Prepaid & Unlocked iPhones - I Need Help

Get the one from Apple store. The others are not sold unlocked.

The one the ST sells uses Verizon (CDMA) network, so if Verizon has poor coverage where it will be used, that will be a problem.

The factory unlocked one Apple is GSM and can be used on ST or T-Mobile.

Only get the VM if they have good coverage where you live, and I believe it's locked to them.

I would say either buy from Apple, or check CL/eBay for cheaper iPhone 5's. If you live in an area where T-Mobile refarmed their network, go with them so you can have 3G. If they haven't refarmed, you would be stuck on Edge. If you don't want Edge, go with ST.

Curious. For u folks who want to do this...

Subsidized: $70/mo * 24 + 200 = $1,880.
Unsubsidized: $45/mo *24 + 650 = $1,730.

Is - $150 total worth the hassle?

Honestly asking.

Mrbobb said:

Curious. For u folks who want to do this...

Subsidized: $70/mo * 24 + 200 = $1,880.
Unsubsidized: $45/mo *24 + 650 = $1,730.

Is - $150 total worth the hassle?

Honestly asking.

Click to expand...

Plus additional fees for texting (although there are other free options such as GV) and taxes are little higher because there are different taxes for prepaid and post-paid. For instance, I don't pay any tax on my $30 T-Mo plan.

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ImaVeggie said:

I currently have a Android 4G phone on TMobile's $30 Monthly 4G plan. My speeds are about 2-4 MBps.

I would love to finally get an iPhone with a prepaid plan. The current options are Straight Talk, Virgin Mobile and TMobile, because they're $45 and under.

I'd love to get the right unlocked model iPhone that would allow me the most options to change cell companies in order to get the best service in my area, which is on Long Island.

Which one do you think would give me more flexibilty?
1. Straight Talk iPhone 5 through Walmart - A1429 - $649
2. iPhone 5 through Apple Store - A1428 - $649
3. iPhone 4S through Virgin Mobile - $450 ---> is it unlocked?



Please help me finally get an iPhone

Click to expand...

If you want to stick to prepaid plans, ST iPhone probably gives you the most option since they are known to be GSM unlocked so you can technically use them with Verizon (only through ST), AT&T (3G only), and T-Mo (Edge unless refarmed). However, I heard ST iPhone can't be used directly with Verizon, if you ever choose to do so. With that said, I would just wait for VM to starting selling the iPhone 5 (I personally wouldn't buy iPhone 4S, unless money is an issue). Since VM just introduced LTE phones, you should be able to use LTE on the iPhone 5 in the future (if your area has LTE, of course).

Mrbobb said:

Curious. For u folks who want to do this...

Subsidized: $70/mo * 24 + 200 = $1,880.
Unsubsidized: $45/mo *24 + 650 = $1,730.

Is - $150 total worth the hassle?

Honestly asking.

Click to expand...

Where are you getting $70 for subsidized monthly pricing from? AT&T and Verizon share plans start at like $100 per month just for 2GB of data.

$100/month * 24 + $200 = $2600

That's a pretty significant $870 saved per year. Plus you don't have to worry about $15/GB charges for overages either.

CEmajr said:

Where are you getting $70 for subsidized monthly pricing from? AT&T and Verizon share plans start at like $100 per month just for 2GB of data.

$100/month * 24 + $200 = $2600

That's a pretty significant $870 saved per year. Plus you don't have to worry about $15/GB charges for overages either.

Click to expand...

AT&T still has the old individual plans. See their website.

I'm on virgin right now, they cut data at 2.4 gb :/ ... Hopefully i5s comes out and I wanna try tmobile 30$ plan.

ImaVeggie said:

Thanks for the replies.

Verizon supposedly has really good 4G coverage throughout my area (Long Island).

Would anyone know whether I would get 4G with the Straight Talk iPhone 5 through Walmart or would it be just 3g?

Click to expand...

