Straight Talk vs Verizon (or any other major carrier)?

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Straight Talk vs Verizon (or any other major carrier)?

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:08:57 PM EDT

The wife unit and I are trying to save some cash by cutting back. If we switched from Verizon to Straight Talk, we'd save a small fortune. Has anyone switched from Verizon or a major carrier to Straight Talk? How's the service compared to the big guys? They say they use the same networks, but how does it do for things like 3G and 4G? Thanks in advance.

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:13:02 PM EDT

[#1]

I switched about two years ago and have never considered going back since, saved myself a shit ton of money, 45 bucks a month for unlimited talk text and web cant really beat that, depending on the phone you get I think there are some 4g ones out now through straight talk

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:14:43 PM EDT

[#2]

I had T-mobile service for my kid and it cost us a fortune too! Switched to Straight Talk for $45/month for unlimited talk/text/web and all is well. Service runs over the AT&T network here and 4g works great. I lost some of the parental features I used to have, but have found apps to replace them so it's a WIN for me. Good Luck.

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:16:43 PM EDT

[#3]

Quoted:
I switched about two years ago and have never considered going back since, saved myself a shit ton of money, 45 bucks a month for unlimited talk text and web cant really beat that, depending on the phone you get I think there are some 4g ones out now through straight talk

Now you can buy a 12 month card and get a month free.

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:18:09 PM EDT

[#4]

Quoted:

Quoted:
I switched about two years ago and have never considered going back since, saved myself a shit ton of money, 45 bucks a month for unlimited talk text and web cant really beat that, depending on the phone you get I think there are some 4g ones out now through straight talk

Now you can buy a 12 month card and get a month free.

true

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:23:26 PM EDT

[#5]

My wife has been using Straight Talk for years with cheap CDMA phones. I just ported her over to Net10 today since she wanted a smartphone. I picked up a Nexus 4 and SIM. (It appears Walmart doesn't carry ST SIMs anymore. I found Net10, Straight Talk and Tracfone are all related anyway, using AT&T or T-Mobile.)

She has had good reception in the past, I am hoping she has the same experience with the new fancy phone!

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:25:58 PM EDT

[#6]

OST for info on Straight Talk

We currently are under a Verizon plan. had them for a few years ... just 6 months ago switched to iphones and the bill nearly doubled.

2 iphones ( iphone 4 ) and a separate cell / flip phone so 3 phones.

Bill ea month is $175 I think. Seems reasonable ... wandering if I am throwing away alittle money?

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:28:07 PM EDT

[#7]

I travel way too much to be tied to a subpar, third tier service. I need first dibs on a tower, not sloppy thirds.

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:28:21 PM EDT

[#8]

going in this direction myself, verizon has a prepaid option also its called page plus, everything I have read says you cant go wrong with the no contract options, best part is if you do not like the service just move to another carrier, im going to try T-Mobile, they have a plan that has unlimited txt and Data up to 5 GB and 100 min for 30 bucks, I dont talk on the phone really, if I need to I have a work phone, also you can look into google talk I hear that is pretty neat.

you can get unlocked GSM phones off ebay, that is what you want, so if you decide to get a different phone you just take the sim out and put in another phone, also check out GPP sim if you have a cdma IPHONE it lets you use it on a GSM network, no unlocking required or jailbrake.

Good luck hope you get something that works for your family.

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:29:35 PM EDT

[#9]

Quoted:
I travel way too much to be tied to a subpar, third tier service. I need first dibs on a tower, not sloppy thirds.

I get better service with ST than I did with Verizon actually lol

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:29:58 PM EDT

[#10]

Quoted:
OST for info on Straight Talk

We currently are under a Verizon plan. had them for a few years ... just 6 months ago switched to iphones and the bill nearly doubled.

2 iphones ( iphone 4 ) and a separate cell / flip phone so 3 phones.

Bill ea month is $175 I think. Seems reasonable ... wandering if I am throwing away alittle money?

I'm right there with ya brother. I'm paying $165 with a 17% discount through my work. I could buy the 12 month card and a new Iphone 5 and still save $345.

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:34:04 PM EDT

[#11]

Quoted:

Quoted:
OST for info on Straight Talk

We currently are under a Verizon plan. had them for a few years ... just 6 months ago switched to iphones and the bill nearly doubled.

2 iphones ( iphone 4 ) and a separate cell / flip phone so 3 phones.

Bill ea month is $175 I think. Seems reasonable ... wandering if I am throwing away alittle money?

I'm right there with ya brother. I'm paying $165 with a 17% discount through my work. I could buy the 12 month card and a new Iphone 5 and still save $345.

when I was with Verizon I had two phones one for me one that I gave to my dad to use, 700 minutes of available talk time and we ended up using about 100 minutes each month, I had unlimited text and web but he never used it and he doesn't text I was the big texter of the family hence the unlimited but I got tired of the $150 + a month bills

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:38:15 PM EDT

[#12]

Switched to Republic wireless.

