Poor Coverage with a Straight Talk Verizon Samsung Galaxy S3

A reader, Meadowwin asks,

I had an LG L96G on straight talk, with the ATT sim. This past weekend I replaced the LG with a Samsung S3, still on ST, but this one uses the Verizon towers. Problem: Where I work, I had no problems with connecting at my desk, with ATT, but Verizon is another story. Everyone using Verizon has issues, this not a ST issue. My question is: Can I place the sim from the LG in the Samsung S3 sim slot while at work and then remove it when not at work?

Hi Meadowwin,
Sorry to hear your new Galaxy S3 phone doesn’t get service at your workplace. My first rule here at Smartphonematters is to advise readers looking to make the switch to prepaid to make sure they are using a network that has adequate coverage where they live, work, or use their phone most.

Unfortunately, moving the SIM from your old phone to the S3 isn’t going to work. I assume when your switched phones you transferred your number and existing service to the S3. The old LG is now deactivated.

Here are some options.

1. Return the phone
Return the S3 to Straight Talk or Walmart. Tell them it doesn’t have coverage where you need it. If you have a Straight talk account, you should be able to transfer your service back to the LG phone before you return it.

2. Sell The phone
If you can’t return your phone, you might consider selling it. It’s new in very good condition. You’ll get a good price for it on eBay.

3. Buy a new Stright Talk smartphone
You can check to see which Straight Talk smartphones are using the ATT network. Unfortunately, their S3 doesn’t. I can help you identify a phone that uses the ATT network if you like.

4. Buy a used smartphone and switch to BYOP
Buy a used ATT S3 on ebay or craigslist and get a Straight Talk AT&T BYOP SIM. You can bring your own smartphone to Straight Talk and use it on their ATT network. Just order a SIM from their website. You can find a good deal on a new or used phone.

5. Buy a new smartphone and switch to BYOP
You also buy some great new smartphones for under $250 dollars. Both the new Moto G and the older models are excellent choices. Their is an older model that supports 4G LTE. Another company call BLU makes some very nice inexpensive phones. Many readers of this site use and love their BLU phones.

6. Switch to the Straight Talk ATT SIM and use it in your current S3
It would be possible to transfer your service to a Straight Talk ATT SIM and then use it in the current S3. I don’t recommend it. This model S3 has limited compatibility with ATT. voice calls will work but you will only get 2G, slow data. I only mention it in case you were thinking about trying it.

I hope this helps. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. I’d also like to hear what you ultimately decide to do.

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