3G only through ST Verizon service.

ImaVeggie said:

Thanks for the reply. 3G only... but I have a feeling that it might be equal or even a bit better that TMobile's 4G I've been getting.

Click to expand...

Your 4G must be horrible. I get 10-20 Mbps on my S3 with T-Mo $30 plan. You will get ~2 Mbps max with ST (Verizon).

doboy said:

AT&T still has the old individual plans. See their website.

Click to expand...

Checked them out. Looks like $70 would only net you 450 mins, no texting, and 300MB of service. That's unusable to most smartphone owners. You pretty much have to get the $20 texting or risk being charged for every individual message and with LTE you would zip through 300MB in no time.

I think $90 would be the cost to net you a comparable plan to what the prepaid or other carriers offer so it is still worth it to use them over AT&T if concerned about price.

Looks like the minimum would be $90 on an individual plan
$40 for 450 minutes
$30 for 3GB of data
$20 for unlimited messaging w/ unlimited mobile to mobile

Not to mention that on AT&T with a postpaid plan you are subject to more fees and taxes on your bill while prepaid users only have to worry about sales tax.

For the original topic creator, I would recommend you try to find the AT&T compatible ST sim on their website. If not available then look at T-Mobile prepaid (but only if you're in a refarmed market). Getting the Verizon compatible ST iPhone 5 would be my next choice because of the slow 3G speeds of CDMA carriers. Virgin is even slower 3G because it uses Sprint's network and coverage is much worse than Verizon.

Is Tmobile service better for unlocked iPhones nowadays in NY?

ImaVeggie said:

I currently have a Android 4G phone on TMobile's $30 Monthly 4G plan. My speeds are about 2-4 MBps.

I would love to finally get an iPhone with a prepaid plan. The current options are Straight Talk, Virgin Mobile and TMobile, because they're $45 and under.

I'd love to get the right unlocked model iPhone that would allow me the most options to change cell companies in order to get the best service in my area, which is on Long Island.

Which one do you think would give me more flexibilty?
1. Straight Talk iPhone 5 through Walmart - A1429 - $649
2. iPhone 5 through Apple Store - A1428 - $649
3. iPhone 4S through Virgin Mobile - $450 ---> is it unlocked?



Please help me finally get an iPhone

Click to expand...

I think you should go with the Straight Talk iPhone 5 or 4S. Verizon 3G is good on Long Island. You're trading off a lack of Verizon 4G for a lower monthly bill, which sounds like something you're willing to do. The phone can take an AT&T or T-Mobile SIM if you want to change to one of them (or their MVNOs) in the future.

ImaVeggie said:

Thanks for the reply. I made that decision last night; at about 1:30am when I couldn't sleep because I had iPhone 5 on my brain Now my predicament is do (can) I wait for my local Walmart to get a white one in; they only have black in stock.

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You could also order online @ http://iphone.straighttalk.com and use site-to-store.

ImaVeggie said:

I bought the black one at Walmart and an Otterbox Defender - Reflection at Best Buy with $15 in rewards . Beautiful Aqua & Teal colors. Adds a ton of bulk but it's so pretty.

Thanks to all who replied. I finally have an iPhone!!!

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Congrats! What kind of data speeds are you getting from the speedtest app?

ImaVeggie said:

Quite slow I think. I've been lucky to get 1.3 MBps a few times. Usually it's about .8 download and as slow as .05 upload.

So of course I am questioning the options I have. Should I try to get a nano Sim card from T-Mobile? Should I just return the iPhone back to Walmart? Should I try to get a Straight Talk AT&T Sim card to try? Will any of these options work with this Walmart straight talk iPhone?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Click to expand...

Congrats! All those options should work except ST AT&T is not available right now AFAIK. You can still get NET10 AT&T sim. Also ST T-Mo sim should work. Remember that if your area hasn't been refarmed by T-Mo, you'll only get Edge speed.