Straight Talk & Iphone 4 Head Scratcher

[KendraPlanet]

I'm in desperate need of help (doesn't that sound dramatic?)

I bought a legally unlocked iPhone from a friend to use on Straight Talk/AT&T (no T-Mobile available here). I have all the original iPhone materials, the box, etc.

Now, I understand as of January or so you can no longer buy the SIM cards for iPhone 4 and Straight Talk (unless you want to buy one from an Ebay scammer for $500), but if you already have one, you can use that. My friend left the SIM card in the phone and he provided the serial number.

I went to the Straight Talk site to register the SIM and got: "We are sorry, the Serial Number you entered is associated with another account or is already active. Please try again with a different serial number or log into "My Account." and then "If you have an iPhone, please enter your MEID."

I Googled MEID. The Apple site says, "If you have access to your iOS device, here are some quick ways to obtain your serial number, International Mobile Equipment Identity (IMEI), Integrated Circuit Card ID (ICCID), or Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID) ..." So basically there IS no MEID but I can try the IMEI. Ok.

I found the IMEI on the phone (settings>about) and entered that. It's 15 digits. I got, "The Serial Number you entered was not found in our system. Please enter your phone's 14, 15 or 18 digits Serial Number/IMEI/ MEID/MEID DEC below. If you have an iPhone, please enter the 14 digits of your MEID. If you purchased a SIM card for the Bring Your Own Phone program, please enter the last 15 digits of your SIM card number."

So that basically took me back where I started (except confusing me more by saying the IMEI/MEID should only be 14 digits). I tried the first 14 and the last 14. No go. And why would they find my specific phone's ID in their system anyway?

I contacted the guy I bought the phone from and he's scratching his head saying maybe you can't use an iPhone w/AT&T SIM on Straight Talk anymore but I keep seeing posts were people have done it and recently (but have yet to find anyone that has my same situation).

The plan here was to get away from Android/Virgin Mobile and transition to the wonderful world of Apple. But it's starting to look like I have to resell the iPhone to get another Android phone (Noooooooooo!)

Does my friend/the seller have to somehow release that SIM from his account or ...? Am I SOL or is there some way around this?

Thanks much in advance!!

 

[CEmajr]

Sadly you're out of luck. SIM cards cannot be deactivated and transferred to other accounts. You would need a brand new SIM card.

 

[bohbot16]

Your best bet is to get a Net10 AT&T SIM. Net10 changed to a 1.5GB cap instead of the throttling that Straight Talk employs.

 

[KendraPlanet]

Thanks, guys.

I ended up buying a legit Straight Talk micro SIM card.

I wish I'd known about Net10, but at least I have a back up plan if StraightTalk drives me insane (and I'm already half there).

Activation so far is a PITA. My choices are to deal with a Straight Talk website that sends me in circles (as if I didn't already complete 10x steps or whatever). I truly don't want to call tech support and have someone read instructions to me for an hour and a half.

Thanks again

 

[search4cool]

It is on the upper and lower side of your sim card's metal tray

When an iPhone 4S is activated on a CDMA carrier, the SIM tray displays both the MEID and the IMEI number as 15 digits. The MEID number uses the first 14 digits, disregarding the last digit, and the IMEI number uses all 15 digits.