Straight Talk Wireless BYOP Program
 

For those looking to chop their monthly ATT or TMO bills, Straight Talk just introduced a BringYourOwnPhone program for $45/month unlimited everything (and $60/month with an unlimited Int'l calling add-on).

Phones can be unlocked or locked to either ATT or TMO (order the SIM card that matches where your phone is currently used), and phones require a simple APN edit to get data working (although many locked iPhone models will have a problem with MMS). The network your phone has access to is at least as good as the native coverage with either ATT or TMO (or both depending on your phone and frequencies)

Ordering is here: http://www.straighttalksim.com/

One caveat - no int'l roaming, so if your phone is locked to either ATT or TMO, it will be a brick when abroad without wifi.

I've been on Straight Talk unlimited everything $45/mo. for a few weeks using an unlocked GSM Galaxy Nexus. Couldn't be happier.

It's not clear if this includes data. Does it?

I'm assuming their SIM wouldn't work with a Verizon unlocked iPhone 4S.

It includes data, and no it would not work in the US with a Verizon unlocked iPhone. Once it can see the Verizon CDMA network it will prefer that over a GSM-based one.

If there's a non-Verizon SIM in the phone it will roam onto whatever the SIM says. I can put my China Mobile SIM in and it roams onto AT&T here in New York.

I guess a better phrasing of the question would be, will the iPhone accept a Straight Talk SIM given that Verizon doesn't unlock it for the USA - how does the Straight Talk SIM appear to the phone?

The Straight Talk plan includes voice, data and text. While data is unlimited, if you exceed 2GB per month and they can trace your activity to downloads or streaming, they reserve the right to terminate the account.

You can choose either a TMO or ATT compatible SIM card - so the Verizon iPhone would work on the ATT GSM network with an ATT compatible SIM. However, the Verizon and Sprint iPhones have a block on them that prevents a US-based GSM SIM from working, restricting the phones to foreign SIMs only - therefore unless someone unlocks the phone or gets Verizon/Sprint to remove the domestic SIM block, it won't work at all.

All other iPhones will work with the ATT SIM - although a TMO SIM *could* be used, but the phone will receive Edge/2G service only, which defeats the purpose.

One more data point....my other half received their SIM yesterday. One quick call to customer service and their ATT number was ported and StraightTalk working within a few minutes. Interesting that their voicemail greeting and inbox remained intact as well - so transitioning from ATT is pretty seamless.

Only thing lacking is being able to send international sms or mms messages, only beef besides that works well.

True, but you can just use Whatsapp for international SMS/MMS and Google Voice for international long distance. No premium SMS services either, so you can't text short codes for coupons, discounts, etc.

Only major caveat is no international roaming - any attempt to make or receive calls outside the US will end up with account termination.

Wouldn't work for me. I send a lot of text to colleagues in Canada, and I go to Canada frequently and need to use my phone with MY phone number here in the states. I don't want to pop in a Canadian SIM and use a different number in an unlocked phone. Same goes for my travels to Europe. I prefer having my number.
I'll stick with T-Mo. With their WiFi auto-transfer, I can use my number on WiFi internationally with no charges. That works for me. ;)

For those of you who are already signed up, can you tell me what the cost from the US to the UK would be per min? (cell phone)

Thanks

really?

from their faq:

It doesn't work in HI/AK? I guess that FAQ item must be incorrect as their coverage map includes AK/HI.

-David

They have two options - one is an unlimited everything with International plan for $60 a month which includes unlimited domestic and international calls, or a $5 per month add-on - needless to say if you're doing huge overseas calling volume, the $60 plan is better, otherwise I would suggest Google Voice or LocalPhone for outbound int'l calls.

Well you'll need to forgive them - headquarters are in Miami, which isn't really in the continental US either.

HI and AK are included, but PR/VI would not be. Basically, the test is to check where either ATT or TMO offer native (or US partner roaming) coverage - if it's on their respective coverage maps, you can use the phone with ST.

:D

On their sim selection page it wasn't obvious to me which to pick for an unlocked iphone.

