Using a phone from another carrier on Straight Talk Wireless
If you haven’t already read my article on Straight Talk Wireless, you might not be aware that Straight Talk is one of the best deals in cellular.
There is some mystery around Straight Talk, and I hope to answer today one of the most frequently asked questions regarding Straight Talk:
Can I use my existing Verizon / AT&T / T-Mobile / Sprint / Tracphone / etc cellular phone?
The answer depends on the type of phone that you have. Keep reading for more information
AT&T, T-Mobile or Any Unlocked GSM Phone
You can now take advantage of Straight Talk SIM, to use your existing phone on Straight Talk’s no-contract plans. At this time, you must purchase the $45/month “Unlimited” plan to take advantage of this offer. To take advantage of this, you simply order a SIM card from Straight Talk, place that SIM card into your phone and follow a few simple instructions.
Anything Else
If you have anything besides an AT&T, T-Mobile or unlocked GSM handset, the answer is: Technically yes, but ultimately no (keep reading for the details). However: you can get Straight Talk Phones starting at FREE, and you can get a 10% discount on all phones if you buy them through Mr. Rebates, as described in our original post on Straight Talk Wireless, so sell your old phone and go and buy a new phone and forget about porting your phone.
Verizon Phones
Much like AT&T, this is technically possible. It would require cloning the ESN number of a Straight Talk phone into the desired phone. However, this activity is not legal to do this in the United States of America. Therefore, you can not port your Verizon phone to Straight Talk.
Sprint or Nextel Phones
If your phone is a Sprint, Nextel, Virgin Mobile, Boost Mobile: Now that Straight Talk is using Sprint for their Android phone, the technical possibility exists to use one of these phones on the Straight Talk Sprint network. However, this would be against Straight Talk’s terms of service, so it’s ultimately not permitted, even if it is now technically possible.
Taking your Straight Talk Phone to another carrier
Straight Talk phones are designed to be used only with Straight Talk Service. Under some circumstances, you may be eligible to have your Straight Talk phone reprogrammed to work with another carrier, but you must contact us to do so. Not all Straight Talk phones are capable of being reprogrammed.
Get up and Running on Straight Talk
In closing, you can’t port a phone from any carrier to Straight Talk, but you can port from Straight Talk to another carrier.
However, since Straight Talk has a inexpensive phone selection starting at “Free” I suggest this:
- Sell your old phone on eBay, Craigslist or Amazon Marketplace
- Get started on Straight Talk with a new phone. Be sure to get free shipping and get 10% cash back when you do this – don’t leave money on the table!
I have an AT&T phone,A Rugby II. I have this phone because I am in the construction field and need a rugged phone. I allso have 270 phone numbers programed into this phone. I just switched to Straighttalk and nobody says I can still use the Rugby. I have got the unlock code from AT&T for the rugby,but I can’t unlock it. I would like to use this phone on the Straighttalk network,along with the 270 phone numbers I have in the phone. If I can’t find a way to do this,I probably will discontinue Staightalk. Any advice? Thanks,
Tim Lipe
Tim, You should be able to use the Rugby II without having it unlocked. If you purchase a Straight Talk SIM you can place it in this phone and have it working without unlocking the phone. See my article “What Phones Work with the new Straight Talk SIM Cards?” for more information
Can you use a boost mobile phone on straight talk……the lg marqee
Used Independence and AnySIM for the unlock. Wasn’t as straightforward as I thought it would be under 1.1.1 had to roll back to 1.0.2, apply a patch, upgrade to 1.1.1 and then used AnySIM. I thought it was a one click affair with the AnySIM app and 1.1.1. There is a newer beta that seemed to just come out that skips a few steps but there was a lot of disclaimers about it being very beta.
Luis, Thanks for your question.
No, you cannot use a Boost Mobile phone on Straight Talk, as Straight Talk uses a different network than Boost Mobile. See the posting above for an explanation of what phones do and don’t work with Straight Talk SIM.
I am thinking about purchasing the Samsung Galaxy S (2) Skyrocket from ebay,its originally from AT&T. Would it be possible for me to use this phone on Straight talk? If so, will there be any disadvantage on the service and the phone itself?.
your respond is greatly appreciated.
thank you.
Hi Pam,
Yes, the Samsung Galaxy S 2 (also called Samsung Galaxy S II) Skyrocket will work with Straight Talk, as it is an AT&T phone that operates on the 850/1900 Mhz bands.
There won’t be any significant disadvantages on the service other than that you will be getting 3G service instead of 4G service with AT&T (though 4G service is not available in all markets yet). There will be no difference on the phone itself – it will operate exactly the same.
Let us know how it works out for you!
Thanks for your question.
yes i was wondering if my samsung tranform will work with straight talk. its through sprint right now. but im thinking of switching to straight talk to save more money. my bill is way too high and prepaid is way cheaper.
Is it possible to use a tmobile blackberry curve 8530 with straight talk? And if it is….what is involved in switching it over.
Thanks
Jackie, The Samsung Transform will not work with Straight Talk SIM. It is a CDMA phone. You would have to get another phone. Perhaps pick up a cheap used phone, or check out the Android or regular offerings from Straight Talk. See the other articles on this site for more information.
Mike, To date the word from Straight Talk is that they do not support blackberry. It’s possible you could get the phone to work as a phone, but it is unclear if any of the other features would work.
Is there a way to get a at&t lg encore gophone to work on straight talk. I know the talk and text is just a matter of putting the sim card in but the gophone apn settings are not able to be changed to my knowledge. Can this be setup to use the emai/web services on the phone?
Thanks
Mike,
I am unsure on that. You may want to contact Straight Talk customer service before you proceed. Or you can just give it a try and at most you’ll be out about $60. However, for that price you might just consider getting a phone you know will work with Straight Talk.
can iuse lg a340 with straighttalk sim card dose it have to be unlocked
i talked to st talk they said the lga340 had to be unlocked so what can i do thanks