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Block

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 28, 2007
843
1
Has anybody tried using Straight Talk for their iPhone? From reading around it looks like they use AT&T's postpaid network. I read that they will work with any AT&T locked phone, including the AT&T locked iPhone, because they are supposedly an AT&T MVNO. Can anyone confirm this?

http://www.straighttalksim.com/
 
Last edited:

andiwm2003

macrumors 601
Mar 29, 2004
4,381
447
Boston, MA
i'm interested as well. it seems cheap but their website gives little detail.

is it 3G or 2G data?
what are the international rates? they say you can sign up for international plans however they don't give you the prices before you sign up.

it say's only at walmart. does that mean it's a walmart subsidiary?
 

antman2295

macrumors 6502
Nov 30, 2010
366
1
From what I understand Straight talk uses T-Mobiles network. Thats why its so cheap, People I know have coverage like T-Mobile in my area (which is bad) rather than a strong fast signal like At&t (which has great coverage where I live)


Edit: But while looking at their website, voice coverage seems to match At&t's map. So it may be possible.
 

Block

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 28, 2007
843
1
From what I understand Straight talk uses T-Mobiles network. Thats why its so cheap, People I know have coverage like T-Mobile in my area (which is bad) rather than a strong fast signal like At&t (which has great coverage where I live)


Edit: But while looking at their website, voice coverage seems to match At&t's map. So it may be possible.

From what I understand and read, which network you use depends on which phone you bring over.
 

MacManTexas56

macrumors 68020
Apr 4, 2005
2,496
384
you can use straighttalk but it appears to be a big pain as you can't just get a sim and use it with your iphone. You have to get a certain smartphone and use that sim for it to work. Requires a little too much money upfront IMO. I use Red Pocket and have used H2O which both run on AT&T as well so you don't have to be unlocked. I pay $59.99/month for unlimited talk/text/2gb data. Works nice and u aren't charged any tax either.....

you can get h2o sims at bestbuy and i got my red pocket sim on amazon for $2.89...use a sim cutter and you're good to go.
 

Block

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 28, 2007
843
1
The website seems to imply that the plan is BYOD, so I don't think there should be a need to use some loophole or buy any additional smartphones.
 
Last edited:

unlimitedx

macrumors 6502a
Jun 15, 2010
635
0
you can use straighttalk but it appears to be a big pain as you can't just get a sim and use it with your iphone. You have to get a certain smartphone and use that sim for it to work. Requires a little too much money upfront IMO. I use Red Pocket and have used H2O which both run on AT&T as well so you don't have to be unlocked. I pay $59.99/month for unlimited talk/text/2gb data. Works nice and u aren't charged any tax either.....

you can get h2o sims at bestbuy and i got my red pocket sim on amazon for $2.89...use a sim cutter and you're good to go.

obviously you have not heard about the new byod by straight talk!
 

techguy20

macrumors 6502
Jan 30, 2010
250
0
Did a LOT of research on this just yesterday, actually!

Currently, it is technically against the terms of service to use any other phone than the ones they specifically sell, though they haven't been checking the IMEIs unless you called for support. However, you would need to purchase a $50 Nokia phone (refurbished), activate everything on that device, and THEN transfer the SIM to the iPhone.

Here's a good guide on getting it set up:
http://wiki.howardforums.com/index.php/Straight_Talk_iPhone

The Nokia devices come with SIMs that use AT&T's network.

Starting on Feb 7th, Straight Talk will be selling SIM cards for unlocked devices (though you wouldn't necessary need unlocked if you have an AT&T iPhone anyway) as part of a new service... only initial cost will be a $15 SIM fee (much better than the $50 phone), AND you don't have to worry about them terminating your service by using a non-official phone, since this new service is BYOD ("bring your own device"). Still $45 unlimited everything, and perfectly legal now. (Note that you cannot use a CDMA iPhone 4 or 4S with Straight Talk. It must be GSM)

Here's the site for more info on the SIM offer, starting Tuesday:
http://straighttalksim.com/

One concern, that will still hold for the new BYOD service is the data limitations. While it is technically unlimited, they have cut some people off who use high amounts of data (i.e. 5-10+ GB per month). It is recommended by people online that you try to stay below 2GB per month if possible. However, people who have gone over have been able to call up (they claim to have said they left YouTube open), and have their data re-activated. In general, it seems as long as you don't go crazy with data usage, you'll be fine.

