Other Connectivity > Cellphones, Providers, and Plans > AT&T dropping Straight Talk due to phone unlocking law?

reply to pandora

Re: AT&T dropping Straight Talk due to phone unlocking law?

reply to pandora
well this is very interesting. I've finally did the math and i've realized the crime of rape. I dont care what network i'm on, however my tmo service was shitty when i had it, so i'd prefer att. my phone is already unlocked and i'd love to split my bill in half. i'm just kinda pissed I didnt see this option sooner.
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reply to pandora
The answer to the op's question is no, att is not dropping straight talk.

If you cant find ST sims, substitute with Net10 att sim cards and get the same service by the same company who owns ST.

reply to pandora
I found a couple of Straight Talk SIMs bundled with a 30-day "unlimited" card at my local Wal Mart two days ago. I bought 3, and gave one to a friend who delayed migrating. I'm holding on to one for an extra SIM when I take my iPhone to something newer (cutting to a nano-sim makes me a little nervous) and the other for a neighbor who might be going to an iPhone in a week or two. If not, I'll probably sell the extra on eBay.

Check your local Wal Mart. They just might have what you're looking to find.

reply to SysOp

reply to pandora
We will probably never know why Straight Talk stop selling AT&T SIM cards; it probably is a combination of several causes.
But I found one explanation more believable than the others I have seen.

Several people have reported that they switched from AT&T active contract plan to Straight Talk without paying an ETF. If the billing system allowed that then Straight Talk did not have much of an option but to stop selling AT&T SIM cards, modifying billing system would take too long.

This is of course only speculation but I was always curious on why ST never gave an explanation.

/edit typos

re

Hmm I am confused. You make statements, which I agree with, but I never said anything about IMEI numbers.

Let me try again, people claim they managed to do this

1) New iPhone with a new 2 year contract with AT&T
2) a few month later decides to switch to ST willing to pay the ETF
3) Put in the ST (AT&T) SIM, activate the SIM with number port etc
4) iPhone works, voice mail was already configured (old password work) and no ETF fee was billed.

Several people reported it, I did not do it myself I was out of contract.

But my voice mail worked without setup (old password work) and the "transfer" of the number took less than 2 minutes before the new SIM worked.

reply to Cabal
That is exactly the scenario that happened to me. I bought an iPhone 4S and renewed my AT&T contract in Feb 2012, switched to Straight Talk in July 2012, and was never billed an ETF by AT&T. I was fully prepared to pay the ETF, but I'm certainly fine with not having to.

You just stopped paying ATT?

Don't be suprised if your att account is accuring fees and/or penalties since you didn't cancel the account. Or they may never attempt to collect. Only ATT knows.

No, AT&T stopped billing me. I was set up for autopay, which ceased (from their end) once I ported my number to Straight Talk. In fact, AT&T credited me something like $2.75 for the unused days on my final billing cycle. They sent me a check in the mail.

Like I said, I fully expected to receive a bill for the ETF, and was prepared to pay it. I was as surprised as anyone when that bill never came.

nice!

Yup too nice AT&T had to stop it.

Interesting no reports that you can avoid ETF with Net10 SIMs.

reply to pandora

Re: AT&T dropping Straight Talk due to phone unlocking law?

I went to my local Walmart, no phones with AT&T SIM in them. At least not that I recognized as such, I could only find phones with t-mobile SIMs.

If you can use an AT&T SIM and get out of a contract without paying ETF then phones with AT&T SIM will also disappear. I expect that the SIM will come back but not until they have fixed the billing system ETF error.