How long does it take to switch from verizon to straight talk

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I had two separate Verizon phones for a while now, but I rarely used the second one, which I had signed up for as an emergency backup.

I thought about moving services to a smaller operator like Straight Talk for a while now, but I really didn’t know if switching my Verizon phone to Straight Talk would be possible and left it on the back burner for a while.

As a pretty long business trip was coming up in a few weeks, I decided to get my second phone on Straight Talk right away, so I’ll have a backup number if anything happens and my primary Verizon phone dies.

So I went on the internet to find out if I could transfer the services on my second Verizon phone to Straight Talk while keeping the phone because I didn’t want to get a new phone that’s just going to be used as a backup.

I went to Straight Talk’s and Verizon’s websites to learn about their policies on transfer and got in touch with some people in a couple of user forums who had recently shifted from Verizon to Straight Talk to find out more.

This guide was compiled with the help of that research and is intended to help you find out if you can use a Verizon phone on a Straight Talk plan.

You can use a Verizon phone with a Straight Talk plan, and to do so, first get your phone unlocked from Verizon and sign up for Straight Talk by going to their website or your local Walmart.

Read on to know how to find out if your Verizon phone is compatible with Straight Talk, as well as how their Bring Your Own Phone plan works.

Is It Possible?

How long does it take to switch from verizon to straight talk

Straight Talk does let you bring your phone through their Bring Your Own Phone plan, and the only thing you needed to have was a compatible phone that was carrier unlocked.

Carrier unlocked phones allow you to use SIM cards from service providers other than the provider that you got the phone from.

Straight Talk has a pretty well fleshed-out process on how you can transfer your phone from your previous provider to their services.

Straight Talk lets you either get a new Straight Talk phone or use your own phone.

We will be going for the latter here so that you can get your Verizon phone onto the Straight Talk network.

You can use their store locator or go to your local Walmart to get your new Straight Talk number on your Verizon phone, but there is also the option of going through the process completely online and getting the new SIM delivered over mail.

Check Your Phone’s Compatibility

How long does it take to switch from verizon to straight talk

Before you begin to transfer your Verizon phone to Straight Talk, first, you’ll need to check if the phone is compatible with Straight Talk’s network.

To do this, head on over to Straight Talk’s compatibility page and enter your details.

They’ll be able to tell you if your phone is compatible and ask if you want to proceed with the switch.

You can choose to keep your old Verizon phone number or get a new number from Straight Talk.

After checking if your phone is compatible, you’ll need to unlock your Verizon device.

Unlock Your Verizon Phone

Unlocking is the easiest step out of this entire process and involves you doing nothing.

This is because Verizon automatically unlocks your phone after 60 days of purchasing a device from Verizon and if your phone was not involved in any cases of theft or fraud.

You’ll also need to pay an Early Termination Fee if you are still on contract with Verizon and want to change providers.

Any pending payments for the device that you purchased from Verizon with a device payment plan will also be needed to be paid before Verizon lets you switch.

Don’t forget to cancel your Verizon phone insurance if you have that active as well.

Port Your Number To Straight Talk

How long does it take to switch from verizon to straight talk

The next step would be to port your number, if you so desire, from Verizon to Straight Talk; you can skip this step and ask for a new number if you want to.

This means that your number would stay the same, and only your provider will change.

Choose to keep your own number in Straight Talk when they ask you, as well as let them know your device is unlocked.

Enter your ZIP code as well so that they can check if your area has Straight Talk service.

Pick Your SIM and Plan

After you decide to keep your number or change it, you’ll need to activate your SIM.

Click the Don’t have a SIM link where Straight Talk asks you for a SIM card number, and select the Verizon SIM kit.

Add the SIM kit to your cart to proceed with selecting a plan

Now, Straight Talk’s plans are as follows:

  • Platinum Unlimited, with Nationwide + International Calling, Unlimited Data, and Mobile Protect @ $65 per month
  • Ultimate Unlimited Nationwide, with Nationwide + Calls to Canada & Mexico and Unlimited Data @ $55 per month.

These are just some of their most popular plans, and you can find more plans to get the right one that fits you over at Straight Talk’s plan page.

After selecting your plan, choose to go or not to go with the Auto-refill option, which automatically takes care of the monthly payments.

Then checkout with your cart and wait for the SIM to arrive at your address, which can take a few days.

Activate Your Phone

How long does it take to switch from verizon to straight talk

After you get the SIM card:

  1. Take the older Verizon SIM card out of the phone.
  2. Put the new SIM from Straight Talk in.
  3. Restart the phone.

After the phone turns on, go to Straight Talk’s activation page on another phone or PC.

From there, choose the Keep Your Own Phone/Tablet and enter your new Straight Talk SIM number and follow the prompts to complete the activation process.

Final Thoughts

Don’t stop with getting your phone activated; try checking if you can get service with your new connection and check if you can connect to the internet properly.

Once you have established that, try a hack that works with Straight Talk to get you unlimited data for the whole month.

This only works if you have chosen a plan that has a data limit.

If you can’t get data to work on your new Straight Talk SIM, try resetting your network settings and checking for outages.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I put my Straight Talk SIM card in a MetroPCS phone?

You can put your Straight Talk SIM card in your MetroPCS phone, provided you have gone through the process of unlocking the phone for all carriers.

Are Straight Talk phones unlocked?

Straight Talk phones come locked by default, but you can ask them to unlock them by contacting their customer service.

What is the unlock code for Straight Talk?

Unlock codes can differ from phone to phone, so contact Straight Talk’s customer support between 8 am and 11:45 pm, 7 days a week, and ask for the unlock code for your device.

How hard is it to switch from Verizon to Straight Talk?

You can transfer (port) your current phone number to Straight Talk by going to www.straighttalk.com/activate. From there, follow the steps on the screen. Mobile phone transfers can take as long as 2 business days to complete, but in most cases, only takes a few hours. Landline phone number transfer may take longer.

Is Straight Talk as fast as Verizon?

On average, Straight Talk speeds clock in at 31.1 Mbps downloading and 15.6 Mbps uploading. Verizon is much speedier at a 53.3 Mbps download and 17.5 Mbps. With that said, both offer good speeds overall.

How do I transfer my phone number from Verizon to Straight Talk?

How do I transfer my service to Straight Talk Wireless? To transfer your service to Straight Talk, text "Transfer" to 611611 from your mobile device. You will receive a response asking you to reply with your ESN/IMEI or SIM card number. Follow the instructions and enter your information to continue.

Can I bring a Verizon phone to Straight Talk?

With Straight Talk's Keep Your Own Phone program, you can get Straight Talk service on your current phone, as long as it is compatible with our KYOP program. Compatible phones include AT&T Compatible phones, T-Mobile Compatible phones, Sprint Compatible Phones, as well as most GSM and CDMA Unlocked phones.