hspa+ was so inconsistent on straight talk that i went to verizon loyalty plan of $60/month 2GB + unlimited talk/text on LTE. I get 40-60Mbps down and 10-20 up. No contract either

I will say that straight talk always gave me better coverage. Verizon is so heavily sectorized that I roam and drop data constantly. If I stay still I get extremely good coverage, but if you're on a lot of calls on the road or stream a lot while driving, verizon isn't as good as straight talk

[Edited on June 30, 2014 at 11:27 AM. Reason : .]

6/30/2014 11:25:59 AM

I have been to Walmart and asked there, asked friends, and browsed the web, but it is all so damn confusing... why do you Americans have to make cellular service so confusing!!!

I want to spend the least amount of money but still get a good connection/signal, unlimited talk and text (or a number large enough to be considered "unlimited"), plus around 2 GB data.

What's the best option for me?

This is what I have gotten so far:

1) Get an unlocked phone off amazon for $300-400, then go with ST's $45 package. However, I read reviews of many of the unlocked phones, and there are lots of 1 stars regardless of the phone. Some people say the phone was not truly unlocked, some say it was reported stolen, and other weird stuff. So, I am weary of going that route.

2) Get a phone with a 2 year contract from AT&T with unlimited talk and text, and 1 GB data for $65, phone free.

3) Or AT&T Next?

I am not even sure I will be in the US for 2 years... definitely one year though, from now till June.

Any advice or help will be appreciated.

7/3/2014 1:08:46 AM

If $300-$400 is your price range, why not just get a brand new Nexus 5 straight from google. Still one of the best android phones and it's in that price range. Straight from google, good warranty, and 0 worries about "stolen" phones.

My wife and I both use this setup with Straight Talk on ATT's network.

7/3/2014 7:43:55 AM

^ thanks

are there any other good android phones i can get straight from the manufacturer in that price range?

wait, just looked at it... damn, 7 inches??? why don't they also make a mini model with a 4 to 5 inch screen?

that's just too massive!

i was thinking of mini S3, mini S4, or mini S5. any comments on those?

[Edited on July 3, 2014 at 12:29 PM. Reason : i was looking at nexus 7, sorry. still, any other good brands/phones/models straight from manuf.?]

7/3/2014 12:24:12 PM

i like the S4 active. any comments?

and how are the LG G2 and the LG Optimus G Pro... I mean, how do they compare to the Nexus 5 as that's also made by LG?

7/3/2014 12:55:56 PM

just go to walmart and buy a damn ST GS4 and be done with it. not hard.

7/3/2014 1:01:45 PM

just ordered the red nexus 5

and will get a straight talk sim with $45 plan

7/5/2014 5:22:50 AM

just ordered the red nexus 5

and will get a straight talk sim with $45 plan

7/5/2014 5:22:50 AM

it's a pretty bright safety red/orange just fyi. I have the black, my wife has white, and my good friend has the red one.

7/6/2014 8:31:14 PM

lol yeah thanks

it is my first smart phone ever (i am 37), so i thought i would go all out and get a screaming red one

(the black looks boring, but the white does look very nice)

7/6/2014 9:47:26 PM

when I first ordered all they had was black and white and I let my wife choose. She went with white so I chose black to more easily tell ours apart laying around the house.

We both really like ours so hopefully you like yours as well.

7/6/2014 9:54:09 PM

yeah makes sense to get 2 different colors in that case

one of my classmates has one and i played with it... i loved it! so much better than the bloated android on samsungs, LGs, and other phones.

hey btw, i know that the black one has a rubberized plastic at the back and sides, and the white one has a smooth plastic which could get slippery. my friend told me he dropped his (he has the white) as it was really humid and so he couldn't get a good grip from the sides when he took it out of his pocket. that's why he was telling me to get black. what material do you prefer?

do you know if the red is smooth or rubberized? i searched but couldn't find an answer. i looked at several pics of all 3 of them, and by comparison, i deduced that it is rubberized with 75% confidence . just hope that it is! i'll just have to be more careful if it smooth!

thanks for your posts

(i do wish that google would mention on the page where they sell them that the textures are different)

[Edited on July 6, 2014 at 10:04 PM. Reason : ]

7/6/2014 10:04:18 PM

yeah that was an unexpected difference...I definitely prefer the feel of mine in a side-by-side comparison but hers isn't really that "slippery" to me in isolation. It's just MORE slippery than mine. The Nexus 4 had a glass back and that could definitely get slick.

I don't remember what type of texture the red one has when I saw my friends. I think it may have been more like mine but I can't recall. I could ask him to find out but I assume you will have your phone soon anyway.

