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Help Straight Talk Galaxy S3 to use Verizon Tower?

sgtmark

Lurker
Sep 25, 2013
6
0
I have a Straight Talk Galaxy S3 that uses Sprint/ ATT Towers. Since Straight talk also uses Verizon how can I get my phone to work on Verizon towers. the coverage isn't that great up here with ATT/Sprint tower. Verizon towers on my son's phone works everywhere.
 
I don't think you're actually using both AT&T and Sprint's towers. Sprint is a CDMA carrier while AT&T is a GSM carrier and the technologies aren't compatible with each other. If you bought the device through Straight Talk, then it's using Sprint's towers. If you brought your own device to Straight Talk, you're using either AT&T or T-Mobile. Since Verizon is a CDMA carrier, there's no way to transfer your service from Sprint's towers to Verizon's. ST sells a couple of phones that run on Verizon's towers, but the GS3 isn't one of them. They also allow you to bring your own Verizon 3G only phone and they can flash that and get it to work with them as well. However since the GS3 uses LTE, it is not compatible with that program.
 
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Ok it uses Sprint towers. But can't it be switched to us Verizon towers. So it will get better service up here in Upstate NY.

I don't think you're actually using both AT&T and Sprint's towers. Sprint is a CDMA carrier while AT&T is a GSM carrier and the technologies aren't compatible with each other. If you bought the device through Straight Talk, then it's using Sprint's towers. If you brought your own device to Straight Talk, you're using either AT&T or T-Mobile. Since Verizon is a CDMA carrier, there's no way to transfer your service from Sprint's towers to Verizon's. ST sells a couple of phones that run on Verizon's towers, but the GS3 isn't one of them. They also allow you to bring your own Verizon 3G only phone and they can flash that and get it to work with them as well. However since the GS3 uses LTE, it is not compatible with that program.
 
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LTE I don't really care about. I just would like my phone to work when I travel north or go Skiing or on the lake. Making and getting calls and text. I could switch to Verizon up there, then while in Sprint area it can stay on that. Can this be done?
I just hate it saying No service.
LoL
Not really, CDMA is a closed sourced/locked down network where devices cannot be transfered between similar CDMA networks easily. Most method are illegal, and the only legal way would require you to buy another phone anyways. Plus if you did get it to work, you would only have 3g and not LTE due to radio frequency compatibility.
 
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LTE I don't really care about. I just would like my phone to work when I travel north or go Skiing or on the lake. Making and getting calls and text. I could switch to Verizon up there, then while in Sprint area it can stay on that. Can this be done?
I just hate it saying No service.
LoL

Unfortunately not. It's got to be exclusively on Verizon's towers or Sprint's towers. Unfortunately since it's the Sprint version, it has no GSM radios either.
 
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Darn, what can I due to get this phone to work on Straight Talk and ping on Verizon tower? Or what if I pick up a unlocked Verizon one and put it on Straight talk?

The only way to use Verizon towers on Straight Talk is to buy one of their Verizon phones, or bring an older Verizon 3G only phone to use under the BYOP CDMA program. The last 3G only phone I remember Verizon releasing was either the Droid Incredible 2 or the Droid X2, both of which came out in 2011. So either way, you're going to be using an older or low quality device.

That Unlocked Verizon HTC One might be able to be used on AT&T's towers depending on the frequencies it supports though.
 
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Darn, what can I due to get this phone to work on Straight Talk and ping on Verizon tower? Or what if I pick up a unlocked Verizon one and put it on Straight talk?

You can have it flashed to work on pageplus which uses the Verizon towers. My note 2 is flashed to pageplus only 3g data but it works talk, text and data $29 a month for me. There are other plans with more of everything. wwwpagepluscelluar.com
 
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