Walmart and Straight Talk Wireless Now Carrying iPhone 5

mobilebuddha said:

think about what you are saying.. sticking an active verizon postpaid sim card in there. where would you get such a sim w/o having verizon service? and if you have verizon service, why would you have straighttalk service?

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He was simply pointing out that the Walmart iPhone 5 is the same phone you get when you go to an Apple Store and buy a VZW iPhone 5 off-contract. Whatever you can do with the Apple/VZW i5 you can do with the Walmart/VZW i5. Straight Talk is just an option after you buy either phone. VZW postpaid is also an option with either phone.

The advantage to the Walmart i5 is you can finance it at $25 a month for 26 months with zero interest. You can finance the Apple i5 for 12 months with zero interest.

TBH, I was secretly hoping walmart/ST pressuring Verizon into giving them LTE..

Bob Coxner said:

He was simply pointing out that the Walmart iPhone 5 is the same phone you get when you go to an Apple Store and buy a VZW iPhone 5 off-contract. Whatever you can do with the Apple/VZW i5 you can do with the Walmart/VZW i5. Straight Talk is just an option after you buy either phone. VZW postpaid is also an option with either phone.

The advantage to the Walmart i5 is you can finance it at $25 a month for 26 months with zero interest. You can finance the Apple i5 for 12 months with zero interest.

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shenan1982 said:

Huh? You're missing the point entirely. LTE doesn't consume data in any more quantity than HSPA. For those who say "it's going too fast, I use more data" are merely saying they lack the self control to restrain from monitoring their data. If you use 2GB on LTE you get the same thing as you get with 2GB of HSPA, you just get it a lot faster.

Clearly there are a lot of people here who don't understand the concept of data allotment vs pipe speed. The new technology allows you to get more faster, and CAN use more, but you have to use more, it doesn't just use more by default.

I swear, you resist technology so much, maybe you best just go buy an iPhone Original, then you'll be at 2G and never have to worry about it. By your logic, an iPhone 2G would be far superior to a 3G, or 4 or 5, lol.

Gotta love uneducated blind consumers.

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Clearly there are a lot of people here who don't understand the concept of data allotment vs pipe speed. The new technology allows you to get more faster, and CAN use more, but you have to use more, it doesn't just use more by default.

I don't believe you can see the difference between my HPSA+ on cheap Straight Talk vs your fannytastic LTE unless you're download a movie first before playing it. It's all about latency and due cellphone working over RF you will have the same ping time on LTE and HSPA+. 99% of average Joe users will see no benefit when browsing the web with a std 5Mbps connection vs your 50Mbps. If you can prove me wrong show me the evidence - show me a test. Two identical phone one on LTE, other on HSPA+.



Perhaps you are 14 so your folks are young but us old farts with parent who never used a computer until age 60+ will get stung by this. I love geeky message board where young bucks think they represent the majority of consumers - sorry but you and I represent 1-5% tops, a piss in the ocean mate, (if so apple would of given you a massive screen by now like you requested) and while it may seem logical for us to RTFM lots of folks don't have the savvy or time to get into all the details.

For your and I LTE is the way to go but until there is truly unlimited data or bigger caps for cheap then I don't see why LTE will be better. Give me better coverage and ping time / latency any day.

And no I'm not resisting technology, I had the internet in 97 and DSL too 256k - still of been in nappies in 97 - but there is something seriously messed up with cell phone companies who are charging us for data by the Mb. In Europe I believe costs are much lower and sure you have to bring your own device but why do we pay so much here in the US?

And control, ok if you have a kid one day are they get to 18 are you going to give em a Nissan GTR, good luck with that and all the education, hint an old 240d might be better. Your faith in the human race is somewhat flawed.

Ok a lot of you seem to be getting into a pissing match over all the details of the iphone 5 on ST. I'll leave you to continue and may the man with the biggest pisser win

Can someone answer this question. I've heard that an ATT phone is better because if you can't get LTE, which I obviously can't on my 4s and the 5 is not able to do so due to ST locking it out you will then have the options of HSPA+ or Verizons 3g. In a test here in town with two identical phones, my buddies on a full verizon plan at $90pm got 1mbps vs my 3Mbps so why would you ever want to go with Verizon ST phone apart from coverage issues.

So I asking that talking LTE out of the equation is ATT better because it's next default speed is faster than Verizons??

Of course I'd love a LTE phone at some stage but like many on ST I'm happy to save 40% + on my cellphone bill each month.

Magrathea said:

Clearly there are a lot of people here who don't understand the concept of data allotment vs pipe speed. The new technology allows you to get more faster, and CAN use more, but you have to use more, it doesn't just use more by default.

