on, dial *22890 ... nothing is working.

This is a known issue, and it's a huge problem over in the forums. No one seems to have any answer to the issue which started at the last iOS update.
 
C

clavier223

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2012
31
0
Oh, and the ST forum support has this 5 post rule - you can't PM with any ST customer service rep until you've posted 5 times somewhere in the forum.

What's the point of asking for help if you can't ask for help??? Instead, they force you to make 5 random/pointless posts until you can actually get through to somebody.

:mad::mad::mad:
 
H

Hungry&Foolish

Suspended
Mar 29, 2012
461
2
clavier223 said:
Is anyone else having cellular data service and MMS messaging problems on their new Straight Talk iPhone 5?

My friend just bought one in-store. At the checkout, the cashier actually unwrapped the iPhone, took it out of the box, and then connected it to their PC with iTunes and did some sort of setup to it.

Then, my friend brought it home and did the normal setup, and everything seemed fine until we tried cellular data service and MMS messaging - neither are working.

We went back to a different Walmart, and they said that the cashier we bought it from wasn't suppose to open the box and do any sort of setup to the iPhone - no Walmarts are allowed to do that ... another cashier said that the carrier was wrong - the iPhone says TFW 14.0, and this cashier said it's suppose to be TFW 13.1 ... another cashier said that the "VPN number" was wrong ...

We tried ST online support, and this is the transcript from the help session:


So basically, when we try to use cellular data service, we get the message "Could not activate cellular data network. You are not subscribed to a cellular data service."

Finally, we called for help ... twice ... The first time, the person had us connect the iPhone to our computer using iTunes to set it up - she said that after we restored it, we were suppose to get a message saying something about there being no SIM card, and then a new window is suppose to pop up. That didn't happen, it was just stuck at the "no SIM card screen" with a little lock in the upper right hand corner. The next phone call just had us do the same stuff that the online support had us do ... still no cellular data service or MMS messaging.

Does anyone actually know what they're doing??? It'd be great to find someone who can actually resolve this problem.
Click to expand...

Watch this video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkQVnslKNYs
 
C

clavier223

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2012
31
0
Last edited:
bohbot16

bohbot16

macrumors 6502a
Mar 22, 2009
674
10
clavier223 said:
Exactly.

This isn't a GSM iPhone ... this isn't jailbroken ... this isn't Gevey-unlocked or whatever ... My goodness, this is a brand-new official CDMA Straight Talk iPhone 5, and NO ONE over at Straight Talk is helping us out.

:mad:
Click to expand...

As sad as it is for this to be the case, I think the problem phones need to keep getting returned as lemons to Walmart. Some people are getting good ones out of the box and the high return rate will push the problem back to the people who can fix it. Straight Talk probably invests very little on their support staff and those people are likely in over their heads.
 
E

etbull

macrumors newbie
Nov 7, 2007
24
1
clavier223 said:
The ST forum support is completely useless. They'll "approve" posts about how much they suck before approving posts that are genuinely asking for help.

And I cannot get over the pointless "5 post rule" before being allowed to PM a ST rep in order to ask for help.
Click to expand...

They also won't address any issues in the forums. ST reps always PM the solutions to folks off line. It would make a lot more sense for them the publish the solutions to problems so others can fix their phones. OTOH, I suppose it's job security because it creates more work for the ST reps.

OP I suggest your friend start over with a brand new phone. Mine works great out of the box, unwrapped and activated it myself at home
 
O

OatmealRocks

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2009
626
3
etbull said:
They also won't address any issues in the forums. ST reps always PM the solutions to folks off line. It would make a lot more sense for them the publish the solutions to problems so others can fix their phones. OTOH, I suppose it's job security because it creates more work for the ST reps.

OP I suggest your friend start over with a brand new phone. Mine works great out of the box, unwrapped and activated it myself at home
Click to expand...

