4 Phones that should work with Straight Talk and the Bring your Own Plan .

Straight Talk SIM Card Activation Kit

My Options for the Straight Talk : BYOP

RCA A1 4.7” 3G Unlocked Dual SIM, Android 4.1 US Warranty  (Amazon Affiliate Link)

List Price : 299$ (Click image to find the actual price)

• This unlocked cell phone is compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T, T-Mobile, Net10, Simple Mobile, Consumer Cellular, Walmart Family Mobile, and Pure Talk USA. No contracts and data plans required;
• HSPA 3G Smartphone running Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean), with 4.7-inch multi-touch LCD display; 2G Network GSM 850/900/1800/1900, 3G Network HSPA 850/1900;
• Wi-Fi networking with Wi-Fi Mobile Hotspot and tethering capabilities, GPS for navigation and location services; Dual SIM card slot, 4GB storage, Micro SD expansion to 32GB;
• GPRS, HTML Web Browser, Built-in Apps: Google Play, YouTube, Google+, Google Search, Google Maps, Google Navigation, Voice Memo, Notes;
• Dual camera, back-5-MP, front 2-MP; HD 720p recording; Bluetooth 3.0 stereo music; FM Radio, MP3 Player, MP4 Player;Up to 6 hours of talk time, up to 360 hours of standby time, High Speed USB 2.0, 3.5mm Audio Jack

As you can see this might work for the price that I am needing.   Currently it is under 200$ and thus it is within my price range.   On a side note, it resembles the Samsung Galaxy S3 from my understanding of it.   It is a cheaper version of it but has the screen size and everything else associated with it.   I’ve heard people say they had problems with getting it to work with Straight Talk, but I am confident that if I get this phone.   I can figure out what the APNS are for the

Google Nexus 5, Black 32GB (Unlocked) (Amazon Affiliate Link)

List Price : $649 (Click to find the actual price!)

Speed and power to spare on a stunning 5” display. Powered by Android 4.4, KitKat®. It’s a 5” phone, and so much more. Built with precision, Nexus 5 delivers an intelligently simple design and showcases a stunning full HD display. Plus it comes in black and white. All-new photo and video features help you capture moments in fresh new ways. And thanks to the latest from Android, Nexus 5 is fast, powerful and truly yours.

I asked this question on Twitter and I got this respons:

@Laforge129 Nexus5. It rocks on #straighttalk

— ♦ ♦ Mark ♦ ♦ (@flag_mtn_hkrs) March 27, 2014

Although this is more expensive for those who might be able to buy this phone, it isn’t in my price range but  I still had to suggest it for those who might want the best possible experience with straight talk.   

Motorola Moto G - Global GSM - Unlocked - 16GB (Amazon Affiliate Link)

List Price: $199 (actual price Varies)

• US Compatibility: All GSM Networks including AT&T and (2G) T-Mobile
• Optimized to work with 3G (UMTS/HSPA+) networks when roaming outside the US. Only supports 2G coverage on T-Mobile.
• 4.5 inch 720p HD TFT display
• Quad-core 1.2GHz processor with 450MHz graphics processor
• 5MP rear camera, plus front facing camera

It looks to be promising to say the least.   I have heard some much great reports of this phone being used on every possible network and have heard of very little bad reports.  I would also like to point out that it is a smaller display for those who are looking for the largest BYOP phone.   It however comes with many features and it is an actual Google Phone from Google.   It used to be sold by Google directly but seems the Nexus 5 is the new one they are promoting, so this one is behind in times but still has so much functionality that it might be a good Straight Talk phone.

HTC A9192 Inspire 4G Unlocked Phone with 8 MP Camera, Wi-Fi, and GPS—(Black)  (Amazon Affiliate Link)

List Price :$799 (click on image to see actual price)

• This unlocked cell phone is compatible with GSM carriers like AT&T and T-Mobile. Not all carrier features may be supported.
• Ultra-fast, 4G-enabled smartphone running Android 2.2 with 4.3-inch multi-touch Super LCD display.
• Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking (with optional Wi-Fi Mobile Hotspot and tethering capabilities)
• 8-MP camera, HD 720p camcorder, Bluetooth stereo music, microSD memory expansion, HTML web browser, corporate and personal e-mail
• Up to 6 hours of talk time, up to 372 hours (15.5 days) of standby time, released in January, 2011
• 8-MP camera; HD 720p camcorder; Bluetooth stereo music; microSD memory expansion; HTML web browser; corporate and personal e-mail
• GPS for navigation and location services
• It will not work with CDMA carriers like Verizon Wireless, Alltel and Sprint.
• Up to 6 hours of talk time, up to 372 hours (15.5 days) of standby time; released in January, 2011
• Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking (with optional Wi-Fi Mobile Hotspot and tethering capabilities); GPS for navigation and location services

Early on when I first started this with Straight Talk, I used this phone which was locked to AT&T and then I unlocked it and went to Straight Talk.  Then I broke the screen and did not want to fix it.   So I put it away and went to Virgin Mobile, but I have had much success with this phone with wifi teethering and other good games on android but I am wanting to watch movies and shows on my phone more and more so this is a good option for the price which right now it is cheaper than it used to be.   I am guessing because it is an older phone that is not getting as much updates as the newer ones.   This is good for those who want to know which phone that will work with Straight Talk.   I made it happen with not much effort and was really pleased with it.

I have given you at least four phones to consider when you decide to go to the Straight Talk BYOP option but for me, I might either get the Motorola or the RCA myself and do a tutorial on how to set it up on Straight talk successfully!  

Need ideas on the next Unlocked Phone? Switching Carriers!

Androids And Friend — Flickr

I’ve Pretty Much Decided!

I’m going to probably go buy an Unlocked Cell phone from Amazon.  They have some Great selections of phones unlocked Cell Phones for under $200 (Amazon Affiliate Link).   I still have my old AT&T straight Talk sim that was used for the HTC Inspire 4g Phone.   Even though the LG Optimus F3 is not a bad phone, I was tempted to unlock it fully to use with Straight Talk.   I honestly thought it was better to go buy an unlocked phone that can be used for any carrier that I choose to use it with.

I’ve loved Android phones since, I started using them and will continue to use them but I have yet to enjoy the idea of Virgin Mobile US reducing my speed by a half to 2g speeds.   I’m really not happy with the idea of reducing my speed to that extent and I’ve been one of those that love Unlocked Cell Phones and no contract plans.   If the Sim from the HTC inspire can’t be used, at least Straight Talk still has options available to buy new sim cards for!!