One the one hand it is unlocked, but on the other hand you want to pick a SIM that works with AT&T/3G + iphone so I think you have to pick AT&T locked.

-David

They allow you to choose. If your phone is locked to ATT, you choose a ATT SIM, same with TMO. If your phone is unlocked, you can select the SIM that offers the best coverage or performance (ie TMO 4G) for your location or where you travel most. If you're not sure, you select an unlocked SIM and they use your zip code to figure out which network (ATT or TMO) gives you the best local coverage.

For example, I have an (now) unlocked iPhone 3GS - only ATT gives me 3G speed with that phone, so I chose the ATT SIM. If I sell the phone and get a Google Nexus/Samsung Android, then I can ask for the TMO SIM and swap, while keeping the same number, and use the TMO network and 4G.

Ah, didn't realize you had to choose either AT&T or T-mobile's network. Seems like it would be better if there were just one ST SIM and seamlessly chose whichever network had the stronger signal in your current location.

Still, for the money, who's complaining?

I don't think that's possible because they have different MVNO agreements with each carrier and probably can't combine network access - that would in effect make them a "merger" or ATT and TMO.

I'm OK with the service so far. Data speeds seem a little slower than native ATT (my phone says 3G so I'm getting the right signal), but my TMO friend who joined with his 4G TMO phone is getting faster data on the TMO network out west. I guess I'll need to test access in different locations before drawing a conclusion - ATT data wasn't exactly screaming fast down here before I switched.

Since ST supports locked phones from each MVNO partner and is basically offering the same identical service for $40-80 less per month, I'm just wondering what is going through the minds of ATT and TMO management as they see so many people leaving for ST (confirmed by both the ST rep I spoke with and the ATT rep who tried to talk me out of leaving).

I've been playing the "How can I save Money with my Wireless Plan" for almost as long as I've had one.

I've tried Verizon, Sprint, ATT and T-Mobile. I've tried the Pre-pay guys, Boost, and Virgin (both on Sprint's network), and GoPhone (ATT).
Some were good deals on the surface.
Boost had an old deal of $1.00 a day unlimited push to talk, and unlimited night and weekend calls. They also had an old $5.00 unlimited international calling plan that was hard to beat. They still have it, but it's way more limited. The old plan included China, and many other countries UNLIMITED for $5.00 a month.

Virgin had a $25 a month, 300 anytime minutes, and unlimited Android plan that I'm still on (grandfathered into). This is my backup phone. Virgin recently raised this to $35 a month, but still not a bad deal. For $25 a month, I will stay with this as a backup. Since it's CDMA, it's a good alternative to my GSM full service plan.

The problem I find with discount pre-pay plans is that you get what you pay for no matter what. If you are an international traveler, forget it. You have to put in a foreign sim if you CAN to use it. It's got to be unlocked. Most CMDA phones have no Sim slots so you are stuck when traveling. Your phone will be useless in Canada, the UK, France, etc. With carriers like Boost you can only originate call from the U.S., period. Also, you are married to your carrier network only. NO ROAMING. You can't use a Boost phone (using Sprint) on a Verizon Network as a roam call.

I admit I pay quite a bit more for my T-Mobile service, but I can use it anywhere there is GSM service in the world. As a bonus, I've got UMA calling so I can call from anywhere there is WiFi coverage, and take calls via WiFi using my T-Mo cell number at no extra charge. Pretty handy. But again, I PAY for this by a large monthly plan! But to be able to just use your phone in Paris to call New York? That's convenient. And to have people call your number from the U.S. and get you in Paris? That's even more convenient. There is no roaming charge on UMA with T-Mobile.

So I always waffle on this issue. Should I just bite the bullet, and save a load of cash every month and go with someone like Straight Talk, or stay with my full service carrier?
Convenience VS economy. UGH! A decision I always wonder about.

I guess if I never traveled outside the U.S., I may be enticed to go with Straight Talk. I like that I could use my T-Mo phones.

