[Q] DNA to Straight Talk T-Mobile vs AT&T

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impala454

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2008
223
33
Webster, TX
I currently have a Droid DNA through Verizon and would like to switch to Straight Talk. I see options for both AT&T and T-Mobile compatible SIM cards, and am curious which one I should go with. I live in the Houston area. I prefer not to have to cut the card but it's not a deal breaker.
 

xlxcrossing

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2009
1,535
413
Soquel, CA
In my area AT&T has much wider and more reliable data coverage. I was often on edge everywhere in my hometown while on T-Mobile. This may not be the case for Houston. Just test drive both networks for a month each.
 
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kutster

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2011
70
11
I actually work in Electronics at Walmart and deal with this all the time. Straight Talk will not move 4G LTE phones to their service. They aren't compatible and do not have the agreements with carriers for LTE access. If you read the CDMA/GSM bring your own phone package that includes the SIM cards it says in bold writing LTE Phones are not compatible. The DNA would not be able to be used on Straight Talk because it is a LTE phone. Straight Talk has a list of approved devices on their website. Because you do have to provide your phones IMEI they will know it is a LTE phone and deny your request to activate the phone on their services.
 
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impala454

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2008
223
33
Webster, TX
Kutster, I hate to correct you but I actually did successfully connect my Droid DNA using the Walmart SIM card. Now in my area it was actually called FamilyMobile, and run by T-Mobile. I purchased a SIM card from Walmart, took it home, plugged it in, set up an account, and it worked. Granted, you don't get LTE, but it does work and is mega cheap ($40/mo unlimited). I ended up cancelling and taking it back, simply because the internet was very slow, and the coverage wasn't very good in my area (T-Mobile sucks in my area). I do want to stress though that it definitely does work! I think I'll try AT&T GoPhone next.

The important thing to remember is this phone (the DNA) has all the radios necessary to connect to just about anybody but Sprint's network. Don't always believe what the companies tell ya.
 

kutster

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2011
70
11
Kutster, I hate to correct you but I actually did successfully connect my Droid DNA using the Walmart SIM card. Now in my area it was actually called FamilyMobile, and run by T-Mobile. I purchased a SIM card from Walmart, took it home, plugged it in, set up an account, and it worked. Granted, you don't get LTE, but it does work and is mega cheap ($40/mo unlimited). I ended up cancelling and taking it back, simply because the internet was very slow, and the coverage wasn't very good in my area (T-Mobile sucks in my area). I do want to stress though that it definitely does work! I think I'll try AT&T GoPhone next.

The important thing to remember is this phone (the DNA) has all the radios necessary to connect to just about anybody but Sprint's network. Don't always believe what the companies tell ya.


impala454 said:
I currently have a Droid DNA through Verizon and would like to switch to Straight Talk

See that's where your terms and confusion of prepaid comes into play. Of course Family Mobile worked they don't have restrictions on LTE especially since Family Mobile is powered by T-mobile. Straight Talk which is the company I was referring to and the company you were referring to does has limitations on LTE phones, and will NOT allow any LTE phone to to brought to their service. This has to do with they license the use of multiple carriers towers.

Trust me I am not trying to be rude, but I honestly deal with this on a daily basis. You know how many Straight Talk bring your own phone kits I have had to refund because customers buy them for their nice Verizon LTE smartphones? It doesn't work. I am telling you from my experience and my countless hours on the phone with Straight Talk reps and on their website, what their policy is on LTE phones. I beg you to go to Walmart and look at the Straight Talk CDMA/GSM BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) kits that they sell for $60. In the middle of that package on the front it says something along the lines of "LTE Phones are not Compatible." Which like it reads means you cannot bring over a LTE phone to Straight Talk.

AT&T prepaid I would venture to guess would work, but I can't remember if AT&T is as picky as Verizon is about what smartphones get put on their prepaid plans. You would have to call and find out.

So once again, please keep in mind that every prepaid carrier is different, use different towers, and different policies. Just because it worked on one does not mean a different company has policies that differ or block that same practice.
 
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impala454

Senior Member
Oct 12, 2008
223
33
Webster, TX
I didn't realize StraightTalk and FamilyMobile were different. I just assumed that when I went to Walmart it was whatever they were using. I see now that StraightTalk is AT&T and FamilyMobile is T-Mobile. I only had the option for FamilyMobile at my Walmart. Thanks for the clarification.

I'm not going to disagree, but I will say that the FamilyMobile website also said my specific phone was not eligible, but it did in fact work. So to anyone else reading this, YMMV. Considering Walmart takes the card back for a full refund, I don't see a problem in at least attempting it (except that employees such as yourself have to deal with it ;) ). It makes sense to me that there's no way for the carrier to enforce specific phones when they are SIM card based. So long as your phone has the radios that carrier operates on, it should work. My guess is that the LTE phones statement on the package is in reference to the fact that you won't get LTE speeds with that network.
 

xlxcrossing

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2009
1,535
413
Soquel, CA
See that's where your terms and confusion of prepaid comes into play. Of course Family Mobile worked they don't have restrictions on LTE especially since Family Mobile is powered by T-mobile. Straight Talk which is the company I was referring to and the company you were referring to does has limitations on LTE phones, and will NOT allow any LTE phone to to brought to their service. This has to do with they license the use of multiple carriers towers.