Which Phone!

I’m calling all readers on which phone I should buy under a 200$ and I’m really interested in which one you want me to review on this site!   Please leave a comment and tell me what you want to see me review.   I’m like the Motorola Moto G that is nice!  I am up in the air on this but I will have to decide soon! ;)

Virgin Mobile Did what to my Data Speeds?

Got this text Message!

VMFreeMsg: Starting 5/6/14, if you use over 2.5GB of data during your mo. plan cycle, data speeds will now be reduced to 2G speeds. Info at http://msg4u.us/vwae

I don’t know about anyone else but when I first got this text message, I was like so How fast is 2g speeds verses 3g speeds on Google Now!  So Here’s is the breakdown of this:

Speeds

• 2g is on average about 115 kilobytes per second  (A little faster than voice calling people)
• 3g is on average about 614 Kilobytes per second (Good for some streaming media)
• 4g is on average about 20 Megabytes per Secong (On average it varies from phone to phone)

As you can see this doesn’t really explain it very well but let’s try to make it easier to understand this:

1 byte is 8 bits, so 1000 kilobytes(1,024 bytes which is 8192 bits) and you need 65536 kilobytes to make 1 Megabyte of data.   So you can see that the larger the file or anything you do on the phone will be drastically slowed down on the phone.   If yo do the math or at least think about it, you can go to a free wifi hotspot to get better speeds than this.   

Virgin Mobile and Boost is screwing you!

Virgin mobile seems to want you to go to another prepaid service.   Even with Straight Talk, they do something like this on their networks.   They do limit there speeds but I am unsure as to what the speeds are lately but they aren’t unlimited either.

It looks like I have a few options, Straight Talk although they do the same thing but not as bad, T-mobile Which looks to be comparable to Virgin Mobile or Boost.   You could try MetroPCS but I can’t seem to verify that it is truly unlimited and that is what I am looking for.   I am asking for help to find something that isn’t as restrictive as what Virgin Mobile is doing.   I might buy a data plan for my home now.   So I am going to look into this some more but if you know of a prepaid plan that is truly unlimited, please leave a comment and let everyone know!

My Reasons Why I use Prepaid Cellular Service and avoid contracts!

Prepaid Service is Better!

My sister called me wanting to know about prepaid cellular services.   She is getting tired of paying for contracts and all those really high fees for unlimited everything.  She wanted me to research this and tell her which service is best for her whether it be Straight Talk, Virgin Mobile, T-mobile, and Cricket Wireless. I know I’ve talked about some of these services and ideas in the past and  they have been nothing but a way to keep my bills from to high and they actually help me save money in the long run.  I will talk about some of these and hopefully they will make it easier for you to decide.

Lower Payments!

I know this might sound like everyone else but I have found, that since I have yet to buy a contract.  I’ve have keep my fees really know.   Like this Virgin Mobile USA phone the Kyocera rise, I have yet to pay anymore than 36$ a month on services.  I’m paying for 200 minutes an unlimited text and Data. I have been using Google Voice, as my VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) provider and only had to pay $10 for the phone number.  So I am basically using the unlimited Data to do all I need and rarely use my minutes.

On a side note, you basically pay more for your contract services because you are paying for the Phone you buy and buying an Iphone can cost anywhere from $800 to $1,000.  So they add that on to your bill in small amounts but you they don’t pay for it but you do in one way or another.

Unlimited Data!

Something seems to be happening in the Phone industry where all contract providers are giving you limits.  So you can avoid those limits and tell them you don’t want to have limits.  I am seeing Virgin Mobile USA, Straight Talk, and T-mobile all have unlimited data even though they throttle your data you still can use it after you go beyond the limit.   AT&T and Verizon Wireless charges you for more data services.  So you have to be careful and not go over your limit.

Unlocked Cell Phones

Having seen this in the past with my HTC Inspire, I can take my phone with me when I want to and switch my service and possibly get even better signal strength but it isn’t always the case because some prepaid cell providers will not have SIM Cards to use with your unlocked cell phone.   So it will just depend be a smaller amount of places like Straight Talk and and T-Mobile who will carry sims that you can buy to use with their services.   Others are starting to sell sims but it will take time for other providers to have them and sell them.

Better Customer Service

With smaller companies you get to be a little more personal with customer service.   The Bigger the company the harder it is to get anything done.   It seems they like to build more red tape and keep you frustrated.  I have found the smaller companies want to keep you as a customer and will do almost anything to keep you with them.   If they have to give you a discount to keep you they will over look small stuff and not penalize you for it.  So you can save money from time to time by talking with them and you could even get a free month of service if you do it right.

I am sure these are just a few but these are why I will always go with No Contract Cellular services and not be bound down by a contract.   I can save so much money this way that I will not even consider using anything else but no contract providers.

Paul Sylvester

The Story of my failing battery and why it happens!

It's been a while!

Having had my HTC Inspire for over a few months, it was a brand new inspire.   It was actually a used one from my sister. So I got what I wanted to get an actually android working on the Straight Talk Network and all life is good!  Until recently, I've started to notice a few things with my phone that I wanted to share with everyone else in case you've had the same problem I had!  If you've not had this problem before you might have it later on! 

Phone just Shuts off while unplugged!

As you know this might not be the only time it shuts off but it will be a good indication that something is wrong with the battery!  There is a great explanation on how batteries work over at HowStuffWorks, I won't go into detail about this but I will explain some of what is happening.   The rest after all should fall in place when you read the article!  Over the past 2 months or so, I've had the phone just randomly shut down but it didn't start doing it like it did yesterday and today.  

Why Does it Shut down!

Basically the cell phone thinks it has more power than what the battery pack is telling it.  You see batteries that are stored in this fashion or even used can only be charged and discharged to a certain extent and thus once you hit that no power threshold in that cell batter then it can't be charged due to fact that you might just blow up the cell.   While on the subject, what is a battery cell?  A battery cell is typically more than one battery but can also be one battery.   It is used in either parallel or sequential series, you can find out more about that by reading that article also.   This is all fascinating but what does this have to do with the battery?  You're probably asking yourself this question.

Each battery cell has a circuit where you once it hits the charge limit it just shuts the that cell down and you can no longer access it or use it.   So when your cell phone thinks it has a full and you loose power quickly then that is basically the reason.   The battery knows how much it can send to your phone but your phone is only learning this over time.   It is definetly a process that just is crazy.  

