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Carrier Straight Talk LTE - Iphone 5

R

rankone

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Nov 14, 2012
12
0
Hey Everyone!

I've been on Straight Talk ever since I got my Iphone 5. I got their new LTE enabled sim card today & did the t-mobile sim swap to access the APN settings. I tried the tfdata apn settings for data/mms and a couple of different variations for the MMS but it still says 4G instead of LTE.

I called up Straight Talk & they said although my area does have LTE coverage, AT&T is having some LTE issues in my area & this should be resolved by 8 am tomorrow and if not then to call them again. This just sounds like a standard answer to give someone when you don't really know what's going on. So I just wanted to know how long did it take for you guys to get the LTE signal working on your phone after you popped the sim card in your phone? Also just to be sure what APN settings did you guys use.
 
rankone said:
Hey Everyone!

I've been on Straight Talk ever since I got my Iphone 5. I got their new LTE enabled sim card today & did the t-mobile sim swap to access the APN settings. I tried the tfdata apn settings for data/mms and a couple of different variations for the MMS but it still says 4G instead of LTE.

I called up Straight Talk & they said although my area does have LTE coverage, AT&T is having some LTE issues in my area & this should be resolved by 8 am tomorrow and if not then to call them again. This just sounds like a standard answer to give someone when you don't really know what's going on. So I just wanted to know how long did it take for you guys to get the LTE signal working on your phone after you popped the sim card in your phone? Also just to be sure what APN settings did you guys use.
Click to expand...

I take it you haven't left the house today? I got 4G when I first inserted my ST AT&T Sim into my 5s, then I went out to my back yard (which is closer to the tower), and LTE showed up.


I now get LTE no matter what part of my house i'm in.

I'm on the tfdata APN.
 
I just left my house for about an hour & got back. It still says 4G. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but my iPhone 5 is a Verizon iPhone which by default was factory unlocked. But could this have anything to do with it?
 
rankone said:
I just left my house for about an hour & got back. It still says 4G. I'm not sure if this has anything to do with it, but my iPhone 5 is a Verizon iPhone which by default was factory unlocked. But could this have anything to do with it?
Click to expand...

You are using a AT&T SIM...Your iPhone 5 is Verizon = Lacks Band 4 and 17 = Required for LTE on AT&T + T-Mobile


That is what your issue is

You need to gain better understanding regarding the iPhone (checkout one of my threads) https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1637205/

As Going Forward you can get LTE on AT&T + T-Mobile and most of the Networks worldwide if you own a iPhone 5S or 5C from Verizon
 
Thanks for clearing that up Satnam, I guess I'll have to stick with 4G/HSPA+ speeds for now :)
 
So does any sim from straight talk enable LTE? My sister just got a sim card from ST and not sure if its LTE enabled? Where do you order the LTE sim?
 
1rottenapple said:
So does any sim from straight talk enable LTE? My sister just got a sim card from ST and not sure if its LTE enabled? Where do you order the LTE sim?
Click to expand...

I was told by a BYOP Manager that as long as your Sim worked with the tfdata APN, and not the att.mvno APN, your sim supported 4G/LTE...Which is some what not true.

My Sim was almost 2 years old, and my account was originally provisioned to the att.mvno APN, but was switched over to the tfdata APN about 6 months ago.

I cut my sim and inserted it into my 5s.. 4G/LTE didn't work, so I called ST and had them activate a new sim, and as soon as I entered my APN/MMS settings, 4G/LTE worked.


So: Your phone/network needs to support LTE, and your account/sim needs to be provisioned to the tfdata APN.

You can purchase a 4G/LTE sim from StraightTalk.com or Walmart.com.... Walmart sill has the sims on sale... ST raised the price back to $14.99.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Straight-Talk-AT-T-Compatible-Micro-SIM-Card/21550826
 
1rottenapple said:
So does any sim from straight talk enable LTE? My sister just got a sim card from ST and not sure if its LTE enabled? Where do you order the LTE sim?
Click to expand...

I think the LTE sim cards have been out since 1-2 months so I guess it depends on how recently did she buy the sim card off straight talk. They only provide LTE sim cards for their AT&T compatible phones now.
 
1rottenapple said:
She bought it 5 days ago on striaightalk's website.
Click to expand...

Yeah it should be LTE enabled then if she bought it for an AT&T compatible phone. Try putting in the tfdata APN settings and see if it picks up a LTE signal.
 
I switched to AT&T's 60$ GoPhone plan because of Straight Talk's horrible speeds, high pings and automatic speed throttle system.. And of course the lack of LTE.
Did it get any better?
 
Last edited:
fedecape said:
I switched to AT&T's 60$ GoPhone plan because Straight Talk's horrible speeds, high pings and automatic speed throttle system.. And of course the lack of LTE.
Did it get any better?
Click to expand...

Ha I doubt my sister cares about ping. She just needs it for Pinterest.
 
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