I went through this analysis myself, as I travel to Canada frequently and also to Taiwan and Japan (with those trips probably becoming more frequent and longer stays). I came to the conclusion that giving ATT $75/m (and that was after a huge corp discount and bonus minutes) PLUS paying for voice and data roaming was not going to cut it.

I had a second phone I was using in Canada with Fido prepaid that I had setup to cost me nothing more than $2 a day (unlimited incoming calls, so I had my regular lines forward to home VOIP then forwarded to my Fido number), so I was already in a 'foreign SIM' situation.

I decided Straight Talk's $35/m savings was well worth it - I now have an unlocked iPhone I can use with Fido's $2/day plan and $10/60mb/week, and also use it for unlimited wifi calls using Talkatone. When I'm in Taiwan, I can use a local SIM or just do what I have been doing, and rely on Talkatone with wifi - and enjoy the fact I can't be constantly pestered with calls in the middle of the night.

I can use Google Voice to call abroad (which I was doing previously with ATT), and even though I lost int'l text and domestic MMS, everyone I text is already using Whatsapp, so I will just keep that option. In short, very little has changed and the only real downside is not being able to receive or make an emergency call while abroad - but I can work around that as needed.

Good points, Bocastephen.
We're on the same page.

Another issue is, it looks like Blackberry is a "No-Go" on Straight Talk. This is not a deal-breaker for me now as it would have been six months ago before I really started using my Virgin Mobile Android for backup. I'm used to Android now, and can function with it. Before, it was BlackBerry only.

Every month that I pay my T-Mo Bill (and it's significantly higher than what you were paying) I say 'That's Enough! Time will tell.

Interesting that most of my European friends think we're NUTS having a Post-pay CONTRACTED plan. Most of them have pay-as-you-go only.

Does anyone know if there's a way to get hold of these SIM cards and set them up outside the US? I'll be travelling there in June and this seems like a good fit for what I'll need. Of course, since I'll be visiting I can't get a SIM mailed to me, previously I've gotten goPhone SIMs off eBay for a few dollars, so I'd have it with me, activated and ready to go when I stepped off the plane.

Previously I've gotten AT&T goPhone SIM cards, but the cost of data packs on them is pretty steep, this seems much better value.

Any suggestions for how I can do this?

First step is making sure your phone is compatible with one of the US networks and selecting your SIM based on which network - TMO and ATT have different frequencies for data, which will affect your experience. Also, make sure your phone is unlocked.

When you're ready to order the SIM, use your first hotel as the address, select (and pay) overnight shipping and let the hotel know to expect and hold a package for you. The only hitch is the billing address/credit card - so I would call Straight Talk, ask to speak with a billing supervisor and make sure you can use your offshore credit card for payment before doing any of this.

The phone number will be lost when your plan runs out, so if you want a permanent US number, setup a Google Voice account when you arrive, add the ST phone number as the primary forward and give out the GV number to people instead of the ST number - so next time you visit, and get a new ST number, your "real" phone number won't change.

AT&T does offer native coverage in Puerto Rico.

Most Europeans can't cope with the fact that we pay for incoming calls which changes a lot of things. Inbound calls are highly profitable for the carriers and allows them to subsidize a lot more including the taxes on the phone. Asa European visitor, I love their PAYG model, but I also like forwarding my landline to my mobile which would be cost prohibitive.

There. Is no way that a service could work in most European countries without charging an arm and a leg. I also think it would be harder to ditch the landline.

There are advantages to most models, but you really need to know them well to fairly compare them. Where they have us beat is intra-European roaming.

Indeed, so I would say the ST phone will work without roaming or issues as long as it's on a ATT (or TMO) network or a domestic roaming partner of those two companies (ie regional wireless company that offers service to ATT or TMO).

The problem with the European "Free incoming" calls is the they are not free for whoever calls you , in fact that call to your mobile might cost 10 cents a minute or more from a landline in the same country , and more if its from another country ,
Some people will not even call back mobile numbers because of the cost !

The phone company gets its money one way or the other !