How does this help me?

It basically is a good indication that your battery is get old in age and needs to be replaced.  If it happens to you at least once a few weeks it is probably a good idea to replace the battery.   Now I must comment, sometimes it isn't the battery but the software.  I thought so, and I put my old Froyo OEM version of Android back on my phone and it still did it.  So if you don't want to have to send off for that battery and pay extra to over night it, it is probably a good idea to have one who two batteries ready once you start seeing symptoms like this.   I sure learned my lesson for next time this happens.

Paul Sylvester

My Amazon Link

Getting you Picture Messages and Multimedia Messages to work on Straight Talk AT&T!

The Need to Update your APN!

I've found an updated APN that can be used to give you access to Multimedia Text message, in essence picture messages for some of you who are on the Straight Talk AT&T Network!  This APN setting will only work for any that have #89014 on their sim.  If you don't then you might try looking elsewhere or maybe consider contacting me, and I'll do the hard work and find the right APN for your situation!  This also will only work if you have an Unlocked Phone [Affiliate Link]!

Before you do this though, It is time to do a APN Backup of your settings.   You wouldn't want to have to look for those APN Settings that are working all over again.   This might work for you but then again it might not.  It seems to work for me and Another reader on our HTC Inspire 4G Unlocked Cell phones [Amazon Affiliate Link].   So I'm not entirely certain that it will work 100%.

Delete all existing APNS and enter these APNS!

Name: HOME

APN: att.mvno Leave everything else alone

EXCEPT the bottom selection that says:

APN type: default,supl

Then save, next choose to add another APN

Name: MMS

APN: att.mvno

MMSC: http://mmsc.cingular.com

MMS proxy: proxy.mvno.tracfone.com

MMS port: 80

APN type: mms 

THEN SAVE You will see that only one APN has the option to be chosen, that is ok, Just choose the one that is able to be chosen. Now go back to Homescreen and then reboot your phone.  If this doesn't work you can always restore you APN's and no harm no fowl.   I just know that some of you are wanting to recieve the Pictures messages on Straight Talk AT&T.   I encourage you to contact me if you need help finding the APN for your Straight Talk Phone.  Please remember to support my blog, because it is only with your help I can keep this site running.  

Paul Sylvester

My Amazon Affiliate Link

My FAQ's About Straight Talk!

Sim card's aren't always easy!

Let's face it, nothing in life is ever going to be easy and this is no exception in my book.   I've had my Straight Talk sim and I've posted about it on my blog.   I've been asked a few different questions about the Sim Cards from Straight Talk and I've figured a good little post about this would help people out.  Some of these questions will be repeats, please skip the ones you have already read!

Do I have to unlock my phone to use Straight Talk?

The Short answer is NOT necessarily. You'll probably have to need to unlock your cell phone later on but if you have a T-Mobile phone and use Straight Talk T-Mobile Sim, you shouldn't need to unlock it.   Just because I did it with my HTC Inspire AT&T 4g Phone, Doesn't mean you will need to unlock your phone.  I did it just to be on the safe side, this was my first HTC phone after all and of course because I could.  As long as you buy the right  SIM for your phone from Straight Talk, you really shouldn't have much problems with the SIM.   

Will the HTC Inspire have "Jelly Bean"/"Ice Cream Sandwich"?

The Short answer is NO!  The HTC Inspire is basically end of life cycle and won't be updated.  It is be replaced with the HTC Desire and others like that but that doesn't necessarily mean you can't have those Operating Systems on your Phone!  You can get past that if you really want to use that operating System.  You basically have to Unlock your Inspire and Root it all at the same time.   

Can I tether with my HTC Inspire and Can I use 4g Speeds?

Short Answer is YES!  Long answer is if your want to tether your Straight Talk phone you will most likely need to unlock it and root it.  Although if your are planning to use the 4g network you will need to make sure you area has it.  You can do that from AT&T, T-Mobile, Or sprint website depending on which card you use and if they have the capability for 4g.  Remember if your are downloading heavy and other such stuff they might call you, so you just need to remember not to use to much of their so called Bandwidth.  

Also, If you have great signal strength then you will have better speeds but if you don't have the signal strength the you will have slower speeds.   Just keep that in mind when you are traveling and tethering.

Why do I See the Word HOME on my screen?

Short answer is "It's basically your local network, where you live!".   Although some people also have ROAMING and I get that whenever I go to a different city.   It isn't going to charge me any more or any less, it is just their.  If you are worried about it, just remember that this is for the network to identify with more than you.   Straight Talk and other MVNO's like to keep cost down so they don't have to pay higher fee.   This is one way they do that, by telling you are either HOME or Roaming.   It really is an ingenious idea because most people will unconsciously stay closer to home!

Why am I not getting any signal from Straight Talk?

This is something that I've had to deal with on the HTC Inspire.   I've not had a good signal strength while using the Inspire on Straight talk thru AT&T network I should add.  I've troubleshooter this and found out that it was the way I was holding my phone.   I did occasional have to take the SIM card out and reboot and replace the SIM to get my network back.   I don't know if it is just a loose connection or if the phone just forgets that it has a SIM card.  This also could just be a problem with Ice Cream Sandwich version that I'm using.   You'll have to figure out your own little way to hold you phone and get signal.   I've found having a bluetooth earpiece [Affiliate Link] to work really well in my situation!

These are a few of the questions I get when I'm out and about and thought I'd make a post about it and hopefully help someone who might need that little nudge in the right direction.   I'll post another one if I get more questions.  Have a Good day!

Paul Sylvester

How to Tether on a HTC Inspire using Straight Talk!

Is it possible?

You might be asking this because you don’t know if Straight Talk allows this.  I don’t know if they do or not but I’ve been using my HTC inspire to tether to my Laptop without much problems but then again, I’ve had to root my device.  Is it possible to do this to all Straight Talk Android Phones for instance:

• Root Samsung Galaxy Precedent In One Click [How To]
• LG ESTEEM ONECLICKROOT NOW READY!!

To be truthful these are the only two that I could find out when you need to use Straight Talk as your carrier but I am sure there are going to be more ways to root your device for using the Tethering option.  

Will I get In trouble?

I don’t know about you but I am have had several calls in the past about to much data usage but I have not been terminated by them.  I am not sure if they are just trying to scare people or are just warning people.  I do know that I’ve been using tethering when I’m at a class and don’t have any wifi available.  That is kind of the reason why I haven’t been posting as much because I am hard at work trying to accomplish keeping my grades up.