That's the one thing I hate about ST. It is as if they are hiding some secret settings which is not allowed within their current agreement with AT&T. I had ST before on using AT&T sim and had very slow data speeds. It was odd too because it was working fine then all of a sudden it was unusable. There was a thread on HowardForums about it. It was a certain month which tons of customers all experience the same thing. Their support sucks and are very unhelpful. I am now using my friend's plan but thinking about switching back. However only if the data is ok. I am not expecting LTE speeds but somewhat decent to be able to use MAPS and surf at a so so speed.

Can anyone using ST (Verizon) show me some data speeds results from SpeedTest? Prior when I had AT&T sim on ST I would not even get any DL or UP speeds. I personally think AT&T is screwing with ST customers in regards on the data. This would not surprise me why they are no longer using AT&T. As for the rumors about having LTE from AT&T.. yeah right.. why cut off their current service if the business relationship is so positive.
 
E

etbull

macrumors newbie
Nov 7, 2007
24
1
OatmealRocks said:
That's the one thing I hate about ST. It is as if they are hiding some secret settings which is not allowed within their current agreement with AT&T. I had ST before on using AT&T sim and had very slow data speeds. It was odd too because it was working fine then all of a sudden it was unusable. There was a thread on HowardForums about it. It was a certain month which tons of customers all experience the same thing. Their support sucks and are very unhelpful. I am now using my friend's plan but thinking about switching back. However only if the data is ok. I am not expecting LTE speeds but somewhat decent to be able to use MAPS and surf at a so so speed.

Can anyone using ST (Verizon) show me some data speeds results from SpeedTest? Prior when I had AT&T sim on ST I would not even get any DL or UP speeds. I personally think AT&T is screwing with ST customers in regards on the data. This would not surprise me why they are no longer using AT&T. As for the rumors about having LTE from AT&T.. yeah right.. why cut off their current service if the business relationship is so positive.
Click to expand...

I have the ST iphone 5 on verizon towers. I am not a heavy data user, so I am quite happy with my speeds, Verizon is better than ATT in my area. Here is my speedtest screen shot from a few minutes ago. Not sure if it is good or bad...
 

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O

OatmealRocks

macrumors 6502a
Jul 30, 2009
626
3
etbull said:
I have the ST iphone 5 on verizon towers. I am not a heavy data user, so I am quite happy with my speeds, Verizon is better than ATT in my area. Here is my speedtest screen shot from a few minutes ago. Not sure if it is good or bad...
Click to expand...

Sweet! Looks good enough for my needs. Did you buy this @ Walmart? Do they only sell Verizon version ST? I want to get one but not sure how I can tell if it is version verizon. Thanks.
 
E

etbull

macrumors newbie
Nov 7, 2007
24
1
Yes, I bought it at Walmart. At first the cashier told me (as per the manager) that they had to activate it instore, I didn't want that. I already had ST on another phone and wanted to transfer the number via the website, cashier said OK no problem. hardest part was at checkout when they had to scan the phone. Took a few tries before they scan the correct thing on the box. Left the store with my iphone sealed.
 
A

alent1234

macrumors 603
Jun 19, 2009
5,688
170
OatmealRocks said:
That's the one thing I hate about ST. It is as if they are hiding some secret settings which is not allowed within their current agreement with AT&T. I had ST before on using AT&T sim and had very slow data speeds. It was odd too because it was working fine then all of a sudden it was unusable. There was a thread on HowardForums about it. It was a certain month which tons of customers all experience the same thing. Their support sucks and are very unhelpful. I am now using my friend's plan but thinking about switching back. However only if the data is ok. I am not expecting LTE speeds but somewhat decent to be able to use MAPS and surf at a so so speed.

Can anyone using ST (Verizon) show me some data speeds results from SpeedTest? Prior when I had AT&T sim on ST I would not even get any DL or UP speeds. I personally think AT&T is screwing with ST customers in regards on the data. This would not surprise me why they are no longer using AT&T. As for the rumors about having LTE from AT&T.. yeah right.. why cut off their current service if the business relationship is so positive.
Click to expand...


if i had to guess, they buy a set amount of bandwidth from AT&T. so if people use too much they are probably throttling everyone to keep from paying more money to AT&T
 
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