Trust me I am not trying to be rude, but I honestly deal with this on a daily basis. You know how many Straight Talk bring your own phone kits I have had to refund because customers buy them for their nice Verizon LTE smartphones? It doesn't work. I am telling you from my experience and my countless hours on the phone with Straight Talk reps and on their website, what their policy is on LTE phones. I beg you to go to Walmart and look at the Straight Talk CDMA/GSM BYOP (Bring Your Own Phone) kits that they sell for $60. In the middle of that package on the front it says something along the lines of "LTE Phones are not Compatible." Which like it reads means you cannot bring over a LTE phone to Straight Talk.

AT&T prepaid I would venture to guess would work, but I can't remember if AT&T is as picky as Verizon is about what smartphones get put on their prepaid plans. You would have to call and find out.

So once again, please keep in mind that every prepaid carrier is different, use different towers, and different policies. Just because it worked on one does not mean a different company has policies that differ or block that same practice.

Being an an LTE device wouldn't matter in this case since the LTE radio will only work on the CDMA side of the phone and with Verizon's LTE. It has UMTS and Straight Talk already confirmed with me the phone would get 3G while on their network. There's not a magic way of them detecting an LTE phone ( one that works on a CDMA carrier mind you) and flipping the off switch. The 2G and 3G networks are available for AT&T and T-Mobile regardless of which prepaid carrier you use.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 4
 

kutster

Senior Member
Apr 28, 2011
70
11
Being an an LTE device wouldn't matter in this case since the LTE radio will only work on the CDMA side of the phone and with Verizon's LTE. It has UMTS and Straight Talk already confirmed with me the phone would get 3G while on their network. There's not a magic way of them detecting an LTE phone ( one that works on a CDMA carrier mind you) and flipping the off switch. The 2G and 3G networks are available for AT&T and T-Mobile regardless of which prepaid carrier you use.

Sent from my HTC6435LVW using Tapatalk 4


Im not going to argue about it. When you go to activate a BYOP on Straight Talk you have to input the IMEI, which does tell Straight Talk if the phone is LTE capable or not and if it isn't eligible it will not allow you to activate the phone. Period. I hate done it and tried it. It isn't like ATT where you put in the SIM card and it is activated. You activate the phone IMEI and SIM card # with Straight Talk. That is how it works with BYOP.

@Impala Im glad you had luck getting Family Mobile working.
 
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xlxcrossing

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2009
1,535
413
Soquel, CA
Yeah I just read up on that. I wonder if the DNA 700mhz band will work. I checked online and it shows AT&T as using the 700 bands as well (a,b,c) I'm assuming the new Sim they are selling enables the LTE?

Can anyone with the new Sim confirm LTE connectivity?

EDIT : looks like at&t is band 17 and Verizon is 13. The FCC is pushing for interoperability within the upper 700 but it looks as if the chipset controls which band LTE operates off of...damn. It would be sweet to get LTE on an unlimited prepaid plan.
 
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ac7822

Senior Member
Oct 11, 2011
79
9
So are you guys able to use gsm networks with the 2.06 firmware?
I'm using net10 (att) with my DNA with 2.04 firmware and I'm hesitant to update to 2.06 until I can confirm that the 2.06 update keeps gsm completely unlocked?
 

tdizzle404

Senior Member
Nov 27, 2010
4,653
1,102
North Georgia
So are you guys able to use gsm networks with the 2.06 firmware?
I'm using net10 (att) with my DNA with 2.04 firmware and I'm hesitant to update to 2.06 until I can confirm that the 2.06 update keeps gsm completely unlocked?

I'm on 2.06 using a straight talk sim I can't get LTE speeds or even my signal to say LTE but I get H+ and max out at about 8mbps

Sent from my AOSP on Grouper using xda app-developers app
 
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b_hermon

Member
Oct 9, 2008
39
8
Hey everyone, I'm totally new to Straight Talk and GSM and the DNA being used somewhere besides Verizon. (I'm a long time VZ customer but read Android Police daily and am familiar with all things Android.) Anyways, I'm pretty clear on using the phone on Straight Talk, getting MMS and all that, my only question is, how do you go about getting OTA's? Since the phone technically is a Verizon phone, updates would come from them. While on Straight Talk can I throw a Verizon sim card in the phone, download the OTA. Then after completing the update, put back in my AT&T sim card. Or does HTC offer OTA downloads online?

How do you guys go about updating your phone? (OTA's obviously apply to non-rooted devices. I may or may not root it.)