7/6/2014 10:07:24 PM

Quote :

"hers isn't really that "slippery" to me in isolation. It's just MORE slippery than mine."

agreed.

yeah no worries bro... expected arrival is on thursday, so i will let it be a surprise!

thanks!

7/6/2014 10:09:47 PM

i can't imagine owning a phone and not putting at least a TPU case on it...so slipperiness is irrelevant (i have an N4 and the glass back definitely doesn't have much grip)

7/7/2014 6:51:24 PM

I haven't ever had a case for a smart phone really. I had a thin very flexible rubber one for a brief time when I first got my DX but other than that I've just used my DX, DX2, and N5s all as-is.

[Edited on July 7, 2014 at 7:22 PM. Reason : ]

7/7/2014 7:20:15 PM

Shipped today!

LOL I called Google yesterday just to make sure everything with my order was ok (because I used a foreign CC), and I also asked the lady if she knew about the texture of the back surface. She had to put me on hold and go ask her colleagues. She said it is more like the black one rather than the white one according to her colleagues who have handled it. She said she would send me an email just in case there is a problem with my order and doesn't ship by today, so I can email her directly... got her email, she sent me a $10 Google Play card because "I was so patient when she put me on hold"

I might get a case, as I like to keep new items scratch/scuff free as long as possible, but there is also the issue of protection in case of dropping it. If I get a case, it will be the same red one!

7/8/2014 12:34:09 PM

This isn't "bright red" as google calls it, this is orange!!!

Unfortunately, can't use it till Friday. Phone came earlier in the evening (Wednesday), screen protector coming Thursday, and sim card arriving on Friday.

I went with T-Mobile's $30 plan, will see how it is, and then move to ST if not good. The plan has:

100 minutes talk
unlimited text
unlimited data, 5 GB high speed

My friend who switched to that said she called their customer service line and they told her that you can also make calls over Wifi, and those don't count in the 100 minutes. But another friend who has had the same plan for a while doesn't think that's true, but he has never confirmed it.

Anybody know for sure? The website doesn't say anything in that regards. If true, I am in an area with Wifi 95% of the time, so that would be awesome.

It is 10c/min after the 100 minutes, so for $45 it becomes

250 min
unlimited text
unlimited internet. 5 GB high speed

which is definitely better than ST's plan for people who won't be talking much. But I hope to stay within 100 minutes and save $15/month over ST's plan.

7/10/2014 1:59:43 AM

Even if you don't talk on the phone much, an average of 3 minutes per day over a month seems a little low.

7/10/2014 3:20:22 AM

yeah I couldn't do that. I am not on the phone frequently (just a couple times a week total), but when I am it is for a long time. I call my parents once on the weekend and we talk for 30-60 minutes. I call my grandparents once or twice a month, same thing. And then for work I probably end up using my own phone for one conference call a week which ends up being another 60 minutes. So it's maybe an average of 2-3 days total each week that I ever even use it for voice but Id guess I'm in the 400 to 500 range still.

[Edited on July 10, 2014 at 8:37 AM. Reason : ]

7/10/2014 8:37:01 AM

ditto

i don't even LIKE talking on the phone and i'm betting i do 300-400 minutes per month

does making all calls through google voice use minutes or data? if the former, then i probably don't use ANY minutes

7/10/2014 9:45:30 AM

^ Is this what you meant to say:

does making all calls through google voice use minutes or data? if the former latter, then i probably don't use ANY minutes

I just downloaded Google Voice on my Nexus 5

But so far so good with the 100 minutes... I have had the SIM card for a week, and have used just 13 minutes, instead of 25.

And in one week I have used just 174 MB mobile data, but 11 GB on wifi (9 GB streaming music).

Man, I am loving the Nexus 5... it is like an extension of one's brain... very intuitive, and beautifully seamless operation. And the SCREAMING ORANGE "Bright Red" definitely commands attention from passersby!

7/18/2014 2:08:30 AM

yeah, i meant latter...oops

7/18/2014 6:49:21 AM

They just upgraded BYOP plans to 5GB of data...which makes this service even more of a no-brainer

[Edited on May 7, 2015 at 3:58 PM. Reason : http://phandroid.com/2015/05/07/straight-talk-5gb-throttling/]

5/7/2015 3:58:02 PM

I went to tmobile's $100 for 2 lines unlimited everything no throttle and have been pretty happy since I live in a dense metro where i get solid service, but between this and vzw, the mobile landscape is getting much better in america, sprint's left out in the cold.

5/12/2015 11:16:12 PM

Cricket is $35/month for 2.5GB of data if youre on autopay. Obviously if you go over that, StraightTalk may be better, but if you dont, this seems like a better deal, and I assume the service is basically the same since both run on AT&T (I have no experience with StraightTalk so I cant confirm).