Some other things to note include the 3G speed, which is usually around 2-3Mbps down on the 3GS and 4, and I've seen screenshots of up to 5-6Mbps on the iPhone 4S. The carrier in the top left of the screen (next to your bars) will read "HOME" rather than "AT&T". You can change this if you'd like if you are jailbroken by using an app called FakeCarrier.

3G data, Push email, FaceTime, and iMessage all work if you use the APN of "att.mvno". MMS works for some, though may require a jailbreak application. I'm not concerned about MMS though, and I don't jailbreak. I rarely receive them, and I can send images as emails if I need to. Personal hotspot also only works for some, but there are some ideas out there on how to activate it without a jailbreak, though it is technically against their Terms of Service, and you could be red-flagged in their system if you use tons of data tethering all day.


I hope this post has helped; I will most likely be ordering the new SIM next week to use this service on my 4S, finally an upgrade from EDGE on T-Mobile, which I use currently.
 

andiwm2003

macrumors 601
Mar 29, 2004
4,381
447
Boston, MA
Did a LOT of research on this just yesterday, actually!

Currently, it is technically against the terms of service to use any other phone than the ones they specifically sell, though they haven't been checking the IMEIs unless you called for support. However, you would need to purchase a $50 Nokia phone (refurbished), activate everything on that device, and THEN transfer the SIM to the iPhone.

Here's a good guide on getting it set up:
http://wiki.howardforums.com/index.php/Straight_Talk_iPhone

The Nokia devices come with SIMs that use AT&T's network.

Starting on Feb 7th, Straight Talk will be selling SIM cards for unlocked devices (though you wouldn't necessary need unlocked if you have an AT&T iPhone anyway) as part of a new service... only initial cost will be a $15 SIM fee (much better than the $50 phone), AND you don't have to worry about them terminating your service by using a non-official phone, since this new service is BYOD ("bring your own device"). Still $45 unlimited everything, and perfectly legal now. (Note that you cannot use a CDMA iPhone 4 or 4S with Straight Talk. It must be GSM)

Here's the site for more info on the SIM offer, starting Tuesday:
http://straighttalksim.com/

One concern, that will still hold for the new BYOD service is the data limitations. While it is technically unlimited, they have cut some people off who use high amounts of data (i.e. 5-10+ GB per month). It is recommended by people online that you try to stay below 2GB per month if possible. However, people who have gone over have been able to call up (they claim to have said they left YouTube open), and have their data re-activated. In general, it seems as long as you don't go crazy with data usage, you'll be fine.

Some other things to note include the 3G speed, which is usually around 2-3Mbps down on the 3GS and 4, and I've seen screenshots of up to 5-6Mbps on the iPhone 4S. The carrier in the top left of the screen (next to your bars) will read "HOME" rather than "AT&T". You can change this if you'd like if you are jailbroken by using an app called FakeCarrier.

3G data, Push email, FaceTime, and iMessage all work if you use the APN of "att.mvno". MMS works for some, though may require a jailbreak application. I'm not concerned about MMS though, and I don't jailbreak. I rarely receive them, and I can send images as emails if I need to. Personal hotspot also only works for some, but there are some ideas out there on how to activate it without a jailbreak, though it is technically against their Terms of Service, and you could be red-flagged in their system if you use tons of data tethering all day.


I hope this post has helped; I will most likely be ordering the new SIM next week to use this service on my 4S, finally an upgrade from EDGE on T-Mobile, which I use currently.

great write up! let us know how it goes as soon as you have set up your iPhone. I'm particularly interested how well visual voicemail works.
 

techguy20

macrumors 6502
Jan 30, 2010
250
0
great write up! let us know how it goes as soon as you have set up your iPhone. I'm particularly interested how well visual voicemail works.

Thanks -- Unfortunately, I've heard it doesn't. If you wanted VV, you'd need to use something like YouMail.
 

