How Can I Get Better Service On My Straight Talk Phone
Straight Talk Is the Worst Phone Carrier in America
Straight Talk's ubiquitous TV ads make an enticing pitch for anyone looking to save money on cellphone service: You tin pay less for admission to the same networks used by the Large 4 carriers. Simply this is an example in which yous get less than what you lot pay for.
We've come up to that conclusion after putting Directly Talk to the exam in our annual look at the best and worst wireless carriers. That survey of nine dissimilar wireless providers takes into account our network testing of LTE speed every bit well hole-and-corner customer-service evaluations and comparative looks at each carrier's array of monthly information plans.
While there was a lot of jostling between Verizon and T-Mobile for who would claim the meridian spot in our carrier rankings, it was quite clear who would finish at the bottom. Straight Talk had the slowest LTE speed of whatsoever carrier nosotros tested, and information technology also came in last when we tested customer support. Straight Talk functioning in other areas — smartphone plans, phone selection and special features — wasn't strong enough to close the gap between information technology and other carriers.
Those results don't quite mensurate up with Straight Talk'southward pitch for your business concern. The carrier buys space on other company'south networks; it uses AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile and Verizon towers. Considering this carrier doesn't take to maintain its ain network, the argument goes, Directly Talk can sell you telephone service for less coin each month. The carrier says it can salvage you upwards to one-half on your monthly nib.
Depending on what your current plan is, you can indeed get a lower monthly bill with Direct Talk, though saving one-half of what you're paying now would be a stretch. Straight Talk'due south cheapest plan with an adequate amount of LTE data is the visitor'due south 5GB offering for $45 a month. (There'due south a $30-a-month programme, but you lot get a paltry 100MB of data.) That $45 is certainly cheaper than what the major carriers offer: merely $5 off Sprint's currently discounted unlimited programme but half off the Unlimited Plus plan AT&T offers customers.
Read More than: Tom's Guide Rates the Best and Worst Telephone Carriers
Directly Talk'south $45 program is $10 cheaper than Verizon's similarly sized 5GB plan, though Verizon had the all-time LTE performance of any carrier when we conducted our latest round of network speed tests in six cities. But expand your search for cellphone service to other prepaid carriers, and Straight Talk's savings evaporate.
The same 5GB of data that costs you $45 each month at Straight Talk will set y'all back only $35 at Virgin. If you'd like unlimited LTE information, both MetroPCS and Boost Mobile offering unlimited plans for just $5 more than what Straight Talk's 5GB program costs (though both those unlimited plans place caps on video streaming). If y'all'd rather relieve more money than have more information, MetroPCS, Heave and Cricket all join Virgin in offering lower-priced plans than anything you'd find at Direct Talk. And all of those carriers offer faster LTE speeds than Straight Talk does.
In our testing, Straight Talk tallied an average download speed of 5.1 Mbps nationally. The next slowest carrier was Cricket, with a 6.0-Mbps download average, just parent carrier AT&T caps Cricket'due south speeds at 8 Mbps. MetroPCS, Boost and Virgin have no such restrictions from their parent networks (T-Mobile in the case of MetroPCS, Sprint in the case of Boost and Virgin), and they all handily outperformed Straight Talk.
Read More: Our Full Report Compares Straight Talk to Verizon, the All-time U.S. Phone Carrier
Not only tin you look slower LTE speeds from Direct Talk, simply you'll also get less aid from the carrier when you meet client-support bug. When we went hush-hush to test customer phone support at nine carriers, we consistently ran into a messy automatic telephone organisation and unsatisfying answers from Straight Talk's phone reps, who were difficult to understand.
Back up through social media was besides frustrating, as Straight Talk never answered a question we posed on Twitter to the carrier's support business relationship. Even Straight Talk'southward helpful online chat feature couldn't disguise that the company provided the least helpful service of all the carriers we tested.
Straight Talk's other selling points don't really set it autonomously from the oversupply. The carrier lets y'all bring your own phone, but so do its rivals in most cases. (CDMA-based carriers similar Verizon, Sprint and Sprint's prepaid subsidiaries can't back up some phones.) I of Directly Talk'due south more highly-seasoned features — an international plan that promises unlimited mobile-to-mobile calling to Canada, China, Bharat and Mexico — tacks $fifteen onto the $45-a-calendar month 5GB program. Other prepaid carriers offer international calling add-ons for $v to $x actress each month.
We wish Straight Talk provided equally compelling an option every bit its TV ads claim. You don't have to wait whatever further than T-Mobile to see how one carrier tin push others to improve their service and offerings. (Verizon is now the summit-ranked carrier, in part, because information technology finally followed T-Mobile's lead and offered customers an unlimited data programme, for case.) Direct Talk could give budget-minded wireless customers an bonny alternative while pushing its rivals to ameliorate their ain offerings; based on our research and testing, however, it'due south doing neither right now.
Illustrations: Tom's Guide
How Can I Get Better Service On My Straight Talk Phone,
Source: https://www.tomsguide.com/us/straight-talk-worst-phone-carrier,review-4368.html
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