Use the 1520 as an ATT pre-paid Go Phone?

maui911

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Is this possible? If so, could I port my current number to the Go Phone SIM card so I don't have to change numbers? Looks like you can get 2GB data/month for $60 or 3 GB for $70. If not, I guess I'll wait to see if there is an unlocked version on Rogers so I can use with T-Mobile. No confirmation on that yet though.
 

distilledoreo

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If you go on straight talk it's $45 a month for 2.5 GB/month with unlimited 2G speeds after 2.5. You don't even need to unlock the phone if it's on AT&T or T-Mobile.
 

maui911

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After researching some consumer feedback on Straight Talk, I think I'll pay the $15 extra a month and go straight to AT&T. I'd imagine the customer service will be much better, and I read that some people experience throttling even before they've hit the 2.5 GB limit on Straight Talk.

If you go on straight talk it's $45 a month for 2.5 GB/month with unlimited 2G speeds after 2.5. You don't even need to unlock the phone if it's on AT&T or T-Mobile.
 

omegafiler

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When I talked to AT&T earlier this week, they said there wouldn't be a problem bring the 1520 over to GoPhone if I bought it off contract.

But since StraightTalk allows either carrier, locked or not, and they are cheaper, I'll probably go with them first. That's the nice thing about prepaid. If the service sucks... cancel.
 

maui911

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I guess that is true...I could try it out for a month and if it sucks bad, just cancel. It looks like I can port my T-Mobile number over from what their website says. They don't sell nano-sims on their website, so I'd probably have to hit ebay for that.

When I talked to AT&T earlier this week, they said there wouldn't be a problem bring the 1520 over to GoPhone if I bought it off contract.

But since StraightTalk allows either carrier, locked or not, and they are cheaper, I'll probably go with them first. That's the nice thing about prepaid. If the service sucks... cancel.
 

omegafiler

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I guess that is true...I could try it out for a month and if it sucks bad, just cancel. It looks like I can port my T-Mobile number over from what their website says. They don't sell nano-sims on their website, so I'd probably have to hit ebay for that.

Yeah, I just ordered one on Amazon. I didn't feel like cutting it myself and I needed a sim anyways.
 

cbreze

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I'm considering doing this very thing, using a 1520 with a prepaid on AT&T. I'm still trying to get used to the sheer size of it, but that screen is really nice. The speed of everything is great as well. I'm curious about the coverage AT&T in my area and think this would be a sensible way to test it out. I can save some money as long as I can get used to 2gigs / month and not go over. If I decide to not keep the service I still have a nice awesome device for WiFi use. My greatest concern with a device this large is carrying it around comfortably.
 

maui911

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Looks like you can't tether with Straight Talk. Trying to figure out if this is a deal breaker or not. I've used my T-Mobile phone to tether to my laptop a hand full of times. Hmmmm.
 

b166er

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I was considering straight talk as well. My 1520 arrives tomorrow. I don't need a second line. I prefer WP8 for my personal use, but for work I need an Android, which is why I currently use a GS4. If I'm already with AT&T can I just swap the sim between these two phones as I please? I'd rather not shuffle between two numbers.
 

tgp

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no need to unlock for tmobile?

Straight Talk can be confusing. It uses service from each of the 4 major carriers in the US: Verizon, Sprint, AT&T, and T-Mobile. Verizon & Sprint both use CDMA technology, so which one you use depends on your device. AT&T & T-Mobile are both GSM and have SIM cards. You can choose a Straight Talk SIM card for either one. It's up to you for the most part, but it depends on where you live, which service is better where you live & work & travel, or it depends on your device. If you want to use an AT&T locked phone, you must get a Straight Talk SIM card using AT&T's service. Likewise with T-Mobile. If you have an unlocked GSM phone, you can use either.

I was considering straight talk as well. My 1520 arrives tomorrow. I don't need a second line. I prefer WP8 for my personal use, but for work I need an Android, which is why I currently use a GS4. If I'm already with AT&T can I just swap the sim between these two phones as I please? I'd rather not shuffle between two numbers.

Yup, simply swap the SIM card. There's a slim chance you'll have to manually adjust the APN settings, but that probably won't be necessary.
 

kevm14

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On the 2G stuff: on GSM, 2G means EDGE. Which is tolerable for e-mail and other light data use. In fact, I think I was able to stream Pandora using EDGE on T-Mobile. But like others have said, I've read Straight Talk is known to be nebulous on what the data cap really is, so if you're a heavy data user, you may not be happy. But it's pre-paid so no harm in trying.

On Straight Talk in general: Buying the 1520 from AT&T and taking it to Straight Talk on AT&T is probably the only thing I would bother doing. Straight Talk on T-Mobile isn't quite as good of a deal. I think any pre-paid (including MVNOs) don't get the same roaming privileges as native T-Mobile customers. And T-Mobile has better native deals than all the other carriers anyway, so if I wanted to use the T-Mobile network, I'd probably just go straigh through them. Even if you want to do pre-paid, they have an amazing $30/mo plan with 100 mins/unlimited text and 5GB data. Plus their HSPA network is quite fast, which means you can be more patient waiting for them to roll out LTE in more markets.
 

sequoia464

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crav4speed

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You can actually get 10% off at&t gophone and no sales tax if you know where to look :)

The $60 plan can be bought for $54 even. I would much rather be on gophone for the extra $9/month just for the fact that you're with at&t directly and not an mvno. StraightTalk is known to be too much of a hassle especially if you like using data.
 

jjb4430

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Pardon me for being somewhat dense here, but this phone locked to AT&T should work on an AT&T MVNO right? Or is there some goofy agreement that they can't be used on an MVNO (a la Sprint).
Thinking about buying this off contract and going H2O or ST/Net10. Thanks.
 

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