Wise Finish

We have been doing a series on Straight Talk Wireless.  Read the first article in the series to get started, or continue if you are interested in more information on Straight Talk Coverage.

Straight Talk Wireless’  coverage map leaves a bit to be desired.  For one, there isn’t really a way on their map to zoom in to see city-level or street-level coverage information, which might be important to deciding if you are going to move forward with Straight Talk as your cellular provider.

However, despite the deficiencies with the Straight Talk coverage map, you can get more detailed coverage & service area maps for Straight Talk. Here’s how you do it:

1. Determine if your phone is a GSM phone or CDMA phone.
   • The easiest way to do this is to look up the phone on PhoneScoop.com or search for your phone’s specifications on Google by typing <your phone’s model number> specifications
2. Look up more detailed maps, depending on your phone’s type
   • GSM: Your phone will use the AT&T + T-Mobile network.  To see more detailed coverage, visit the AT&T Coverage Viewer.  Enter your address information.  Choose “GoPhone” for the Coverage Type.  Your coverage area will include all shades on the map except for “no coverage” areas.
   • CDMA (non-Android phone): Your phone will use the Verizon network.  To see more detailed coverage, visit the Verizon Coverage Viewer.  Enter your address information. Choose “Prepaid” for the Coverage Type.  Your coverage area will include all shades on the map except for “no coverage” areas.
   • CDMA (Android phone): Your phone will use the Sprint network. To see more detailed coverage, visit Virgin Mobile Coverage Viewer. Virgin Mobile also uses the Sprint network, and as far as I am aware would have the exact same coverage as the Straight Talk Android phones.

If you are really concerned about coverage, remember a few things:

• You are not going to be under contract, so if it Straight Talk work out, sell your phone and go with another provider
• Straight Talk’s coverage is the best of any prepaid provider, so unless you have specific issues with AT&T or Verizon in your area, you should have good coverage.
• You can get started with Straight Talk for as little as $27 (assuming you are getting 10% cash back on your first purchase as described in our main post on Straight Talk and choosing a free phone)

Coverage Notes

The Verizon & AT&T maps will give you a pretty accurate picture of the coverage you can expect; though it is not necessarily a 100% replica of the actual Straight Talk coverage.  Straight Talk coverage may actually be better in some markets due to roaming agreements that Straight Talk has with T-Mobile (for GSM phones).  It could also be worse in some areas where the roaming agreements available to Verizon or AT&T prepaid customers are not passed on to Straight Talk users.  However, it is my experience that the coverage areas are extremely similar to Verizon (for CDMA phones) & AT&T (for GSM phones) and that the Verizon & AT&T maps give a much better indication of local coverage than the “whole USA” view provided by Straight Talk.

For even more ways to save, read the article Save Money on your Cell Phone Bill with Straight Talk.