I don't believe you can see the difference between my HPSA+ on cheap Straight Talk vs your fannytastic LTE unless you're download a movie first before playing it. It's all about latency and due cellphone working over RF you will have the same ping time on LTE and HSPA+. 99% of average Joe users will see no benefit when browsing the web with a std 5Mbps connection vs your 50Mbps. If you can prove me wrong show me the evidence - show me a test. Two identical phone one on LTE, other on HSPA+.



Perhaps you are 14 so your folks are young but us old farts with parent who never used a computer until age 60+ will get stung by this. I love geeky message board where young bucks think they represent the majority of consumers - sorry but you and I represent 1-5% tops, a piss in the ocean mate, (if so apple would of given you a massive screen by now like you requested) and while it may seem logical for us to RTFM lots of folks don't have the savvy or time to get into all the details.

For your and I LTE is the way to go but until there is truly unlimited data or bigger caps for cheap then I don't see why LTE will be better. Give me better coverage and ping time / latency any day.

And no I'm not resisting technology, I had the internet in 97 and DSL too 256k - still of been in nappies in 97 - but there is something seriously messed up with cell phone companies who are charging us for data by the Mb. In Europe I believe costs are much lower and sure you have to bring your own device but why do we pay so much here in the US?

And control, ok if you have a kid one day are they get to 18 are you going to give em a Nissan GTR, good luck with that and all the education, hint an old 240d might be better. Your faith in the human race is somewhat flawed.

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I agree with the concept of not using more, but you're 100% wrong in the latency. The whole point of LTE is to reduce latency. Ping time on a HSPA+ average is 80ms, vs 10-30ms on LTE. If you don't notice that difference you're nuts... it's like cable compared to dial up.

Use Verizon Iphone 5 with Straight Talk?

Please forgive me for being dense, but this thread has me confused...I already have a Verizon Iphone 5. My contract with Verizon is almost up, and I want to switch to Straight Talk. Is is possible to do this and keep the phone I have? Will I need a 'nano-sim' card? Some posts indicate that the Straight Talk Iphone comes with no SIM and is activated with the MEID#. If my service is cancelled with Verizon, can I simply do this, since it sounds like the phones are pretty much the same?

Stone1269 said:

Please forgive me for being dense, but this thread has me confused...I already have a Verizon Iphone 5. My contract with Verizon is almost up, and I want to switch to Straight Talk. Is is possible to do this and keep the phone I have? Will I need a 'nano-sim' card? Some posts indicate that the Straight Talk Iphone comes with no SIM and is activated with the MEID#. If my service is cancelled with Verizon, can I simply do this, since it sounds like the phones are pretty much the same?

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Your best source of Straight Talk answers is at Howard Forums.

http://www.howardforums.com/forumdisplay.php/551-Straight-Talk

Stone1269 said:

Please forgive me for being dense, but this thread has me confused...I already have a Verizon Iphone 5. My contract with Verizon is almost up, and I want to switch to Straight Talk. Is is possible to do this and keep the phone I have? Will I need a 'nano-sim' card? Some posts indicate that the Straight Talk Iphone comes with no SIM and is activated with the MEID#. If my service is cancelled with Verizon, can I simply do this, since it sounds like the phones are pretty much the same?

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You have a Verizon iPhone 5 ... so it should be GSM-unlocked. This means you can get a Straight Talk micro SIM and cut it down to size.

I hope they get a few good Android phones like a Galaxy Note or S4. Would be good times.

Walmart selling "dirty" iPhone 5's

Walmart.com sold me a $700 iPhone 5 with a dirty MEID (serial number) that Straight Talk could not activate.

I tried to activate with Straight Talk multiple times (in store, online at straighttalk.com, and using the 1-800 number). Straight Talk could not find the serial number registered as being legitimately sold and the representative told me the phone appeared the same as a “stolen” phone in their system. After going back to the store four separate employees (including the manager) were unable to fix the problem. They recommended I call the site-to-store telephone representative as the phone was purchased at walmart.com and delivered to my local store. That individual was similarly powerless to properly register the MEID as being legitimately sold.

Long story short - Walmart is selling iPhones with dirty MEID’s that can’t be activated with Walmart’s own cell phone carrier.

laj619 said:

Walmart.com sold me a $700 iPhone 5 with a dirty MEID (serial number) that Straight Talk could not activate.

I tried to activate with Straight Talk multiple times (in store, online at straighttalk.com, and using the 1-800 number). Straight Talk could not find the serial number registered as being legitimately sold and the representative told me the phone appeared the same as a “stolen” phone in their system. After going back to the store four separate employees (including the manager) were unable to fix the problem. They recommended I call the site-to-store telephone representative as the phone was purchased at walmart.com and delivered to my local store. That individual was similarly powerless to properly register the MEID as being legitimately sold.

Long story short - Walmart is selling iPhones with dirty MEID’s that can’t be activated with Walmart’s own cell phone carrier.