I would like to warn people that they could very well disable your account if they find you are constantly teethering, so only use when you need.  If you are like me and you need it while going to class or something like that, they might not know but don’t constantly try to stream your Amazon [Affiliate link] or Netflix accounts to your laptop, that might be a red flag with them.

How do I teether?

After you’ve Rooted your device, like me using my HTC Inspire that I’ve rooted so I could unlock it and use it with Straight talk.  You will need to use one of these many apps to teether:

• WiFi Tether for Root Users — This is what I’m using and it works really well with my current setup.  I can use the wifi on the HTC to make a connection with my laptop and have had no problems with tethering with this app.
• 1-Click WiFi Tether No Root — It says no rooting needs to be done but I didn’t even try this because the first one that I did work well.  So I am guessing you will probably be ok with this one.  Let me know if this works or not!
• Barnacle Wifi Tether — I don’t know if you need to be Rooted or not but you can try this before you root your device to see if it works.
• Wireless Tether for Root Users — It looks like you will need to be rooted user like me so, you have a good chance of succeeding with this one also if your rooted.  I don’t think you can use this without being rooted but you could try!

These are just a few that I found that look promising but the one that does work on my HTC Inspire is the Wifi Tether for Rooted Users and It works flawlessly while I am in my class doing class work that is to be done.  I will remind users that you use this information at your own risk.  I can’t be held responsible if Straight Talk starts to terminate accounts for tethering.  Only time will tell if they will keep allowing this in the future.

Paul Sylvester

How do you boost signal strength with Straight Talk Wireless?

No or Little Signal?

I’ve been having that lately but that is because I moved to an area that my phone doesn’t expect me to be.  This can always be a problem when it comes to having a MVNO like Straight Talk But lately with my HTC Inspire I’ve been having problems with the signal strength due to my location. I have searched long and high and thou I’ve been look around at the Signal Boosters that I could use on my phone.  You could even try zBoost YX545 SOHO Dual-Band Cell Phone Signal Booster but I’ve yet to find out if it would help.  

Called Straight Talk!

I did call Straight Talk to see what we could try to improve my cell phone signal. They suggested two options, chaning my ZIP code of where I am, but I have yet to see much of a difference!  I think I might have to do option two, but that would mean I’ve need to get a new number.  I really don’t care about that because I give out my Google Voice number so it isn’t a big deal on my part.  It isn’t a big process to change the number but my family likes to use my actual number to get a hold of me.  They think the Google Voice number is too troublesome for them!   So if I change my number my family would have to get used to the new number!

I’ve look around!

I’ve check on the Google Marketplace to find anything that would help increase my cellular signal but have yet to find.   Some of the ones that look promising are:

•  Opensignalmaps — The ultimate wifi and signal finding tool. Supports GSM, CDMA, 4G, 3G, 2G.  Now you can refresh network! Boost your bars at the touch of a button.
• Network signal speed booster — Network Speed Booster gives you better signal by connecting you to the best available cell site tower around you!
• Signal Finder —App showing where the nearest towers are for the best cell phone reception.  This application provides the opportunity never to lose reception, showing where the nearest towers are for the best cell phone reception available as well as the strength the towers have at that location.
• Signal Booster Pro — Signal Booster Pro uses sophisticated technologies to dynamically assign your phone to the closest, or highest signal cell tower in your area!

These are just a few apps that look promising but I am quite certain that it will reduce my battery life to half unless I am constantly plugged in all the time.  So I am going to ask others if there is something else I could do to improve my Cell Signal strength?  If you know, you can contact me or leave a comment.  I’d love to hear your opinions on how to increase signal strength and how you did it.

Paul Sylvester

Walmart Text Spam and How to fight it!

Interesting text messages!

I've had a long weekend doing some stuff and I happen to get two different text from two different numbers, with the same text.   Now you if you've been an avid reader of this blog, you know I REALLY HATE SPAM!  I even talked about blog referrer spam and how it just looks bad on companies.  

Text Numbers So far:

310-435-9136

214-600-2674

You have been selected for a $1,000 Walmart GiftCard, Enter code "FREE" at http://www.walmart.com.xxx.biz/wm/ to claim your prize: 161 left!

Why spammers are using text messages now?

Most of the time, the reason spammers are going to text spamming now is that it is far easier to spam you on your text message then to use email.   Hey let's face it who is going to report the spam and who do you report it them too?  These are the reasons why spammers are going to go this route, it is much harder to block or report these spam messages and they know it.  So I figured if they are going to send messages my way, I'd send messages to the right provider and thus I went back to my old post about reporting text message spam.

I'm looking for Android Apps that do this!

I've been searching around for an app that does this, but most of them just block it and don't really report it! I'd really want to make it hard for the spammers to want to send text messages.   Right now the cost of sending text spam is low but if it starts to make it less profitable they will go somewhere else to spam.

Some of the Apps that I will try are:

• Handcent SMS -- Handcent SMS is a powerful free sms/mms tools for your android phone.  The most popular messaging app on the Android Market, Handcent SMS is a powerful, customizable, and free SMS/MMS app that fully unleashes the messaging potential of Android devices.
• Mr. Number Text, Call & Block -- Text and call the people you love. Block everyone else.  Mr. Number is a messenger, dialer, and contact manager with built-in call and text blocking (free application) and automatic reverse lookup for numbers you don’t know (Caller ID).
• Phone Spam Blocker --  NUMBERCOP blocks spam calls and text from 50.000 telemarketers & scam artists Getting SPAM CALLS or TEXT SMS SPAM ? NUMBERCOP is the easiest way to block them. NUMBERCOP knows 50.000 spamming phone numbers: Phone scams, phishing calls and annoying telemarketers.  NUMBERCOP blocks spam calls and text from 50.000 telemarketers & scam artistsGetting SPAM CALLS or TEXT SMS SPAM ? NUMBERCOP is the easiest way to block them. NUMBERCOP knows 50.000 spamming phone numbers: Phone scams, phishing calls and annoying telemarketers.

As you can tell some of these that I've found do check caller ID but I am hoping that it will be easier to find the carrier that is being used to spam but at least these do have some ways to block text spam SMS.   My only hope is that someone app developer will come up with a way to report text spam messages to the right company and thus making it extremely hard to send text messages and the cost would out way spamming people.

Paul Sylvester

Is Straight Talk Unlimited Plan really Unlimited or just FALSE Advertising!

