First off, I'm posting this for my own help and to hopefully help other people that may have similar issues, in addition to hopefully bringing some light to Straight Talk's shady and downright unacceptable shennanigans, so please excuse the length. There is a TL; DR at the bottom if that's your thing.
I've been with ST now for almost 3 years. My first phone was just a cheap slider for calling/texting, which was one of their AT&T-serviced phones. Then, I bought an LG Optimus Q from them shortly after they released them, wanting to upgrade to an Android, which was Sprint-serviced. Recently, wanting an upgrade, I bought an unlocked T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3 (T999) to use with their BYOP SIM program, which is only available through T-Mobile now. I had considered getting a Galaxy S2 from them, but for only about $100 more, I could get the newer version and not be stuck with Android 2.3 still, plus have the flexibility to switch to any GSM with my phone if I so choose.
I absolutely love the phone so far and am blown away, with the small exception of a few small nitpicks and the fear of it eating my brand new 64gb SD card.
At first I was more than happy with my service as well. Previously, on both of my past phones, I had absolutely no service at home, but I live out in the country (Sarahsville, Ohio) and had friends with Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T, of which, only AT&T ever had any service, which was inconsistent and barely enough to send texts when it did come through (my girlfriend I live with has AT&T). When I got this phone set up and my old number transfered, my service was just as good, if not better, than AT&T. I could send texts fairly easily, had good service in town nearby (Caldwell, Ohio), and had 3G at work in a nearby town, (Cambridge, Ohio) and when I visited my friends at OU (Athens, Ohio) I had great service and 4G (Not true LTE, of course) everywhere I went.
For about 5 days.
Then, I couldn't send or recieve texts at home any more ("Not Registered On Network") and my service at work switched to 2G/Edge. Not a HUGE deal, but certainly annoying. Until I went to another nearby city (Marietta, Ohio) and my phone showed that I had full service everywhere I went, but I was unable to access the Internet, send/recieve texts, or make/recieve calls. Anywhere in the area. Absolutely unacceptable.
I haven't been to Athens since, though, which, coincidentally, is the ZIP code that my phone is registered to from when I was in College there, nor have I been to Marietta since.
At first I gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed it was network issues. Then, I blamed my APN settings, which I double checked and are exactly what they instruct. After Googling alternate settings and trying a handful, I set them back to the instructed settings. Then, after more searching, I found out a few others have had the same issue, a few of which were also using the S3. Well, 10 - 15 days later, I got fed up and called customer support (yesterday) after an email explaining my issue failed to do anything other than have them attempt to call me on my phone through them, which I was emailing them about due to lack of service anywhere but Cambridge at my work (for simplicity, I had told them it was a problem everywhere and that I had no data service and couldn't make calls or send texts) which seems pretty thick-headed to me.
Regardless, I called them, which I hate doing.
I called the number they have listed on their site for SIM customers and followed the prompts, which led me to Tech Support.
I was connected with a male rep, who asked for my phone number. After accessing my account, he informed me that he needed to Transfer me to the department that dealt with SIM customers and offered a hotline so I could avoid this hassle in the future. I accepted the offer, and he proceeded to read me the same ****ing number I called. Not wanting to spend any extra time on the phone, I just let it pass.
Then, I was connected with a female rep. I explained my issue, and was told exactly what I was expecting to hear after the research I had done, which was that she would make some updates to my phone/account and had me remove my battery and SIM (which makes me wonder what people do that have phones with non-removable batteries).
Then, she asked where I purchased my SIM from (ST site) and what model phone I was using.
Then, she had me reinsert my battery and SIM and powery phone on. After the normal startup and my SD card mounting, I explained that I now had no service at all (I was in an area of my house that consistently has at least 1 bar, usually 2 (out of 4 possible)). She said it can take a few minutes, so we waited as she asked me the address of my current location. After at least 5 minutes, my service finally adjusted back to the normal amount, and she had me attpt to place a call. Not Registered On Network.
Then, she said she was going to do a few more updates. After a wait, she had me attempt another call. Same results.
Then, she put me on hold to "do some checking"
After around 5 minutes of hold music, she returned and explained that my area has low to moderate coverage. I then explained that my home service was the least of my worries and that my service in nearby cities was changed as well. I gave her the ZIP of each one, and she explained that Cambridge has excellent coverage, but little to no 3G, and Marietta also has low - moderate coverage for their T-Mobile customers. She then proceeded to ask if I had the option for an AT&T SIM when I bought my SIM (knowing that I bought it from their site about 3 - 4 weeks previous, as she specifically asked for this information), to which I obviously replied "No", although the question seemed odd to me.
She proceeded to explain that AT&T (through them) had excellent, 3G coverage in both Cambridge and Marietta, although they still had low - moderate coverage in my home area, then asked me if I knew of any service providers that had good coverage in my areas.
