Want to transfer your existing Straight Talk phone number and remaining service balance to a new phone? Well, you can, and in some cases using that new phone is as easy as moving the SIM card from your current phone to a your new phone.

Using Your Current SIM card

You can move your current SIM card from your current phone to your new phone if:

• Your current phone is using Straight Talk’s AT&T or T-Mobile network
• Your new phone is compatible with the Straight Talk network you are using
• Your current phone and your new phone use the same size SIM card.

If all three of these conditions are true, simply remove your SIM from your current phone and put it in your new phone. Once the SIM is in your new phone, make sure the phone has recognized the SIM. If it has, check that you can make phone calls and send text messages. Also check that your able to use cellular data to access the internet as well as send and receive MMS picture messages. If your unable to make phone calls or send and receive text messages you may need to transfer your service to a new SIM card or contact Straight Talk support for help. If calls and texts work, but your data and MMS picture messages don’t you may need to set the Straight Talk APN settings on your phone. See smartphonematters.com for help with that.

When You’ll Need a New SIM

Sometimes you can’t move your SIM and you’ll need to transfer your service to a new one.
If you are transferring your service because you want to change Straight Talk networks, your new phone is compatible with the Straight Talk network you are currently using, or your current SIM card is too big or too small to fit in your new phone you’ll need to buy a new SIM from Straight Talk and transfer your service. If your SIM is to small to fit in your new phone, you could also use a a SIM adapter. To learn move about using a SIM adapter see The Smartphonematters SIM Adapter Guide

If your current phone is using Straight Talk’s Verizon or Sprint network, you should also transfer your service. You may find that if you move your Straight Talk Verizon or Sprint SIM to your new phone it works, but I don’t recommend you do that. Straight Talk, Verizon, and Sprint all want to make sure that the specific phone you are using is registered on their network. You may encounter problems later on. And, if you simply move your SIM to the new phone, your old phone will still be registered to your Straight Talk account and cause problems when someone else tries to use it with Straight Talk or another wireless company.

To learn how to order a new Straight Talk SIM card and transfer your service see Transferring Your Existing Straight Talk Service to a New Straight Talk Phone or SIM
Watch the video below.

Transferring to a new Straight Talk phone

If you bought your phone from Straight Talk and don’t activate it with the SIM they included in the box, you might find that they won’t unlock the phone for you later.
When you buy new Android or iPhone directly from Straight Talk, the phone is locked and can only be activated with Straight Talk. After 12 months of use on their network, Straight Talk will unlock your phone. However if you didn’t register it or activate it using the SIM, later you might find they have no record of you using the phone on their network. I don’t know that this is the case, but something to consider.