Unlimited Minutes, text, and Mobile Web Access Nationwide Anytime +Unlimited calls to 411!Data Usage and the Straight Talk!

I’ve been using my new HTC Inspire phone for the past month maybe less and all of the sudden, I get a phone call from 1-800-989-1506.  What gets me is they say they can cancel my service.   I am sorry but if it says unlimited, then is that really false advertising?  It really sounds that way with me.   Some people have complained about this.   I am just really confused about if they would really risk having people make a negative reaction to cutting people’s phone access off because they want to control just how much is UNLIMITED.  

So are they willing to Risk a Public Relations extravaganza?

I really don’t know what they are thinking but I do not know if this is a SCAM or just trying to scare me into stopping use of what they call a excessive amount of data usage.   If it is truely to be unlimited then they shouldn’t even worry about me.   I’m paying the money each month to have the unlimited usage and thus, it seems to be a really troubling about this idea!

Has this Happened to you as well??

I’m really curious as to what Straight Talk has done or said to get you to understand just what is going on.   I would love to hear what happened to you and what you did to get to this call from them.   Just leave a comment and let me know what you did and how you resolved the problem.

Paul Sylvester

How to figure out which Straight Talk Sim to buy!

So you have an Unlocked Phone!

Just because you have an unlocked phone and can use a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) doesn't mean it will work with Straight Talk.   Let's face it, not all phones are going to be compatible with Straight Talk service.  I talked about How I did it with  my HTC inspire 4G phone, but I am sure some of you have tried and failed at this because of the phone in question.   So what phones work with Straight Talk?   I'm here to help, I might not know all the answers but I will at least give you the important details and point you in the right direction.

It is about the Cell Carriers!

Knowing how some carriers only will work in certain areas can help you determine which SIM card to buy.  It however isn't always going to help.   There may be more than 4 to 5 Cell Carriers in your area and thus you might not know which phones will work with any particular Cell phone.  So I've decided to break this down into small parts and thus maybe then you can figure out if it will work with your phone!

The Data Speed of the Phone!

It isn't really the amount of data that we are worried about but which version of antenna your phone is using. Some phones use Code division multiple access (CDMA) and others use Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) and thus if your try to use a CDMA on a GSM network which really are incompatible with each other.   So I will tell you which ones the major providers use:

• AT&T uses GSM
• Sprint uses CDMA
• Verizon Wireless use CDMA
• T-Mobile USES GSM

This is just a short list of providers but these are at least the major players in the USA, so you can see it is a split between CDMA and GSM!  

Now that you figured that out!

You've figured it out now, you've can know if your cell phone will work with Straight Talk.   If you have a CDMA phone you will not be able to use it with Straight Talk, but if your have a GSM.  You now have to ask find out which Frequency your phone uses!  Many GSM phones will use different frequency, some use 800 mhz and others use 1900 mhz spectrum.   You have to choice the right SIM card from Straight Talk but you also have to have the right Phone.   I suggest buying an Unlocked GSM phone [Affiliate Link]and then picking the SIM card.  

This should help you determine if your phone will work with Straight Talk but you can always go buy a GSM Unlocked Phone [Affiliate Link]to be sure!  Nothing is a guarantee when it comes to phones though!

Paul Sylvester

Buy an Unlocked GSM PHONE [Affiliate Link]

How to get the HTC Inspire 4g AT&T to work with Straight Talk

It really wasn’t hard!

I have been doing a lot of stuff with this HTC Inspire that I got from a family member.  Here are some of my observations about this phone that I wanted to share with you before we get into making it work with Straight Talk.   Afterall I want to be fair to you my readers.

The HTC Inspire in whole, isn’t really that bad of a phone.   There will be some caviates of the phone though.  The battery that was in the phone has been charged and discharged so many times that I can’t reliably say that the battery is bad. So with that in mind, I plan on making a trip to Batteries Plus to buy me a new battery.  The Screen on the Inspire gives you so much more than you get on most other smart phones.   The Resolution of the screen is crisp and you can do a lot with the Apps from the Marketplace.

How I did it!

If you’ve been reading my blog the last week or so, you would of noticed that I showed you how to unlock the HTC Inspire 4g AT&T Phone yourself for free.   I did unlock it successfully, because when I got the new sim it had to be set to be used it but didn’t say it couldn’t use that SIM.  If your really unsure of it yourself you might just got buy an unlocked HTC Inspire 4g AT&T Phone .  I really don’t want you to brick you phone but you can also try to get AT&T to unlock it  or you could buy the Unlock Code.   I really don’t know if they will or not but it is always a possiblity.

Getting the Right Sim Card from Straight Talk!

I’ve found in the past that if your are going to use a phone from a carrier unlocked it sometimes the best results can be continueing to use the same carrier in one aspect or another.  So choose the right Sim for the phone you have and you won’t be disappointed.  This will be a short tutorial for the AT&T HTC Inspire that I just got done unlocking.   You will need to unlock your HTC Inspire to do this successfully, but if your are successfull, you will be able to use their service for much less than you normally would.

Make sure you pick the AT&T Compatible Sim!Once you unlocked the cell phone and gotten the AT&T Compatible Straight talk SIM card, you will need to set up some Access Point Names(APNS) for the HTC Inspire 4g Unlocked Cell phone.

On the Inspire itself hit:

MENU > Settings > Wireless & networks > Mobile Networks > Access Point Names

There you will see two APN’s already set by AT&T.  They are MEdia Net and MMS (Wap.cingular).   Mine were locked but I left them alone on my phone   In order to get both internet and mobile calls on you phone you will need to create two APNS:  (This would be a good time to bookmark my site in case you need to come back to it!)

Only fill in the ones I tell you, Leave all the rest blank or <Not set> and it all CASE Sensitive:

MENU > Add APN

Name : straight talk

APN: ATT.mvno

MMS protocol: WAP 2.0

MCC:  310

MNC:  410

MENU > SAVE

MENU > Add APN

Name: mmsc

APN: ATT.mvno

MMSC:  http://mmsc.cingular.com

MMS Proxy:  80

MMS protocol:  WAP 2.0

MCC:  310

MNC: 410

APN type: mms

MENU > SAVE

So if you have done this right, it is now time to reboot your HTC Inspire 4G unlocked Cell phone.  Hold the power button down for 3 seconds and hit RESTART once you have done this you should be able to use both internet and make calls on the Straight Talk Network with your SIM.  Remember you will need to register the sim with Straight Talk before you can use it but if you haven’t now would be a good time to Activate the SIM and associate that SIM with your Account.