Works very well and is incredibly less expensive than others. The only issue is that it will drop calls when switching from wifi to towers. Easy to plan around though.

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:44:39 PM EDT

[#13]

Look and see what carrier will handle straighttalk for your service area. The AT&T cards are harder to come by, but they are out there.

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:46:47 PM EDT

[#14]

Quoted:

The wife unit and I are trying to save some cash by cutting back. If we switched from Verizon to Straight Talk, we'd save a small fortune. Has anyone switched from Verizon or a major carrier to Straight Talk? How's the service compared to the big guys? They say they use the same networks, but how does it do for things like 3G and 4G? Thanks in advance.

I switched from Verizon. It is awesome. I got a deal on a refurbished phone, and I love it. It cut my phone bill in half. The service is just as good as I had with VZW, but I picked a phone that is on Verizon's network.

I can't recommend it enough, but YMMV..

Posted: 7/13/2013 4:59:24 PM EDT

[#15]

Can you keep your same number if you switch from Verizon to Straight Talk?

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:05:19 PM EDT

[#16]

Quoted:
Can you keep your same number if you switch from Verizon to Straight Talk?

Yeah, but supposedly it's not as simple as switching. I think it takes about 2 days to switch it over. They may have changed that though.

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:08:21 PM EDT

[#17]

Quoted:

Can you keep your same number if you switch from Verizon to Straight Talk?

Yes.
We switched my wife from Verizon to Straight Talk when she wanted to replace her old dumbphone with a smartphone. Went from an old dumbphone with no data, no texts, and 400 minutes to a smartphone with unlimited everything for maybe $5 more. Verizon wanted $45 more per month for 2GB limited data. Just had to buy the phone, which was a one-time $160 charge.
From the time I bought the new phone at Wal-Mart to the time she was able to use it with her old number was less than three hours.

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:11:02 PM EDT

[#18]

Switched from Sprint to Straight Talk and have never looked back. 3G and 3.5G are good in my area. Was going to jump on the Galaxy S3 but its on the Sprint network and there is no 4G in my area.

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:19:46 PM EDT

[#19]

I just switched. I am bringing my own phone, and keeping my number.
I haven't received it yet, I get my sim, and plan on Tue.
Had ATT for years, went to Tmobile pay as you go, SUCKED BIG TIME, cant get service in my own house!
Any way will be getting ATT service from them at a fraction of the cost, now will get unlimeted every thing for $10 less a month then I payed ATT for just talk , and text, cant wait....

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:22:36 PM EDT

[#20]

I use T-Mobile. $50 a month for unlimited talk and text. First 500 MB is 4G then throttles to 2g after that. No issue with service at all.

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:27:09 PM EDT

[#21]

Verizon with 2 smart phones and a flip phone for the in-laws runs me $180/mo. This is intriguing.

Do they have a cheap plan for the flip phone?

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:30:32 PM EDT

[#22]

I travel on a weekly basis. I switched from Verizon to straight talk about 6 months ago and love it. I use an iPhone and have had no issues. I generally buy my airtime on eBay for $36-$40 per month. Although lately they are hard to come buy on eBay. I love it my wife and I cut our phone bill in half and have the same service.

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:31:43 PM EDT

[#23]

Went to net10 from att last month. The only difference I can tell is the $70 a month I save on 2 phones.

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:32:28 PM EDT

[#24]

Quoted:
Verizon with 2 smart phones and a flip phone for the in-laws runs me $180/mo. This is intriguing.

Do they have a cheap plan for the flip phone?

go check out their website. www.straighttalk.com

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:32:59 PM EDT

[#25]

Check out Ting wireless. They adjust your bill every month based on usage and it is non-contract running on the Sprint network. i have had good luck with them so far.

Posted: 7/13/2013 5:59:25 PM EDT

[#26]

I just swapped from my Verizon dumbphone to a ST smartphone.

Posted: 7/14/2013 10:50:38 PM EDT

[#27]

Consider this an old-fashioned bump/tag for more info.

Have had this on my mind for a few weeks.

Posted: 8/23/2013 11:07:17 AM EDT

[#28]

Update: My father-in-law switched to straight talk and we're waiting to see how well it works for him and decide from there.

Posted: 8/23/2013 12:31:19 PM EDT

[#29]

Quote History

Quoted:

Update: My father-in-law switched to straight talk and we're waiting to see how well it works for him and decide from there.

View Quote

If it doesn't work out, you should try Republic wireless. They have a 30 day money back guarantee. Unlimited everything for 19 bucks/month, well you need a wifi setup to do some offloading, but they haven't raised a stink about my wifes usage. She rarely uses wifi. She is at 8% wifi offload lol.

Currently, I'd go with the 79 phone option and 29 dollar plan, then upgrade it when the new phones come out later this year.