Newbie Alert!! VZW S3 for Straight Talk - Will it work?

[mtn-bike]

Hey All,
I'm new to Smartphones and wanted to experiment without getting into too much trouble. I have a Galaxy S3 (VZW) and plan to use it on Straight Talk, will this work? Is there anything that I need to do to the phone to get the most out of it? Thanks in advance.

 

[Golfdriver97]

Welcome to the forums. I think the first question should be is did you unlock the device to be taken to other carriers?

 

[dpham00]

If you have the latest update then it would be unlocked. It will work on straight talk , but should you choose tmobile, you will only get 2g.

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4

 

[mtn-bike]

'Choose' TMobile? I thought I would be using Straight Talk....my question initially was targeted towards which towers I would be using (VZW has the best coverage in my area) so that I could be sure I would have good coverage. I need some more explanation I guess.....

I considered myself a half way intelligent person until I began researching this topic........the more I read, the more confused I get.

 

[srkmagnus]

'Choose' TMobile? I thought I would be using Straight Talk....my question initially was targeted towards which towers I would be using (VZW has the best coverage in my area) so that I could be sure I would have good coverage. I need some more explanation I guess.....

I considered myself a half way intelligent person until I began researching this topic........the more I read, the more confused I get.

Straight Talk offers service that uses different carrier towers (such as T-Mobile and AT&T), and depending on the phone you have, the hardware it has may not support every radio signal offered by T-Mobile or AT&T. For example, 2G, 3G, and LTE use different radio "bands" to communicate with your device. If your particular model does not have the necessary hardware to support the radio signal of the carrier tower you will get service from, then you will be limited to use only what is supported.

As indicated by dpham00, this means that you will only get 2G data services. If you are OK with the slow data speeds then this is not an issue.

 

[dpham00]

Right, straight talk is a mobile virtual network operator (mvno) so it has no physical network.

There is a process to bring a Verizon phone onto straight talk with Verizon's network . You can see it on their website. It is fairly new and I am not that familiar with it so can't comment on how well it works but for sure tmobile network will work

Sent from my Verizon Samsung Galaxy Note 4

 

[mtn-bike]

It is getting clearer now.....

I have a Samsung Galaxy S3 that was on the Verizon network. My hope is to activate it using a network access code (?) and not use a SIM card, this should allow me to access the Verizon towers here in NH instead of the TMobile and AT&T towers that don't have as much coverage. The question is whether I can do it as the S3 is a 4G device (help?) and VZW may not allow MVNO's to use 4G devices.... I may have to find a 3G device or pony up megabucks to use it with a VZW account.

 

[dpham00]

You should contact straight talk.

Sent from my Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 8.4

 

[mtn-bike]

I will do that once I have a phone. I just wanted the benefit some real wold experience from you folks before I was told something that I would have trouble verifying. This exchange has helped me to know which questions to ask, hopefully this will go well.

 

[JohnDubya]

I will do that once I have a phone. I just wanted the benefit some real wold experience from you folks before I was told something that I would have trouble verifying. This exchange has helped me to know which questions to ask, hopefully this will go well.

mtn-bike, what did you end up finding out about getting an S3 from Verizon to StraightTalk? I'm about the make the same journey and seem to find conflicting information online about if it's possible and if you get 4G coverage or not.

 

[mtn-bike]

John,
The reception was the same as the Verizon phones that I compared it to. I liked the idea of 5gb for $45 but I use less than 1gb so in the end that wasn't an issue. I would say it is viable if you need all 5gb of data. My issue came when they tried to debit my card and failed. The charge was pending, my card co. said the funds were available and all they needed was retrieval.....and ST said my card was declined and needed to give them a new card #.
I have had VZW for years and never had a problem with service or reception, only their business model and lack of concern for anything but your $$.

It works but there may be some pain involved at some point...........GL