I hope this helps you figure out how to use your new found freedom with yoru android device and thus you should be all set to make calls and surf the web with your HTC Inspire 4G.   If you have any questionns please feel free to contact me or leave a comment.  

Paul Sylvester

Update on Monday, July 15, 2013 at 11:12AM by Paul Sylvester

Remember to reboot first and check if it did work.  Try Changing the MMS Port to 8080.  Then reboot again. if that doesn’t work try this.  Delete all existing APNS and enter this:

Name: HOME

APN:att.mvno

Leave everything else alone EXCEPT the bottom selection that says:

APN type (here you must enter the following): default,supl

Then save, next choose to add another APN

make it look like this:

Name: MMS

APN: att.mvno

skip down to 

MMSC: http://mmsc.cingular.com

MMS proxy: proxy.mvno.tracfone.com

MMS port: 80

skip to:

APN type (enter the following): mms 

THEN SAVE

You will see that only one APN has the option to be chosen, that is ok, Just choose the one that is able to be chosen.

Now go back to Homescreen and then reboot your phone.  

 

For T-mobile:

APN type: default,supl,mms

APN Name: any

APN: wap.tracfone

proxy. blank

port: 8080

mmsc: http://mms.tracfone.com

mms proxy: leave blank

mms port: 8080

Remember to reboot first and check if it did work.  Try Changing the MMS Port to 8080.  Then reboot again. 

Nokia Lumina Phones work with Straight Talk Sim!

Straight Talk Makes it easier!

If you've wanted to have another phone besides what is offered on their website.   This is the time to invest in a phone of your choice to use with Straight Talk.  According to their website this is what they say:  "BRING AN AT&T OR T-MOBILE COMPATIBLE GSM PHONE, OR AN UNLOCKED GSM PHONE make sure it operates on our compatible frequencies".  Your probably wonder some questions.  I'm here to answer them.

What is the Compatible Frequencies?

The Frequencies range from 380 to 1800 spectrum and thus if your looking for an unlocked cell phone, you can pretty much buy a phone with that range and it should work.   So if your like me and wanting to go to Amazon [Affiliate Link] or other places that might have an unlocked phone, this is the first thing you should look for.  You will see something like this on Amazon : "GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900" which is what you are looking for.

Which phones work with the Straight Talk Sim card?

This will very from manufacturer to manufacturer but most of the time this will work with:

• Nokia Lumia 800 black 16GB (Unlocked) [Affiliate Link]


• Samsung Nexus S Unlocked Phone [Affiliate Link]


• Google Nexus One Unlocked Phone [Affiliate Link]


• Apple iPhone 4S 16Gb White Factory unlocked [Affiliate Link]

As you can see there are quite a few that you can use.   I've did some of the research but these are the ones that look promising at Amazon [Affiliate Link], although these aren't a guarantee this is at least a place to start checking out and maybe buying.   If you know of a good phone that works with Straight Talk, please leave a comment.   You will also need to buy the Sim card from Straight talk, which is 15$ dollars without shipping.   Although this could save you a lot in the long run.   You must decide if it is worth the cost or if you just want to buy a phone from Straight Talk directly and not worry about having an unlocked phone.

I've giving you the basic understanding of which phones SHOULD work but if they don't it isn't my fault.   I am just trying to help direct you in the right direction.   If you really have more questions you can leave a comment and I'll try to answer them.

Paul Sylvester

Related articles

• Four Phones/Devices that Straight Talk might release in 2012! (paulstechtalk.com)


• How To Unlock An iPhone (answers.com)


• Straight Talk SIM Card + iPhone 4S = $45 Unlimited Prepaid Plan (mymoneyblog.com)


• Straight Talk and Net10 add SIM-only option (prepaidreviews.com)

How to fight text message spam on your cell phone!

Fighting Spam is a Never Ending process!

I got a text message on my phone and it said:

Need a little extra $ today? Bills past due? We can help, visit www.24hrquickfunds.com, takes 5 minutes or less 0.9122046

After Doing some research, I found a pastbin file:

From: 7605147163
Sent: Jan 16 5:45pm
Message:
In need of some quick $? We offer up to $1200 instantly.
Its easy and takes 5 minutes, www.24hrloanvip.com

www.24hrloanvip.com,60.190.222.136

Announced By
Origin AS Announcement Description
AS4134 60.176.0.0/12 CHINANETZhejiang province network

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fastatmlend.com,60.190.222.136
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getholidaysfunds.com,60.190.222.136
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fastfundsatm.com,60.190.222.136
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secureholidaysfunds.com,60.190.222.136
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fastlendtoday.com,60.190.222.136
fundsforholiday.com,60.190.222.136
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rushfundssafe.com,60.190.222.136

Contacting Straight Talk was a Waste of time!

I tried to call Straight Talk wireless since I am using their prepaid service.   So I was told they couldn't block it or do anything about it.  I decided enough was enough.  Since they weren't going to help me, I'd help myself.

The First step is of course finding the carrier that spammer sent the text message from.  This however will not help you since it requires you to have access to the phone in question.   So I thought I would help you find it another way.

If your looking for the spammers cell phone network, then you can do a reverse cell phone look up. I found a great little widget to find the network:

The widget searches public and premium listings. White Pages APIs are used for locating numbers. Unpublished and mobile numbers can be viewed via specialized directories while landline numbers are traced via public databases.

Now it is time to Email!

Once you know which network they are on, you can simply email the abuse department and have them investigate the text messages that are spam. Most companies have a NO Tolerance to spam with emails and thus have the same tolerance to spam as text messages. It is merely letting the right network know that it is going on. Here are a Few email address that can help you:

• AT&T and Cingular Wireless -- abuse@att.net, although I have read calling them can sometimes get you the help you need. It is however very difficult to speak to someone who can do anything about it. This way you can be sure that when you send it to the abuse department that it is being documented somewhere and somehow. You also retain a copy of the sent email for later on.


• Verizon -- Abuse@verizon.net, you may
  also email them using their website. There isn't an abuse subject like but you can always select other and then put the information down there.


• Sprint -- abuse@sprint.net, that seems to be the best approach. Although if your a sprint customer, you can simply block them from what I understand. If you have questions on that though. Please refer to sprint because they know what they can and can't do.