At this point, it seemed to me like she was about to offer to send me an AT&T SIM from ST, which I was ready to pounce on, so I explained that an AT&T user that lived with me had great service in the area.
Instead, she proceeded to tell me (again) that their AT&T coverage in my home area was still low - moderate and then explained that AT&T's customers have full access to all of AT&T's Towers, but Straight Talk customers only had access to the towers and bandwith that Straight Talk pays them for.
Then, after me asking what we were going to do about my issue, she explained that my phone probably had service at home previously because it was roaming on another network and since my number is registered elsewhere, it stopped doing that. She went on that the next time I'm in Cambridge, I should remove my battery and SIM and replace them and power my phone on and it should fix the issue and return my service to its previous level because it should update my home network or home area or something along those lines.
After following these instructions last night at work, the only change I noticed was that my data at work seemed significantly slower than usual. I still can't use the service my phone is claiming at home (which seemed to be her main focus, despite my apathy for the issue) and my data at work is still 2G, despite it previously being 3G.
To me, it sounds a suspicious amount like she explained to me that they only bother providing much extended coverage in whatever ZIP code you register your phone in, which, on par for Straight Talk, seems very shady and misleading.
Originally, I planned to call back if the issue wasn't fixed to try to push more for an AT&T SIM. However, after reading countless horror stories of throttled data with no consistent or official numbers reported, service shut-offs with the same issues, a terms of service that prohibits media streaming or large downloads, and other shady, misleading, or bull**** situations, rules, or issues, I'm highly considering switching to T-Moblie's prepaid plan and shelling out a few more dollars per month for a guaranteed 2gb of high-speed data (which is probably plenty for me anyway) and unlimited data after that still (although throttled speeds) with the same unlimited talk and text. I would have full access to their network, and not just what ST pays for, with all of the same freedoms of no fees and no contract obligation.
***************************
TL; DR
On ST with my SGS3 I had 3G at work and enough service at home to send texts, but after less than a week, I could no longer send/recieve texts at home ("Not Registered On Network"), my service at work cut to 2G, and in all other areas where I have service (anywhere from patchy, bad service to consistent, strong, full service) within a 50 mile radius, I cant use data services, make calls, or send texts ("No Mobile Data Network Available"). I emailed ST and talked to them for 46mins yesterday and after their "updates", their one fix did nothing.
I would rather not waste an more time talking to them, but will if I HAVE to.
If anyone has some help to fix my issue, then that would be awesome. If not, should I try with them more to fix this, pester them for an AT&T SIM, drop them and switch to T-Mobile's prepaid, or do something else?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Android Central Forums
I've been with ST now for almost 3 years. My first phone was just a cheap slider for calling/texting, which was one of their AT&T-serviced phones. Then, I bought an LG Optimus Q from them shortly after they released them, wanting to upgrade to an Android, which was Sprint-serviced. Recently, wanting an upgrade, I bought an unlocked T-Mobile Samsung Galaxy S3 (T999) to use with their BYOP SIM program, which is only available through T-Mobile now. I had considered getting a Galaxy S2 from them, but for only about $100 more, I could get the newer version and not be stuck with Android 2.3 still, plus have the flexibility to switch to any GSM with my phone if I so choose.
I absolutely love the phone so far and am blown away, with the small exception of a few small nitpicks and the fear of it eating my brand new 64gb SD card.
At first I was more than happy with my service as well. Previously, on both of my past phones, I had absolutely no service at home, but I live out in the country (Sarahsville, Ohio) and had friends with Verizon, Sprint, and AT&T, of which, only AT&T ever had any service, which was inconsistent and barely enough to send texts when it did come through (my girlfriend I live with has AT&T). When I got this phone set up and my old number transfered, my service was just as good, if not better, than AT&T. I could send texts fairly easily, had good service in town nearby (Caldwell, Ohio), and had 3G at work in a nearby town, (Cambridge, Ohio) and when I visited my friends at OU (Athens, Ohio) I had great service and 4G (Not true LTE, of course) everywhere I went.
For about 5 days.
Then, I couldn't send or recieve texts at home any more ("Not Registered On Network") and my service at work switched to 2G/Edge. Not a HUGE deal, but certainly annoying. Until I went to another nearby city (Marietta, Ohio) and my phone showed that I had full service everywhere I went, but I was unable to access the Internet, send/recieve texts, or make/recieve calls. Anywhere in the area. Absolutely unacceptable.
I haven't been to Athens since, though, which, coincidentally, is the ZIP code that my phone is registered to from when I was in College there, nor have I been to Marietta since.
At first I gave them the benefit of the doubt and assumed it was network issues. Then, I blamed my APN settings, which I double checked and are exactly what they instruct. After Googling alternate settings and trying a handful, I set them back to the instructed settings. Then, after more searching, I found out a few others have had the same issue, a few of which were also using the S3. Well, 10 - 15 days later, I got fed up and called customer support (yesterday) after an email explaining my issue failed to do anything other than have them attempt to call me on my phone through them, which I was emailing them about due to lack of service anywhere but Cambridge at my work (for simplicity, I had told them it was a problem everywhere and that I had no data service and couldn't make calls or send texts) which seems pretty thick-headed to me.
