Randomly Losing Straight Talk Verizon Network Data Connection on My iPhone

A reader, Samantha, asks…

Hello,

I have an iPhone 5 with the iOS 9.02. Recently, my phone will randomly loose it’s data connection and I cannot use my internet unless I have wifi. I can send and receive texts and phone calls, but cannot send or receive iMessages or use my internet.

I have called the customer support center multiple times, including yesterday morning. They keep saying they just need to update my account and then it works for a few days, sometimes a week or two, and then doesn it again.

I don’t know how to to fix it, and I use a Verizon phone through the bring your own phone with straight talk.

I hear from a number of Straight Talk Verizon network customers having similar problems. Unfortunately, I don’t have a great solution for you.

A lot of readers ask for help with this problem, thinking that the issue is the phone’s APN settings. In truth, we really don’t know what causes this problem. One reader I was working with told me that Straight Talk’s Executive Resolution department, kind of an advanced support group, told him the issue was something called the MPN. That the MPN keeps getting reset back to Verizon, and the need to fix it, and then it happens again.

My advice, call support, ask for a case number, ask to speak to Executive Resolution, because this happened multiple times. If they can’t fix it, consider your other options.

If the ATT or TMobile network work well in your area, switch your service to one of those networks. Your iPhone 5 will work on those networks, it will get 3G data, and but that data would be about as fast as the Verizon LTE you are getting.

If the ATT and TMobile network don’t work well in your area, I’d consider switching to a different wireless carrier that uses the Verizon network. Some options are Red Pocket, Page Plus, Total Wireless, and Verizon’s own Prepaid service. Straight Talk’s main advantage is that it offers 5GB of High Speed Data for $45 a month. Last I checked, that is the most that any of the prepaid companies offer. But if your service is unreliable, you might be better off paying for reliability over quantity.

One reader, Eric, tried numerous times to get this resolved, but the problem kept recurring. On my suggestion, Ericswitched to Verizon prepaid and hasn’t had a single problem since. He has a 2GB data plan for $48 a month using auto refill. He seemed to be happy with the trade off.

I don’t use Straight Talk’s Verizon network. The Straight Talk ATT network is the best option for me. If I were you and was repeatedly losing my data connection, I’d try to get Straight Talk to fix in and move on if they couldn’t.

Comments are closed.