5/13/2015 11:10:18 AM

Let me know when these companies get real and offer 15GB+/month without raping wallets.

5/13/2015 4:19:57 PM

^tmobile does. 1 line with no throttle unlimited data is $80, 2 lines is $100, 3 is $140

5/14/2015 12:12:09 AM

tmobile has some of the worst cell coverage around.

no thanks

And I currently pay $86 for that, so it's not worth the switch to shit coverage.

5/14/2015 8:35:02 AM

Anyone have experience with Google Fi yet?

5/14/2015 11:23:22 PM

The real question is why would someone choose Fi over ST? It's more money for less data on shittier networks...maybe if you travel internationally often. Apparently the service works in 120 countries, with data at 3G speeds. I guess seamlessly using WiFi to make calls/text if you frequent places without service could be cool too.

5/16/2015 7:42:00 PM

they need to open it up to phones other than the N6. i dont even see why there is that restriction. maybe it has the hardware to switch to wifi calling?

5/18/2015 10:27:33 AM

I figure they will eventually.

5/18/2015 10:38:57 AM

Anybody use MetroPCS? How is it? I have T-mobile's $30 plan (100 min/UL text/UL data 5GB@LTE), but want to upgrade as I have been running out of minutes lately as I have been applying for jobs.

I am considering the following options.

T-mobile's $40 plan
vs
MetroPCS $40 plan
vs
Cricket $35 plan

I am ok with 1GB data (T-mobile) as I am in a wifi zone most of the time, but if I can get more (MetroPCS and Cricket) for the same price, why not?!

My main concern is connectivity and signal strength. I am happy with T-mobile's signal, so I want to have something comparable. Friends who have AT&T in my area have a worse signal most of the time.

Any advice is welcome. Thanks!

6/10/2015 3:15:03 AM

straight talk on tmo or att network

6/10/2015 10:58:41 AM

I seriously considered ST, but if I can save $5-10 per month, why not? I guess if I was downloading a lot of shit while on cellular I would need the 5 GB, but 1 GB is just fine, and 2 GB is more than enough.

Hope to hear some personal accounts about the 3 options I listed.

6/10/2015 1:39:23 PM

i moved from ST to cricket...2.5GB of (capped-speed) 4G for $35 is fine for me...i rarely go above 1GB most months and i'm not sure i've ever gone above 2.5GB

6/22/2015 12:17:40 PM

^ did you have to pay activation fee? How much? On their site it says it can be up to $25.

I entered my imei number on their site to check for compatibility and it says the device has been reported as lost or stolen. WTF? Naturally, it says they won't accept the device. Checked twice. Any advice on how I can resolve this? Thanks.

6/27/2015 1:13:38 AM

^ looking at my purchase order, i paid $40 for the first month (since the $35 is with credit for auto-pay) and $75 for a 4G phone

i did it like that because the phone came with a $75 rebate and the SIM (which is $10 by itself), so i took the SIM out of the phone and put it in my N4...i then waited 6 months, had cricket unlock the phone, and flipped it on CL for $150

so no, no activation fee for me

6/28/2015 6:22:57 PM

Nice! Which phone did you get for 75?

Also, any idea about my concern in my previous post? Thanks.

6/28/2015 7:13:30 PM

i don't remember which phone it was...it was a promotional price/rebate because it was december (or so i assume)

as for your blacklisted IMEI...maybe call up your current carrier?

6/29/2015 9:28:27 PM

Anyone have any issues with group text messages? I get the very occasional "New MMS Message received. Click to download" or something along those lines, then they won't download. Wonder if it's a network thing or my phone.

11/6/2015 3:53:48 PM

do you have an iPhone or android phone?

11/6/2015 4:08:43 PM

Android, Nexus 5. Can't send to groups either sometimes

11/6/2015 6:02:27 PM

happens with my nexus 5 all the time

11/6/2015 8:51:00 PM

Just an FYI you can get an iPhone 6s from Boost Mobile for $450 if the coupon code is still working.

11/11/2015 9:10:42 PM

my nexus 5 is the same... has been since the 6.0 update (worked for about 2 days after update, then nothing)... tortured myself for approximately 2 hours on the phone w/ ST - still nothing (no mms, no group text)

11/14/2015 9:13:24 AM

^ My group text issue isn't all the time...seems like just an hour or two at a time. Also doesn't seem to be linked to WiFi or LTE.

11/16/2015 9:57:08 AM

Fixed the group and issue I was having by updating to these settings :https://www.straighttalk.com/wps/portal/home/support/apn

Mine were way different

11/17/2015 3:34:01 PM

jk shit's still broke

[Edited on November 28, 2015 at 12:54 PM. Reason : changed my MMS port to 8080 from 80. hopefully that does it.]

11/28/2015 12:40:06 PM