Regardless, I called them, which I hate doing.
I called the number they have listed on their site for SIM customers and followed the prompts, which led me to Tech Support.
I was connected with a male rep, who asked for my phone number. After accessing my account, he informed me that he needed to Transfer me to the department that dealt with SIM customers and offered a hotline so I could avoid this hassle in the future. I accepted the offer, and he proceeded to read me the same ****ing number I called. Not wanting to spend any extra time on the phone, I just let it pass.
Then, I was connected with a female rep. I explained my issue, and was told exactly what I was expecting to hear after the research I had done, which was that she would make some updates to my phone/account and had me remove my battery and SIM (which makes me wonder what people do that have phones with non-removable batteries).
Then, she asked where I purchased my SIM from (ST site) and what model phone I was using.
Then, she had me reinsert my battery and SIM and powery phone on. After the normal startup and my SD card mounting, I explained that I now had no service at all (I was in an area of my house that consistently has at least 1 bar, usually 2 (out of 4 possible)). She said it can take a few minutes, so we waited as she asked me the address of my current location. After at least 5 minutes, my service finally adjusted back to the normal amount, and she had me attpt to place a call. Not Registered On Network.
Then, she said she was going to do a few more updates. After a wait, she had me attempt another call. Same results.
Then, she put me on hold to "do some checking"
After around 5 minutes of hold music, she returned and explained that my area has low to moderate coverage. I then explained that my home service was the least of my worries and that my service in nearby cities was changed as well. I gave her the ZIP of each one, and she explained that Cambridge has excellent coverage, but little to no 3G, and Marietta also has low - moderate coverage for their T-Mobile customers. She then proceeded to ask if I had the option for an AT&T SIM when I bought my SIM (knowing that I bought it from their site about 3 - 4 weeks previous, as she specifically asked for this information), to which I obviously replied "No", although the question seemed odd to me.
She proceeded to explain that AT&T (through them) had excellent, 3G coverage in both Cambridge and Marietta, although they still had low - moderate coverage in my home area, then asked me if I knew of any service providers that had good coverage in my areas.
At this point, it seemed to me like she was about to offer to send me an AT&T SIM from ST, which I was ready to pounce on, so I explained that an AT&T user that lived with me had great service in the area.
Instead, she proceeded to tell me (again) that their AT&T coverage in my home area was still low - moderate and then explained that AT&T's customers have full access to all of AT&T's Towers, but Straight Talk customers only had access to the towers and bandwith that Straight Talk pays them for.
Then, after me asking what we were going to do about my issue, she explained that my phone probably had service at home previously because it was roaming on another network and since my number is registered elsewhere, it stopped doing that. She went on that the next time I'm in Cambridge, I should remove my battery and SIM and replace them and power my phone on and it should fix the issue and return my service to its previous level because it should update my home network or home area or something along those lines.
After following these instructions last night at work, the only change I noticed was that my data at work seemed significantly slower than usual. I still can't use the service my phone is claiming at home (which seemed to be her main focus, despite my apathy for the issue) and my data at work is still 2G, despite it previously being 3G.
To me, it sounds a suspicious amount like she explained to me that they only bother providing much extended coverage in whatever ZIP code you register your phone in, which, on par for Straight Talk, seems very shady and misleading.
Originally, I planned to call back if the issue wasn't fixed to try to push more for an AT&T SIM. However, after reading countless horror stories of throttled data with no consistent or official numbers reported, service shut-offs with the same issues, a terms of service that prohibits media streaming or large downloads, and other shady, misleading, or bull**** situations, rules, or issues, I'm highly considering switching to T-Moblie's prepaid plan and shelling out a few more dollars per month for a guaranteed 2gb of high-speed data (which is probably plenty for me anyway) and unlimited data after that still (although throttled speeds) with the same unlimited talk and text. I would have full access to their network, and not just what ST pays for, with all of the same freedoms of no fees and no contract obligation.
***************************
TL; DR
On ST with my SGS3 I had 3G at work and enough service at home to send texts, but after less than a week, I could no longer send/recieve texts at home ("Not Registered On Network"), my service at work cut to 2G, and in all other areas where I have service (anywhere from patchy, bad service to consistent, strong, full service) within a 50 mile radius, I cant use data services, make calls, or send texts ("No Mobile Data Network Available"). I emailed ST and talked to them for 46mins yesterday and after their "updates", their one fix did nothing.
I would rather not waste an more time talking to them, but will if I HAVE to.
If anyone has some help to fix my issue, then that would be awesome. If not, should I try with them more to fix this, pester them for an AT&T SIM, drop them and switch to T-Mobile's prepaid, or do something else?
Sent from my SGH-T999 using Android Central Forums
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