• T-Mobile -- forward message to 7726 (which spells “SPAM” on most phone keypads) if you have a T-mobile account with them. if not you will have to call 1-877-453-1304 and report the abuse that way. I am sure there is an email address but unsure as to where to send it.

There are probably other providers that you need to talk to but these are my top 4 that will most likely be the culprits of the sending the spam text messages. If you have any other suggestions feel free to leave a comment, I'm sure others are fascinated as to how to stop some of these types of abuses with getting spam SMS messages and not knowing how to fight for your rights.

Paul Sylvester

Related articles

• Crackdown on Spam Text Messaging (5min.com)


• VIDEO: Crackdown on spam text messaging (bbc.co.uk)


• Nokia Fined for Spam Texting in Australia (devicemag.com)


• Send SMS (text messages) via PHP script (mt-soft.com.ar)

Why Straight talk is better than Tracfone!

Image via Wikipedia

Would you pay more for your Minutes?

I've read how some people are really liking their Tracphone service but I have a few questions about that.  We've all had those times when we don't always use all our minutes.   I know I sometimes don't use my 1,000 minutes and 1,000 messages but It is better than paying for 120 minutes and that includes messages.

I've talked about how I like my Straight phone and I must say that I have been happy with the phones that I have bought.    I've had my reasons for staying with Straight talk, and one of the more reasons is that they have unlimited talk and unlimited data when you need it.   I've dropped down to the 30$ cards because I no longer need unlimited data which is 45$ a month.

Would you pay more for less?

Tracfone seems to think that we would want to pay more for less.   Why would I pay more for their minutes.   I am always looking to buy minutes for less.   I know people aren't always thinking about cost versus price but if your are like me and use your phone more than 120 minutes per month than you will definitely want to consider looking for something other than Tracfone.

Isn't Tracfone and Straight Talk the same?

There are two separate companies but Tracfone owns them both.   I am quite certain that most people think that they are exactly the same.   I disagree, they don't have anything in common besides the phones.   Everything else  is all different and that is fine with me.   The Customer service is basically part of Tracfone but again, it isn't exactly the same.

I don't need Carry over minutes!

This is the one thing that really bothers me about Tracfone, they let you carry over your minutes but that is besides the point.   I don't need carry over minutes if I have 1,000 minutes to use per month.   I  have already used 200 minutes and I still have half the month to go.  I'll probably use 400 minutes before this is all over.   If you really think about it, it is probably cheaper than Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint's contracts.   I'd probably pay $40 to $60 a month for  400 minutes.   That is after all I guess but I am sure that if you look at their plans you will see the prices.

I think I will keep with Straight Talk because of everything that I get with it.

Which one do you like or prefer?

Paul Sylvester

Recycle your Cell phones!

 

 

Related articles

• Finding out which network carrier you are using with Pre-paid Cellular Companies! (paulstechtalk.com)


• TracFone's Straight Talk adds second Android smartphone, LG Optimus Q (fiercewireless.com)


• TracFone's Straight Talk Android phones will use Sprint's network (fiercewireless.com)


• Straight Talk MVNO TracFone adds 515K subs in Q3 (fiercewireless.com)


• Samsung T404 is a low-end messaging phone, offered by TracFone for $59.99 (intomobile.com)

How I buy a Prepaid Cellular Phone without worrying!

Image via Wikipedia

"Will this matter a year from now?" -- Richard Carlson

Let's face it, sometimes I often wonder if buying a cell phone will survive a couple of years.   You really don't want to have to replace every year and thus you try to find that one cell phone that will stand the test of time.

You walk into any phone store or grocery store and you will find either phones or cards to put more money on the account.   That makes me worry how effective the cell phones are going to last and the quality.

Buying prepaid cell phones can be even more hassle because of not knowing which network they are on or the capabilities of the cell phone.   If you been looking at their online store say for instants Cricket Wireless, you will see that there are many phones but yet no important information.    It's is like they left stuff out intentionally that should be there.

Looking Under the Hood!

Sometimes when I am looking for a cell phone to buy, I start my process off going to a wide range of sites like:

• Amazon


• Ebay


• Cnet


• Google Search

Let's face it, if you know the phone you are most likely wanting to buy then you will at least know the model number and thus you can use that to find the information your looking for.  Although that will provide the significant amount of the information, there will still be a few things that they will be able to tell you.    Which Network is that Phone one?

Network Usability

Most carriers have a limited amount of coverage around the US and the World and thus can be quite confusing going to their website and trying to determine if you are under their coverage area.   Why do they make it so hard?   I can't answer that but I know how I solve that problem for me.    I'll share a trick that probably no one else has thought of.   Just let your fingers do the walking.   Is this some kind of Joke?

I've found that just calling the local providers let's you know if they are reliable or not, if your really search savvy you can find out what others are saying about that carrier your local area.   This can be a great tool to judge if that phone or carrier is going to be a head ache or a really jewel.    Most times carriers will try to hide some of this so you may have to dig down deep to get to the good stuff.

What are your steps to buying a Prepaid Cell phone?

Paul Sylvester

Shop at Amazon.com!

 Related articles

• Finding out which network carrier you are using with Pre-paid Cellular Companies! (paulstechtalk.com)


• How to get the most out of Straight Talk phones (Tips and Tricks) (paulstechtalk.com)

Finding out which network carrier you are using with Pre-paid Cellular Companies!

Image by radiofabrik via Flickr

Not all Carriers are the Same!

Hey Let's face it, you thought it would be so simple to have a prepaid cell phone account. You just can't figure out why your signal or speed is just so terrible. If your like me, when you create an account with Tracfone, Straight Talk, Jitterbug, Movidas, MetroPC and Cricket Wireless.

Although you might of thought it wasn't going to be all that hard to figure out why.   It  could just be simply your wireless network that you are being leased or rented from.   Those prepaid companies don't really have any actually networks, some of them might work different in each region and you will only know by trying.

Finding out your Network

If your in a hurry, you can always go to whoismycarrier.com and have them text you your carrier information.   I however feel that might not be the best approach because of Privacy and there is no way to know what they do with the number once they have it in their database.   I prefer to find it out myself.   Here is How I find out which carrier I am on when I need to know!

Create an Account with Google Voice

 

After Setting up a Phone Number!

Tell Google Voice which number you want to forward to!

Once you Verify Cellular Phone Number.

Go into your Setup!

Just Click on the Sprocket and Settings!

Go to the Phones Tab

Edit Phone Number

Click check operator!