Thanks for your help!
 

ac7822

Senior Member
Oct 11, 2011
79
9
Hey everyone, I'm totally new to Straight Talk and GSM and the DNA being used somewhere besides Verizon. (I'm a long time VZ customer but read Android Police daily and am familiar with all things Android.) Anyways, I'm pretty clear on using the phone on Straight Talk, getting MMS and all that, my only question is, how do you go about getting OTA's? Since the phone technically is a Verizon phone, updates would come from them. While on Straight Talk can I throw a Verizon sim card in the phone, download the OTA. Then after completing the update, put back in my AT&T sim card. Or does HTC offer OTA downloads online?

How do you guys go about updating your phone? (OTA's obviously apply to non-rooted devices. I may or may not root it.)

Thanks for your help!

I just s-off my phone using moonshine and then there are some bone stock roms to flash. Apart from that I'm not sure, before soff I was looking for an ruu to flash but couldn't find an updated one

Sent from my AOSP on Flo using Tapatalk 4
 

b_hermon

Member
Oct 9, 2008
39
8
I just s-off my phone using moonshine and then there are some bone stock roms to flash. Apart from that I'm not sure, before soff I was looking for an ruu to flash but couldn't find an updated one

Sent from my AOSP on Flo using Tapatalk 4

Thanks ac! That sounds like something I could do. I'm not too familiar with s-off, moonshine or HTC (the phone is my wife's. I'm a nexus guy) but I may have to look into that. Anybody else out there with any ideas?
 

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    Kutster, I hate to correct you but I actually did successfully connect my Droid DNA using the Walmart SIM card. Now in my area it was actually called FamilyMobile, and run by T-Mobile. I purchased a SIM card from Walmart, took it home, plugged it in, set up an account, and it worked. Granted, you don't get LTE, but it does work and is mega cheap ($40/mo unlimited). I ended up cancelling and taking it back, simply because the internet was very slow, and the coverage wasn't very good in my area (T-Mobile sucks in my area). I do want to stress though that it definitely does work! I think I'll try AT&T GoPhone next.

    The important thing to remember is this phone (the DNA) has all the radios necessary to connect to just about anybody but Sprint's network. Don't always believe what the companies tell ya.
    1
    In my area AT&T has much wider and more reliable data coverage. I was often on edge everywhere in my hometown while on T-Mobile. This may not be the case for Houston. Just test drive both networks for a month each.
    1
    I actually work in Electronics at Walmart and deal with this all the time. Straight Talk will not move 4G LTE phones to their service. They aren't compatible and do not have the agreements with carriers for LTE access. If you read the CDMA/GSM bring your own phone package that includes the SIM cards it says in bold writing LTE Phones are not compatible. The DNA would not be able to be used on Straight Talk because it is a LTE phone. Straight Talk has a list of approved devices on their website. Because you do have to provide your phones IMEI they will know it is a LTE phone and deny your request to activate the phone on their services.
    1
    So are you guys able to use gsm networks with the 2.06 firmware?
    I'm using net10 (att) with my DNA with 2.04 firmware and I'm hesitant to update to 2.06 until I can confirm that the 2.06 update keeps gsm completely unlocked?

    I'm on 2.06 using a straight talk sim I can't get LTE speeds or even my signal to say LTE but I get H+ and max out at about 8mbps

    Sent from my AOSP on Grouper using xda app-developers app
    1
    Thanks for confirming! I actually had seen that video before but had forgotten about it. A midst everything I think I was under information overload and simply forgot. Thanks again!

    Has anyone tried using the DNA on StraightTalk - Verizon rather than Straight Talk - AT&T or Straight Talk - TMobile?

    Seeing that Verizon uses lte sim cards to access there LTE frequencys you would need a Verizon sim card from straight talk(not offered yet). They probably will in the near future but running the dna on there 3g network seems a little pointless and the device would not work properly if a sim card isn't being used. So I'd say no it wouldn't work or would be pointless to do at the moment in till they roll out Verizon lte. Nevertheless theoretically you could buy a cheap Verizon prepaid phone or if u have one laying around and use it as a doner phone for its IMEI number and Flash it to the dna. Then try activating it.

    < Coming to you live from the planet One X >

    ---------- Post added at 05:28 AM ---------- Previous post was at 05:14 AM ----------

    Also on a other note I have used straight talk at&t sim card in the dna and worked great for hspda speeds.... The dna is sim unlocked btw and will work with the sim card for at&t my average data speeds were 6-8MB down and 1-3MB up..... ain't no lte speeds but way faster then 3g fast enough for me and is strong enough to handle almost anything... Examples..... Netflix, hotspot, YouTube, downloading music and all that good stuff but didn't do it often for the fact of possible throttling..... Personally in this world 90% of the time wifi is available so I'm always connected resulting I am my data hardly being touched.

    < Coming to you live from the planet One X >