Eddy120876

macrumors member
Dec 13, 2011
67
0
Bronx,NY
I for one can't wait. I have a MetroPCS LTE phone and lets just say "skippy" dies after 4 hours of use during the winter and 2.5 hours during the summer. So im doing the ST BYOP deal using my old 3G iphone. The good news is that they have both sim choices: Micro or regular sim cards so no need to buy a cutter of Ebay. also is a better deal for my money. 45 instead of 60 a month. I barely go over 3GB a month. Plus you can choose Tmob or ATT "lets surf and talk at the sametime :D"
 

Eddy120876

macrumors member
Dec 13, 2011
67
0
Bronx,NY
the AT&T microsim is already sold out!!

I checked for my zip code and they still have the micro sim. Re check tomorrow they might have more. Also some of the posters of H.W say that even if it says sold out pick the micro sim plus 45 dollar minute and it should appear.
 
Last edited:

iPhoneRepo

macrumors newbie
att locked i4 st

got mine working pushin 3mbs dl speed. apn settings thy gave me worked then stopped... im seeing numerous apn settings... i try to mms but it fails...

st apn they provided
apn : straight talk
mms/: wap.tracfone
mmsc: http://mms.tracfone.com
mms proxy: 216.155.165.40
mms max msg: 1048576


please post what works for you...

also imessage is off and on throught text.
 

james92se

macrumors 6502a
Jun 21, 2010
818
27
Dallas, TX
Did a LOT of research on this just yesterday, actually!

Currently, it is technically against the terms of service to use any other phone than the ones they specifically sell, though they haven't been checking the IMEIs unless you called for support. However, you would need to purchase a $50 Nokia phone (refurbished), activate everything on that device, and THEN transfer the SIM to the iPhone.

Here's a good guide on getting it set up:
http://wiki.howardforums.com/index.php/Straight_Talk_iPhone

The Nokia devices come with SIMs that use AT&T's network.

Starting on Feb 7th, Straight Talk will be selling SIM cards for unlocked devices (though you wouldn't necessary need unlocked if you have an AT&T iPhone anyway) as part of a new service... only initial cost will be a $15 SIM fee (much better than the $50 phone), AND you don't have to worry about them terminating your service by using a non-official phone, since this new service is BYOD ("bring your own device"). Still $45 unlimited everything, and perfectly legal now. (Note that you cannot use a CDMA iPhone 4 or 4S with Straight Talk. It must be GSM)

Here's the site for more info on the SIM offer, starting Tuesday:
http://straighttalksim.com/

One concern, that will still hold for the new BYOD service is the data limitations. While it is technically unlimited, they have cut some people off who use high amounts of data (i.e. 5-10+ GB per month). It is recommended by people online that you try to stay below 2GB per month if possible. However, people who have gone over have been able to call up (they claim to have said they left YouTube open), and have their data re-activated. In general, it seems as long as you don't go crazy with data usage, you'll be fine.

Some other things to note include the 3G speed, which is usually around 2-3Mbps down on the 3GS and 4, and I've seen screenshots of up to 5-6Mbps on the iPhone 4S. The carrier in the top left of the screen (next to your bars) will read "HOME" rather than "AT&T". You can change this if you'd like if you are jailbroken by using an app called FakeCarrier.

3G data, Push email, FaceTime, and iMessage all work if you use the APN of "att.mvno". MMS works for some, though may require a jailbreak application. I'm not concerned about MMS though, and I don't jailbreak. I rarely receive them, and I can send images as emails if I need to. Personal hotspot also only works for some, but there are some ideas out there on how to activate it without a jailbreak, though it is technically against their Terms of Service, and you could be red-flagged in their system if you use tons of data tethering all day.


I hope this post has helped; I will most likely be ordering the new SIM next week to use this service on my 4S, finally an upgrade from EDGE on T-Mobile, which I use currently.

Wow, this is cool!
 

gapperonduty

macrumors 6502
Jun 30, 2010
350
0
Everything sounds so good so far...why hasn't anyone from ATT switching to this since it is much more affordable and with the same coverage as well...

on that note, how's the service in New York, anyone using it at the moment?
 
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