A reader,chinglin30, recently commented on my video, Straight Talk Wireless Now Supports Verizon’s 4G LTE Network!

I have a sprint phone example note 3, does the straight talk simcard work if the phone isn’t activate from Sprint? is the phone will activate itself with straighttalk simcard? My note 3 sprint phone is not activate yet :/

Hi chingling30,

I don’t know.

First, I assume you mean you have a Sprint Samsung Note 3 model SM-N900PZKESPR. With a Sprint Note 3, I doubt you could just sign up for Straight Talk’s BYOP and use this phone on Straight Talk’s Verizon network.

You may be able to use this phone on Straight Talk’s Sprint network, in which case you wouldn’t need a Straight Talk SIM card. With Verizon BYOP phones, you would need the Straight Talk Verizon SIM to get 4G LTE service. A number of smartphonematters readers tell me they are getting 4G LTE service on their BYOP Sprint phones without using a SIM, but that it required calling the company to get 4G LTE activated.

Not all CDMA phones from Verizon or Sprint are eligible for use on Straight Talk’s network. You need to check the MEID number of the phone to see if it’s eligible. You can do this online, or by calling Straight Talk. I recommend doing both. It seems sometimes the website returns the wrong answer.

If you want to use Straight Talk’s Verizon network, your other options are to sell this phone and buy an eligible Verizon model, or see if it is possible to have the firmware in your phone updated to use this phone on the Verizon network. I can’t help you with that. If this is the case, I suggest talking to a PagePlus dealer, they might be able to flash the phone so you can use it with PagePlus’s verizon prepaid network.

Finally, you might also be able to use this phone with the ATT or TMobile network, if the phone is unlocked. Sprint doesn’t unlock the SIM slots on their LTE phones, but if you are a Sprint customer, you may be able to get them to unlock the phone for free. See Unlocking Your AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon or Sprint iPhone, Android, or Windows Phone. Since I don’t know the exact model of your phone, I can tell you whether it will get 3G or 4G LTE service on the ATT or TMobile networks. If you get the phone unlocked, it’s easy enough to find out. Just borrow and ATT or TMobile SIM from a friend and see if it works in your phone.

You could also visit an ATT or TMobile store, tell them you are considering switching to one of their prepaid plans and ask if you can try a SIM in your phone. In the case, I would suggest that you visit the store when it isn’t crowded and that you seriously consider there prepaid options.

I hope this helps. Let me know how it turns out.