Using Your iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, or iPhone 5 with Straight Talk Wireless


Want to use your iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, or iPhone 5 with Straight Talk’s Bring Your Own Phone Program? Not sure if it will work or how to sign up? Chances are you can use your iPhone and in this article I’ll explain what you need to know.

Understanding Straight Talk

Straight Talk doesn’t own the cellular towers they use. Instead, they lease service from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile. And when you sign up for Straight Talk and Bring Your Own iPhone you normally use that same network with Straight Talk. So if your iPhone was from AT&T, you sign up for Straight Talk and use Straight Talk’s AT&T compatible network. If your iPhone was from Verizon, you sign up for Straight Talk and use Straight Talk’s Verizon compatible network. Same for Sprint and T-Mobile.

This works out well for most people because their phone is compatible with that same network on Straight Talk and that network has service where you are because you were already using it. So when most people sign up, they just use the same network on Straight Talk. But sometimes you may have an iPhone from AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile but want to use it with another network on Straight Talk. And you may be able to. See the sections below for more details.

My iPhone is from AT&T

If your iPhone is from AT&T it will work with Straight Talk’s AT&T network. There aren’t any other requirements, your phone doesn’t need to be unlocked.

Can I use it with Straight Talk’s Verizon, Sprint or T-Mobile Networks?

Your AT&T iPhone will work with Straight Talk’s T-Mobile network if the phone is unlocked.

You might be able to use your AT&T iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c with Straight Talk’s Verizon network if the phone is both unlocked and compatible with Straight Talk’s Verizon network. To find out if your iPhone is compatible with Straight Talk’s Verizon network, see the section My iPhone is from Verizon below.

You cannot use your AT&T iPhone with Straight Talk’s Sprint network.

To learn more about unlocking your iPhone, see the section Unlocking Your iPhone below.

My iPhone is from Verizon

If your iPhone is from Verizon it will work with Straight Talk’s Verizon network if the phone is compatible. To find out if your phone is compatible, check the serial number on straighttalk.com. I have an article with video that explains what you need to know and how to do this below.

Checking If You Can Use Your Verizon Smartphone with Straight Talk Wireless

Want to use your phone with Straight Talk's Verizon Network? In this video, I'll [rps-include post="12437"] Straight Talk offers the Verizon service where you use your phone Straight...

You may be asking yourself why wouldn’t my Verizon iPhone be compatible with Straight Talk’s Verizon network if it’s a Verizon phone to begin with? Good question. What you are really checking is to see if your specific phone is eligible for use on their Verizon network. Straight Talk doesn’t say what makes one phone eligible and other not however, your phone must not have been reported lost or stolen, have any contract or payment plan completed, and come from a Verizon account left in good standing.

Can I use it with Straight Talk’s AT&T, Sprint or T-Mobile Networks?

You can use your Verizon iPhone with either Straight Talk’s AT&T or T-Mobile networks. All Verizon iPhone 5s,5c, and 5 phones are unlocked. Your Verizon iPhone 5 will work with Straight Talk’s AT&T or T-Mobile network but is not compatible with 4G LTE. You’ll see a 3G in the status bar went using these networks.

You cannot use your Verizon iPhone with Straight Talk’s Sprint network.

My iPhone is from T-Mobile

If your iPhone is from T-Mobile it will work with Straight Talk’s T-Mobile network. There aren’t any other requirements, your phone doesn’t need to be unlocked.

Can I use it with Straight Talk’s AT&T, Verizon, or Sprint Networks?

Your T-Mobile iPhone will work with Straight Talk’s T-Mobile network if the phone is unlocked.

You might be able to use your T-Mobile iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c with Straight Talk’s Verizon network if the phone is both unlocked and compatible with Straight Talk’s Verizon network. To find out if your iPhone is compatible with Straight Talk’s Verizon network, see the section My iPhone is from Verizon above.

You cannot use your T-Mobile iPhone with Straight Talk’s Sprint network.