Once you update that, You will see which Carrier you are using!

That's It!

If you follow this tutorial, you will find out which network you are on.   You won't have to worry about spam from unwanted companies and thus.   It will however cost you minutes but if you don't mind spending a few minutes on your phone you will find out just as quickly as anyone else.   You may have to wait an hour or two before you can find out the carrier but mine was instant.   It will be different from carrier to carrier.

If you are using Straight Talk, please feel free to visit my other post and tell people what phone your using and which network you are using to better help others find out what to expect.

Paul Sylvester

Need Glassess? Try GlassesUSA!

Related articles

• How to get the most out of Straight Talk phones (Tips and Tricks) (paulstechtalk.com)


• Four Phones/Devices that Straight Talk might release in 2012! (paulstechtalk.com)


• First Impressions of the Samsung T404g (paulstechtalk.com)

 

Four Phones/Devices that Straight Talk might release in 2012!

Let’s talk Straight Talk Phones!

Although this isn’t going to be anything major, I do think we will see more devices that will come to Straight talk next year and I have a few predictions on which ones will come but again, I’ve been wrong in the past.

I’ve not see very many predictions about Straight Talk but I wanted to at least try to help people anticipate what may come and what may not come.   Remember, I do not know anymore than anyone else but I do understand the market and what may happen in the future.   So nothing I say should be consider as being set in stone or that they will do this or that.   It is going to be another prediction on what they may bring out.

What Might come to Straight Talk!

Samsung Galaxy Tab 7 inch to 10.1 (Affiliate Link)i— There is a good reason why this will probably happen and I know why.   Cricket Wireless (Affiliate Link) and T-mobile(Affiliate Link) are doing this right now.   The idea of having a tablet like the Kindle(Affiliate Link) fire is going to be a real big deal to have for Straight Talk.   I don’t know how they will do this but I am sure it will be an exciting time.

Nokia Lumina 710 (Affiliate Link) — This is one of those possibly that may happen but also remember this is a Windows Phone and thus is going be the first time Straight Talk tries the waters, if they do this.   I am real optimistic about this being a real possibility and thus I can not see them not doing this.

Mifi Hotspots (Affiliate Link)— I can see this as another Real Possibly because this would be a great idea for students and people always on the go.   I don’t know if they will do this but If Straight Talk wants to compete with other prepaid wireless networks they will have to get their feet wet.

Samsung Galaxy S (Affiliate Link) — This is after all another Android Phone but is possible on the Sprint Network thus will probably be ported to the Straight Talk Network because Straight Talks uses Sprint with Android.   So I see this as another good possibly and I think more customers are going to want to have more Android Devices in the coming year.

As you can see these are all just speculation and thus could possibly come true but only time will tell.   I thought I would at least try to have a little fun and tell you what I thought was going to be most likely.

Paul Sylvester

Need Glasses? Try GlassesUSA! (Affiliate Link)

Related articles

• How to get the most out of Straight Talk phones (Tips and Tricks) (paulstechtalk.com)


• TracFone’s Straight Talk adds second Android smartphone, LG Optimus Q (fiercewireless.com)


• TracFone’s Straight Talk Android phones will use Sprint’s network (fiercewireless.com)


• 2011 was the year of Android (guardian.co.uk)


• Straight Talk Android Phones to Run on Sprint’s Network (phonescoop.com)

How to get the most out of Straight Talk phones (Tips and Tricks)

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If your like me!

You will always want to get the most of your Straight Talk Phone (Affiliate link). I'm going to talk about how to get the most out of your prepaid phone and not have to worry about signal strength as much.   I know it can be difficult to figure out which one is right for you but I will discuss some of the things that you might need to know before buying your Straight Talk Phone.  It only takes a little research to find the answer to the next few questions.   Once you answer these questions you should be far better off.

The questions you need to answer are:

• Where will you use the phone primarily?


• What features are you looking for?


• Which carriers are more reliable in your area?


• Is it important to always receive phone calls? Can they go to Voice mail?

as you can see there are several things you need to consider when you about to buy a Straight Talk phone.   Phones are linked to different carriers from what I can see and understand.  That is the may reason why you might not have much success with one phone and have great success with another.

Do your Research!

This is the most vital thing you can do.   Even though most times doing the research will lead to nothing it is very important.  Some things to help you find your answers to those questions are just asking Google or your favorite search engine these question:

• What carrier is the (INSERT Straight Talk phone) on or Uses?


• What are people saying about (INSERT Straight Talk phone)?


• What is the coverage area for (Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, ETC) in (Zipcode)?

Now doing that will provide several different results and each one is going to have to be considered before buying your phone.   However you know which carrier each phone uses than you are far better off with knowing if you will have great coverage or bad coverage.   This is the essential because you will not enjoy your phone if it does terrible.

Here is what I know!

I'm going to help you figure out some of what has been said in the mobile industry as to which carriers are using which phones.   I won't have a complete list because even I don't know all the phones but I will generalize some of these and let you decide which ones you might want to buy and use and maybe even help me by commenting and tell me your phone and what carrier.

• Straight Talk Android Phones(The Samsung Galaxy Precedent (Affiliate link) and LG Optimus Q (Affiliate link)) -- Will run on the Sprint Network


• Straight Talk Samsung T404G (Affiliate link) -- Runs off the At&T network.


• Straight Talk LG 620g (Affiliate link)-- Runs off the T-mobile Network.

These are the only ones that I have heard about but at least this will give you a starting place to look and use when you are looking for the best possible coverage for your prepaid cell phones.   If I find out more phones this will be updated but as for right now this is all I have and if you have more information on phones just make a comment and I'll will update the list.

Paul Sylvester

Need Glasses? Try Glassesusa! (Affiliate link)

Related articles

• TracFone's Straight Talk Android phones will use Sprint's network (fiercewireless.com)


• Verizon States No LTE Performance Issue with the Galaxy Nexus, Will Adjust Status Bar to Better Match Other Devices (droidflash.wordpress.com)


• Galaxy Nexus LTE Bug Is a Figment of Your Imagination (droidflash.wordpress.com)


• Verizon confirms Galaxy Nexus 'signal strength issue,' says a fix is in the works (engadget.com)


• First Impressions of the Samsung T404g (paulstechtalk.com)


• TracFone's Straight Talk adds second Android smartphone, LG Optimus Q (fiercewireless.com)


• Straight Talk Android Phones to Run on Sprint's Network (phonescoop.com)