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Left Metro

ChazzMatt said:
Back in Feb, Straight Talk started a new service called "Bring Your Own Phone" (BYOP), where ANY sim phone will get a sim to be on the Straight Talk AT&T & T-Mobile networks.

It's NOT the "regular" Straight Talk from Wal-mart with bargain bin phones. This new "division" even has its own URL: StraightTalkSIM.COM

If you bring an HSPA+ phone, you will get HSPA+ speeds on AT&T and/or T-Mobile. "Regular" Straight Talk uses all four major carriers and they sell phones at Wal-Mart tied to one of those carriers (Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, etc.) This is NOT regular Straight Talk.

This BYOP sim plan is only for AT&T and T-Mobile network. When you sign up you choose which sim you want. ST "AT&T" or ST "T-mobile". If you are bringing an AT&T phone, best to sign up for the "AT&T" sim and vice versa. Because AT&T and T-Mobile use different frequencies for their HSPA+ signal. (Just like Verizon and Metro use different frequencies for their LTE.)

HOWEVER, if you sign up for AT&T sim and you come into an area that has no AT&T but has T-Mobile, you will "roam" for free on T-Mobile towers. But it's not really roaming, you just switch over to T-Mobile towers per ST's agreement with T-Mobile. If you are using a phone that gets AT&T HSPA+ and does not have the T-Mobile HSPA chipset, normally you would drop down to EDGE speeds.

But if you have a phone that has ALL the necessary chipsets (a pentaband phone), then when you "roam" on the other towers you will still get HSPA+ speeds. The GSM Galaxy Nexus IS such a phone. It's an "international" phone and can receive both AT&T and T-mobile HSPA+ signals.

I signed up, ordered the sim ($15 one-time fee). I ordered Galaxy Nexus from Google ($349 + tax and shipping). I put sim in phone. I activate account. I am happy. $45 + couple dollars in taxes per month. About $47 per month. Cheaper than Metro, I have very good speeds, I have a dual core, 4.65", 4.1 Jelly Bean phone.

Did the same for my wife. We both have Galaxy Nexus on Straight Talk, using the ST "AT&T" sim -- and can use T-Mobile towers with HSPA+ speed when necessary.

Unlimited talk and text -- and true nationwide coverage.

__________

Cons: not a con for me but for some. They claim unlimited data, too but after 2GB in many areas, but not all, they impose a 2GB data cap per month over the mobile network. After 2GB, they throttle you. Not 2GB total, just over the mobile network. They also don't like it if you use over 100MB per day. Others say they go to 5GB regularly, no big deal. Still, enough warn of the 2GB cap and being throttled that's it seems real. Some say it depends on the area you are in.

Anyway, doesn't matter to me. So far n 3 weeks I've used 1.4GB over wi-fi and only 500MB over mobile. All together I will use over 2GB this month, but all that counts is the "mobile" part.

___________

So, bring any phone you want -- just has to be a sim card phone. Great speeds if you have an HSPA+ capable phone, and only $45 per month.

If you pay for multiple months, they discount. 3 months, 6 months, even a year in advance gets you in to the low $40s. Also when you pay each month if you give a non-tax state zip code like Oregon, taxes are waived.


When I found out about this deal, especially being able to get the phone I wanted RIGHT NOW, I was intrigued. After a couple days researching and trying to figure out the "catch", I decided to go ahead and do it already! ;)

Go here and check it out:

http://straighttalksim.com/
Click to expand...

Now I just need to figure out if the unlocked S3 can get HSPA+ on both T-Mobile and AT&T...
 
Sounds like the plan one of my coworker left metro for. I broke it down and told them the difference between AT&T and metro. He was enticed with new smartphones and a more cheaper family plan then metro. On the third month, he was trying to get out of his contract with AT&T, apparently his son loves to stream music and movies... As for me, I am a power user and (Samsung S2) flash, root, port, CWM, brick and restore type of user. I know many metro users that are. The ones that make me laugh are AT&T Iphone users who consider themselves techy by just buying an Iphone.
 
Alright, I'm gonna give ST a shot.

I've been trying to find a used phone just to check out the program but that is easier said than done. Craigslist is filled with flakes who don't return voicemails, emails, etc. then you still have to worry about getting a phone that is clean (esn/not stolen or damaged).

