Before I switch from tracfone...

**fiftyincher** · 06-19-2012, 08:45 PM

If someone could offer their opinion, I'd appreciate it. I've spent entirely way too much time investigating my prepaid service options. Currently on tracfone but would like to have a smartphone with data and it seems Straight Talk is the best option. I went to walmart but they were of no help at all. After reseaching this forum quite a bit the last day and a half, I've checked att and tmobile's coverage for central wi (54944 zip) and it appears to me att has way better coverage. I'm looking to spend around $200 on a phone and was looking at an unlocked Atrix 4g. I think this will be a quality phone paired with an att sim. I only have a cheap tracfone now so I was hoping someone could let me know if this combination looks right for my area and it will get 3g speeds for me. Or if there are other better phones around the same price I might want to check out. Thanks!

**T2GWireless** · 06-19-2012, 08:56 PM

My advice is to go with H20.
They have excellent coverage on the at&t network.
All that is required is an unlocked GSM phone, and an H20 sim kit.

There are no authorized retailers near you, so I would suggest ordering a Sim Kit through H20,
and calling an authorized retailes (such as myself), for assistance on how you would set up an account.

**fiftyincher** · 06-19-2012, 09:04 PM

I looked at the H20 website and it seems I'd be paying more?

**MrBooMY** · 06-19-2012, 09:05 PM

I suggest Straight Talk because their coverage is superior to H2O's due to their roaming agreements. They also have post paid AT&T coverage not prepaid. As long as you don't go over 2GB of data they won't bother you.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

**ThaKizzle** · 06-19-2012, 09:44 PM

Yea would rather have st than h2o. I use to have h2o when they had unlimited everything for 60 plan. Horrible choice! If you not liking how st policy are red pocket/jolt is another company to look at. Only going to get AT&T prepaid map for voice coverage but data speeds are hspa+ and not throttled

**Volaris** · 06-19-2012, 11:46 PM

Originally Posted by fiftyincher

If someone could offer their opinion, I'd appreciate it. I've spent entirely way too much time investigating my prepaid service options. Currently on tracfone but would like to have a smartphone with data and it seems Straight Talk is the best option. I went to walmart but they were of no help at all. After reseaching this forum quite a bit the last day and a half, I've checked att and tmobile's coverage for central wi (54944 zip) and it appears to me att has way better coverage. I'm looking to spend around $200 on a phone and was looking at an unlocked Atrix 4g. I think this will be a quality phone paired with an att sim. I only have a cheap tracfone now so I was hoping someone could let me know if this combination looks right for my area and it will get 3g speeds for me. Or if there are other better phones around the same price I might want to check out. Thanks!

That combination (Straight Talk AT&T SIM card and an Atrix 4G or Atrix 2) will work fine.

I looked at coverage maps for your zip code. T-Mobile does not provide native coverage near your area, only roaming, so that's no good. AT&T has either 3G or EDGE/2G data in your area. When I put in that zip code it puts me right in the border of 2G and 3G. Put in your street address at the following link, then click on Data and see if there's 3G in your area.
http://www.wireless.att.com/coverageviewer/

If you can't get 3G there, then your other option may be Page Plus, which offers a $55 plan with 2GB data on the Verizon network. But for that you would need a Verizon smartphone that is not 4G LTE.

Hope that helps.

**fiftyincher** · 06-20-2012, 07:19 AM

Thanks Volaris! I'm a little south of the 54944 mark on hwy 10. Directly on the line between 2G/3G. Not a big deal since I'll be on wireless in my home for data anyway, most of my use will be to the east.

I hadn't looked at PagePlus. Thought I had made up my mind but it looks like they have a bit better coverage for where I'll be albeit $10 more expensive.

**T2GWireless** · 06-21-2012, 10:31 PM

Page Plus is a great option as well.