To learn more about unlocking your iPhone, see the section Unlocking Your iPhone below.

My iPhone is from Sprint

If your iPhone is from Sprint it will work with Straight Talk’s Sprint network if the phone is compatible and you have the Sprint SIM card that was originally issued with the phone. To find out if your phone is compatible, check the serial number on straighttalk.com. I have an article with video that explains what you need to know and how to do this below.

Check if your iPhone is compatible with Straight Talk’s Sprint network

You may be asking yourself why wouldn’t my Verizon iPhone be compatible with Straight Talk’s Sprint network if it’s a Sprint phone to begin with? Good question. What you are really checking is to see if your specific phone is eligible for use on their Sprint network.

In addition to being compatible, you’ll also need to have the Sprint SIM cards that was originally issued with the phone. Straight Talk does not sell Sprint compatible SIM cards.

Can I use it with Straight Talk’s AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile Networks?

Your Sprint iPhone will work with Straight Talk’s AT&T or T-Mobile network if it is unlocked.

Your Sprint iPhone may work with Straight Talk’s Verizon network if it is both unlocked and compatible. To find out if your iPhone is compatible with Straight Talk’s Verizon network, see the section My iPhone is from Verizon above.

To learn more about unlocking your iPhone, see the section Unlocking Your iPhone below.

My iPhone is SIM free. I bought it from Apple

If you bought the SIM free iPhone directly from Apple it is unlocked and will work with Straight Talk’s AT&T, Verizon, or T-Mobile networks. You’ll still need to check that your iPhone 5s or iPhone 5c is compatible with the Verizon network. To find out if your iPhone is compatible with Straight Talk’s Verizon network, see the section My iPhone is from Verizon above.. The SIM free iPhone 5 will not work with the Verizon network. None of the SIM free iPhone models will work with the Sprint network.

My iPhone is from a different wireless company like US Cellular or AllTel

If your iPhone is from another wireless company other than AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, or T-Mobile you still may be able to use it with one of the Straight Talk networks. To use it with the Straight Talk AT&T or T-Mobile network it will need to be unlocked. To find out if your iPhone is compatible with Straight Talk’s Verizon network, see the section My iPhone is from Verizon above.

You cannot use your US Cellular or AllTel iPhone with Straight Talk’s Sprint network.

My iPhone 5s, iPhone 5c, or iPhone 5 is from Straight Talk

Straight Talk also sells or has in the past sold all the different iPhone 5 models. Straight Talk doesn’t make it too clear which network the phones they sell use. They choose the network according to the phone model and your geographic location.

For example, Straight Talk used to sell the iPhone 5 and it used the Verizon network. However at the time Verizon did not let Straight Talk use their 4G LTE network so the phone only used the 3G network. Unfortunately Straight Talk will not let you update these phones to use the 4G LTE Verizon network. You can however switch these phones over to Straight Talk’s AT&T network. You won’t get 4G LTE service on the AT&T network but the 3G/4G data speeds may be significantly faster.

Most Straight Talk iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c models used either the Straight Talk AT&T network or Straight Talk T-Mobile network. Supposedly they initially used both networks for these phone but then eliminated the T-Mobile option.

Unlocking Your iPhone

Most wireless carriers today are either shipping their iPhones unlocked or will unlock them for you once you have met the the terms and conditions of their unlocking policy. To find out more about your wireless carrier’s policy, see my article below.

Unlocking Your AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon or Sprint iPhone, Android, or Windows Phone

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Signing up For Straight Talk’s BYOP Plan

Now that you know which Straight Talk network you can use your iPhone with you can sign up.

To learn more about signing up for Straight Talk’s Verizon network see my article below. It contains a step by step instructions and a video to walk you through the process.

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To learn more about signing up for Straight Talk’s AT&T, T-Mobile or Sprint networks see my article below. It contains a step by step instructions and a video to walk you through the process.

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Conclusion

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