I think I'm going to just go to the Tmobile store and buy one of there no contract phones. They have 4 phones that are 4G and range from $180-$300 as seen here:

Prepaid Phones | Pay as You Go Android Cell Phones | T-Mobile
 
jpr8 said:
Alright, I'm gonna give ST a shot.

I've been trying to find a used phone just to check out the program but that is easier said than done. Craigslist is filled with flakes who don't return voicemails, emails, etc. then you still have to worry about getting a phone that is clean (esn/not stolen or damaged).

I think I'm going to just go to the Tmobile store and buy one of there no contract phones. They have 4 phones that are 4G and range from $180-$300 as seen here:

Prepaid Phones | Pay as You Go Android Cell Phones | T-Mobile
Click to expand...

metro's lg motion and zte anthem beat every phone on that list and both are only $149. and with metro's $55 unlimited all promotion, tmobile just doesnt stack up.

im assuming you barely use any data and are in a really bad spot for metro in detroit. i too live in detroit(boston-edison) and i get 5mbps down and have never had a dropped call.
 
THE W said:
metro's lg motion and zte anthem beat every phone on that list and both are only $149. and with metro's $55 unlimited all promotion, tmobile just doesnt stack up.

im assuming you barely use any data and are in a really bad spot for metro in detroit. i too live in detroit(boston-edison) and i get 5mbps down and have never had a dropped call.
Click to expand...

My plan is to buy a Tmobile phone and use on Straight Talk unlimited $45 plan (which is apparently 2G @ full speed then throttled down).

Metro is fine for me all over town but not at home. I live on the edge of a bad service bubble and signal poor at home causing my battery to die while looking for signal and the occasional dropped call. It's even worse at my daughters school...no service/roaming. Metro is aware of this anomaly but has no intention of correcting the issue since its such a small area.

I was acutually at the ATT store today and they have some decent phones for $150-$200 (used) which would work with Straight Talk too. Piece of mind is worth it knowing I'm getting a phone that works and is not stolen (as opposed to the crapshoot on craigslist).

I was just over at Howard Forums and there is a lot of commotion over the data speeds being throttled and such on Straight Talk so I am concerned about that. As long as I get a good signal and at least 3G speeds I'd be fine.
 
just to let you know,

2GB cap, 100mb a day cap, video/audio streaming prohibited by TOS. you cross the line with any of these limits you run the risk of having your account terminated on top of being throttled.

tread lightly and keep it wifi.
 
What's odd about metro is their PRL. I'm on their 3030 and get 2 bars where I used to get 3 bars on their 3028 and better quality on phone calls. But notice faster data speeds on their 3030...so I'm still testing it.
 
I know it's on the forum, but how is this not worth it?
 

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ChazzMatt said:
You'll love [SIZE="3"]Jelly Bean 4.1[/SIZE] even more! :p Left Metro earlier this month, after a dozen years. Got two Galaxy Nexus with 4.1.1 Jelly Bean.

I'm also paying less than $50 per month total for AT&T & T-Mobile HSPA+ speeds on my Galaxy Nexus on Straight Talk Bring-Your-Own-Phone sim plan. You can either choose the "AT&T" sim and roam for free on "T-Mobile" or choose "T-Mobile and roam for free on "AT&T".

However the roaming speeds are going to depend on if you have a phone that can handle BOTH AT&T and T-Mobile's HSPA+ bands. So, I chose the Galaxy Nexus because it's pure Android and international GSM, and has the chipsets for BOTH AT&T and T-Mobile HSPA+ frequencies.

screen_20120729_1608.png


Some of the download speeds are faster than I ever got with Metro's LTE.

Yeah, upload speeds could be better, but they are adequate for my uses -- as is the soft 2GB data cap over the mobile network. So far since July 12 I've used about 500 MB over mobile and 1.2GB over wi-fi. Wi-fi, of course, doesn't count towards the data cap.
Click to expand...


Dude your speed test has wifi on lol?
 
I've always found all the Metro apps a bit funny. They were at least somewhat useful back before Metro had Android phones. Now they are just a waste of space since Android either has a built-in or downloadable better alternative to all of them.

It especially become funny when they started charging people for the usage of some. But then, people pay for them, so who knows. :D
 
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