You need to keep in mind, straight talk does have great plans, but their phones are "watered down" builds. They have lower quality parts than the same devices on other carriers. I have dis assembled the Optimus Slider on Virgin Mobile, which has the same device on Straight Talk, and there were notable differences in Hardware.

Be careful and be sure to do your research.

You may consider investigating Air Voice, Simple Mobile, and Zapp Unlimited too.

**ndtv88** · 06-21-2012, 11:32 PM

Simple Mobile- Tmo mvno, bought over by Tracfone/ST
Air Voice- ATT mvno, good Cs, but limited data plans compared to Jolt and ST
Zapp unlimited- seems like it runs on sprint, so it is sprint with infamous sprint speed, and you dont have Wimax coverage in your area for your zipcode.
ST- good plan if you can limit data to a max of 100mb per day and an average of a gig a month, but things can be arbitrary. you get a cheaper plan with some uncertainty and unclear rules.
Red Pocket- costs more but gets full speeds and has 2 gigs of data a month.

**MrBooMY** · 06-22-2012, 07:03 AM

ST is full speed and I use 2GB a month without issue. I've done plenty of research and ST via the BYOP sim for AT&T is the best by far. 2GB of post paid AT&T coverage for $45/month without tax is hard to beat. I use a Samsung Infuse 4G and get between 3-7 megabits a second depending on signal strength. You will not get LTE with this sim. The TMobile sim well get you their full HSPA+ speed with the right device but the coverage sucks compared.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I997 using Tapatalk 2

**Pabster** · 06-23-2012, 12:07 PM

Wisconsin you may be better off with the Page Plus option (Verizon coverage) but be careful and make sure you are not in a "Roaming" area (or the areas you will be frequenting) there are some, and Wisconsin is one of the states with a few pockets of it. Especially rural Wisconsin. My experience is that Verizon has better coverage than any of the GSM providers there though it varies by location.

**whacker** · 06-23-2012, 12:47 PM

Regarding Wisconsin, isn't there some big square blank spot in the center of the state where VZW has no coverage, and no roaming partners? Seems like I remember that being presented here somewhere.

**Pabster** · 06-23-2012, 03:43 PM

No, there is CDMA there, just not native Verizon coverage. It was divested a while back. Which is why I recommend those considering Page Plus check it out first because otherwise you'll be getting socked for roaming. So to be clear, yes, there is a big white area that *used* to be native Verizon coverage that is no longer. You can still roam there, obviously, but at roaming rates.

**speedlever** · 06-24-2012, 08:00 AM

Am I missing something? I thought all ST plans were pre-paid, not post-paid. I also thought that the ST plans do not roam, but use only native coverage. At least for VZW phones. Is this not true?

I'm in the process of moving from VZW post-paid to ST pre-paid phones using the VZW native coverage. Even the VZW pre-paid plans do not include roaming, best I can tell. Or that's my understanding.

Check pre-paid and refresh.
https://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/...UEST&zip=54944

**ndtv88** · 06-24-2012, 11:48 AM

Originally Posted by speedlever

Am I missing something? I thought all ST plans were pre-paid, not post-paid. I also thought that the ST plans do not roam, but use only native coverage. At least for VZW phones. Is this not true?

I'm in the process of moving from VZW post-paid to ST pre-paid phones using the VZW native coverage. Even the VZW pre-paid plans do not include roaming, best I can tell. Or that's my understanding.

Check pre-paid and refresh.
https://www.verizonwireless.com/b2c/...UEST&zip=54944

Yes ST is prepaid only.
ST CDMA on Verizon plans use native verizon coverage, same goes for the Sprint Android phones. there is however roaming on the GSM phones for both the ATT and Tmo phones.

The above discussion is for spots in WI, and some native verizon coverage being dropped off due to divestment, and about PP having better coverage. ST VZW covergae is the purely native covergae thing(i belive there are three kinds of network levels on VZW, with postpaid being number 1 and St having the number 3 level, the least, but this being VZW, is extensive by itself).