SR

I mentioned this earlier, but as a "Backup" phone I use Virgin Mobile.

They have a $35 a month plan (I happen to be lucky enough to be grandfathered at $25) that is unlimited Android data, with 300 anytime minutes.

If you are in 3g or WiFi, you can use the Skype app to make free calls and not chew your 300 minutes. Works great.

I have to stick with T-Mo because of my travels, but if I was US only, in areas that Sprint (the provider for Virgin) covered, I'd save the bucks and go with Virgin Mobile full time.

Consider Porting to Google Voice
 

I happen to have a grandfathered Sprint SERO plan, so I'm not going anywhere.

However, if I was going to use Straight Talk or any of these other discount pre-pay services, I would first port my number to Google Voice. I would then have my Google Voice number forward to the prepaid phone, and I would make outgoing calls through GV as well so the GV number would show in caller ID.

Incoming and outgoing SMS would also be through Google Voice. Yes, it does not do outgoing international SMS nor MMS.

For traveling abroad, I would have GV forward to a US forwarding number that would forward to my foreign SIM.

Given the lack of customer service on these prepaid services, keeping the number with GV would be an added layer of protection if something went wrong with the prepaid account. Also, I like the GV voicemail.

are there services that provide this?

www.localphone.com

As BigFlyer mentioned, a Localphone incoming number works great for this; I wanted to add that they're currently having a sale where the setup fee (typically $3) is waived so you'd only pay $1/month for a US incoming number. Works great with Google Voice (among other uses).

That would require some pretty significant backend infrastructure relative to just piggybacking on the existing AT&T and T-Mobile prepaid systems.

It is an evolving business model, they see themselves as offloading distribution, customer service, billing overhead and credit risk carried by low ARPU customers to third parties.

It has been done well, it has been done poorly.

Nearly free international calling
 

You can make international calls on Straight Talk with a calling card using an access number and they are nearly free. I use one called "Lovers Card" (hehe) that I get from firstphonecard.com- about $18 buys me about 25 hrs of calling to Canada, for example- well less than a dollar an hour. Europe and S America are only a little more expensive.

A trick I used when I was on Verizon was to list my local calling card access number as one of my five "Friends and Family" numbers. Thus, any time I made a call using that number I was not charged minutes. I called Canada and France frequently and paid only calling card rates. Plus if I thought I might go over my monthly minute allocation I made domestic calls as well with the card, effectively transforming my limited plan into an unlimited minutes plan with only trivial calling fees.

Google Voice int'l rates are usually less than these calling cards and don't charge the fees - and you can make a non-wifi call via Google Voice using their website dialpad which will trigger a local (free) call to their US phone gateway, connecting you to the intl number from there.

my understanding of Straighttalk is that you can't access ultra fast 4G on AT&T such as LTE. Is that so? I'm concerned about data rates.

Depends on the SIM you choose. If you have a TMO network phone and select the TMO SIM, you get access to their fast 4G network (not LTE, but as fast as they offer today.)

If you have a ATT network phone and select the ATT SIM, you get access to their 4G network and all related 4G technologies except LTE (for now).

Their data is unlimited, but they will freeze or cancel you if you exceed 2GB per month or suddenly run up hundreds of Mb's in one day. For most people (except those constantly streaming content on their devices or downloading big files), their unlimited plan should work perfectly.

So you don't get LTE if you pick the AT&T network? I wonder if that eliminates the advantage of choosing AT&T vs t-mobile if you can't get LTE with their sim?

I went to the Maui Walmart today, they had the fancy extra large iphone5/straight talk wireless displays, but they said they didn't get any iphone5's yet. They have no idea if/when they will get them.

-David

T-Mobile "4G" is not technically 4G it is more like Faux 4G as it is HSPA+ (still plenty fast however)

at&t is running both 4G (LTE) and Faux 4G (HSPA+) with Straightalk on at&t you will not be able to access their 4G LTE network but you would be able to access their Faux 4G network without issue.

Puerto Rico and St. Thomas should work on Straightalk as at&t has native networks there.

Dan