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ummmm ... they couldn't just give you a new iPhone 5???

They also don't sell a $700 iPhone 5 on Straight Talk ... only $849, $749, and $649 ...

If Walmart was really selling a lot of "iPhones with dirty MEID’s that can’t be activated with Walmart’s own cell phone carrier" then ... I'm sure this problem would have happened to a lot of other people, too ...

clavier223 said:

They also don't sell a $700 iPhone 5 ... only $849, $749, and $649 ...

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They do in the parking lot behind the store. I think that's what he meant when he said he bought it at Walmart.

clavier223 said:

ummmm ... they couldn't just give you a new iPhone 5???

They also don't sell a $700 iPhone 5 on Straight Talk ... only $849, $749, and $649 ...

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I assume that the $700 includes tax.

ftaok said:

I assume that the $700 includes tax.

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Even then, it'd still be less than $700.

clavier223 said:

Even then, it'd still be less than $700.

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Not if you live in a high sales tax state like Texas:



Apple iPhone 5 16GB, Black, for Straight Talk, No Contract

1

$649.00

Subtotal (1 item)

$649.00

Tax

$53.54

Order Total

$702.54

true true. My state is only 5%.

But still, it's not really a "$700 iPhone", and I also don't like his conclusion how "Walmart is selling iPhones with blah-blah-blah".

clavier223 said:

true true. My state is only 5%.

But still, it's not really a "$700 iPhone", and I also don't like his conclusion how "Walmart is selling iPhones with blah-blah-blah".

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Agreed. Also, he's posted the same message in about 50 threads in several forums. I ran into it several times in different threads and areas on Howard Forums.

Walmart has return policies that are about as good as Amazon. He could have simply returned it and avoided all this drama.

Someone replied to him in a different thread that the same thing had happened to them with a Best Buy iPhone purchase. The explanation was that if the phone barcode was not scanned originally then it wouldn't get into the carrier's system and trying to activate it would show it as "bad". No skulduggery by the retailer, just an oversight by whoever is responsible for scanning the barcodes.

Bob Coxner said:

The explanation was that if the phone barcode was not scanned originally then it wouldn't get into the carrier's system and trying to activate it would show it as "bad". No skulduggery by the retailer, just an oversight by whoever is responsible for scanning the barcodes.

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Or maybe they were stolen?

Walmart is not selling dirty MEID phones. There is a problem with site to store. They are not very well coordinated. Do not leave the store without making them return it and sell it right back to you. Otherwise, the serial does not get scanned. This happened to me twice. Also, the cashiers get confused when the register prompts them to scan serial, but what they must scan is MEID not the serial number of the phone.

Before anyone goes this route, I recommend going to the StraightTalk Wireless Customer forums and doing some reading there. Search for "iphone 5 no data" and you'll read about all the horror stories going on. I spent 10 hours on the phone with ST suppor trying to make it work over the past 2 weeks. After exchanging one phone for another I finally got it working.

If you can get it to work, it CAN be a home run because of the price. My wife doesn't get AT&T service in her office, so having the ST iPhone use Verizon was a key feature.

That being said, her family is moving to a Verizon ShareEverything plan, and after doing the math we'll save $200 over 2 years by putting her on that. It will cost us probably $10/more per month, but we get the phone for $199 instead of $650. I'm still within my 15 day return period from Walmart and will be taking this second ST iPhone back and dumping StraightTalk. Good riddance.

TracFone has waaaaay too many gotchas


Will this plan allow one to employ third party voicemail?

What are the roaming agreements? (best of luck finding out other than the hard way)

Slowrider5 said:

If you can get it to work, it CAN be a home run because of the price. My wife doesn't get AT&T service in her office, so having the ST iPhone use Verizon was a key feature.

That being said, her family is moving to a Verizon ShareEverything plan, and after doing the math we'll save $200 over 2 years by putting her on that. It will cost us probably $10/more per month, but we get the phone for $199 instead of $650. I'm still within my 15 day return period from Walmart and will be taking this second ST iPhone back and dumping StraightTalk. Good riddance.

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I ran the numbers myself and it seems that the new Verizon Share Everything and AT&T Mobile Share plans start to be a better deal than Straight Talk when you have 5 lines.

xdxdaustin said:

Very nice straight talk, very nice

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Straight Talk, the iPhone 5 & Walmart are a perfect fit. It helps Apple keeps their sales numbers up and brings the type of new customers Apple seek as they spread out to big box stores.

Less sensitive to performance features & style, these new customers will embrace whatever Apple decides to put out with its next new model.

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.

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.

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The closest I've found to this is Airvoice Wireless. I started a separate thread to discuss it @ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1393202/.

They only offer a full sized (Mini) SIM. Cutting down your SIM isn't some sort of rules violation.