Straight Talk Users in the Chicagoland area, what's the verdict??

[phatjoe]

Hello,

Good chance I will pick up an iphone 5 at walmart with their straight talk service.

My biggest concern is the service. I'm in Aurora, IL and I wanted to know if there is anyone within the area who can report on the service. Any dropped calls? How is the internet speed? Please let me know what you think...

THANKS!!

[Satnam1989]

Originally Posted by phatjoe

Hello,

Good chance I will pick up an iphone 5 at walmart with their straight talk service.

My biggest concern is the service. I'm in Aurora, IL and I wanted to know if there is anyone within the area who can report on the service. Any dropped calls? How is the internet speed? Please let me know what you think...

THANKS!!

unfortuntely the Straight Talk iPhone sold at Walmart is actually going to be running on Verizon network and as we all know Verizon 3G isnt the fastest....your better off buying a factory unlocked or AT&T iPhone 5 and buying a full/micro Straight Talk SIM and cutting it down to nano....why? because you will have access to AT&T HSPA+ network which offers far better speeds than Verizon's 3G ever will.

This info I am providing above is something another user on the forum confirmed for us all if you have been roaming the forum lately you would have noticed.

[Bob Coxner]

Originally Posted by Satnam1989

unfortuntely the Straight Talk iPhone sold at Walmart is actually going to be running on Verizon network and as we all know Verizon 3G isnt the fastest....your better off buying a factory unlocked or AT&T iPhone 5 and buying a full/micro Straight Talk SIM and cutting it down to nano....why? because you will have access to AT&T HSPA+ network which offers far better speeds than Verizon's 3G ever will.

This info I am providing above is something another user on the forum confirmed for us all if you have been roaming the forum lately you would have noticed.

You can put a ST sim (AT&T or TMo) into the Walmart Straight Talk iPhone. You would get HSPA with an AT&T sim.

[Satnam1989]

Originally Posted by Bob Coxner

You can put a ST sim (AT&T or TMo) into the Walmart Straight Talk iPhone. You would get HSPA with an AT&T sim.

Can you? I dont have a verizon iPhone....you would have to turn off CDMA if you want to insert a AT&T Straight Talk SIM as the Verizon iPhone 5 would be connecting to Verizon directly via CDMA 3G (no SIM) from what I understand.

Should the buyer want to get a AT&T Straight talk SIM they would have to not activate it with Straight Talk first and instead insert a AT&T Straight Talk SIM, but wouldn't you rather just get a AT&T or Factory unlocked iPhone 5 if you are already paying the same price as you would for the Straight talk iPhone 5?

[phatjoe]

Originally Posted by Satnam1989

unfortuntely the Straight Talk iPhone sold at Walmart is actually going to be running on Verizon network and as we all know Verizon 3G isnt the fastest....

Yikes! I didn't know it will be on the 3G network. It must be horribly slow. I was hoping it would be on their LTE network (or whatever it is)....I guess you get what you pay for...

[Bob Coxner]

Originally Posted by Satnam1989

Can you? I dont have a verizon iPhone....you would have to turn off CDMA if you want to insert a AT&T Straight Talk SIM as the Verizon iPhone 5 would be connecting to Verizon directly via CDMA 3G (no SIM) from what I understand.

Should the buyer want to get a AT&T Straight talk SIM they would have to not activate it with Straight Talk first and instead insert a AT&T Straight Talk SIM, but wouldn't you rather just get a AT&T or Factory unlocked iPhone 5 if you are already paying the same price as you would for the Straight talk iPhone 5?

The Walmart iPhone 5 is simply the same Verizon iPhone 5 that you can buy off-contract at an Apple Store, except that it doesn't have a VZW nano sim installed. Without a VZW sim it runs on the VZW 3G network. Subscribe to a VZW postpaid account, add a nano sim, and you get LTE. Put in a ST AT&T sim and it turns off the CDMA and you get AT&T HSPA+ (if available in your area). Same with a TMo sim.

The lure of the Walmart iPhone 5 is mainly the ability to pay it off at $25 a month for 26 months with zero interest. Also, some people like it for the ability to run on VZW towers without a contract, even if it is 3G.