Straight Talk phones from Walmart are unlocked until activated
I recently bought a ST moto edge 5g (hell of a budget phone btw) from Walmart and foolishly activated with ST thinking that they still did 60 days off consecutive service and the phone is unlocked. It is now a year of service and they'll unlock it! Total BS.
Well I returned it within the 14 day window and bought another ST moto edge and simply did not use the in box Sim or instructions, put a visible esim on it easily, and I'm using right now with great results.
Here's the kicker, my friend was going to buy an A26 Samsung through straight talk on a promotion and I informed him that he can use his spectrum mobile free year of service with the phone if he pops the SIM in before anything straight talk is done to the phone.
Wouldn't you know it? It worked!! Now I'm starting to see a trend here. It seems as long as the service uses Verizon towers almost exclusively, straight talk branded phones can be used elsewhere if you activate it before straight talk sinks their grimey teeth into it.
Has anyone else noticed this? I'm considering going back to Walmart and buying a random ST smartphone and using the visible 15 free day trial just to confirm it's not just Samsung and Motorola this works with.
I am not surprised since the SIMs are not inside the phones and ST is a little sloppy with how they do things. I am very happy because Walmart is highly convenient and ST runs consistent promotions on their phones so one can grab them dirt cheap and immediately take them elsewhere.
Compared to ST on the moto edge 2025, visible (the 35 plus plan) is much, MUCH better coverage in my area in central Indiana. I feel like a boss tbh, and I have been very excited to sit down and write this up for reddit. There's really nothing to lose if the other service does not work on a straight talk phone you've purchased as the 14 day window to return with receipt and box is very simple and straightforward in my experience.
Hope I've helped someone out there!! Give this a shot and post if this works for you as well. I am very pleased with the moto edge 2025 on visible and my friend is much happier with spectrum mobile, again, when compared to ST. Let's see if there's a real trend here and straight talk phones are unlocked, or close to it considering the variables involved with the experiences I've documented.
Good luck, and I'm very happy to be on visible again and having only paid $199.99 plus tax for the moto edge 5g 2025; it is what I would consider the ultimate budget phone at the moment.
Again good luck to any who try this because it has worked three times now in my small slice of life. I don't see why it wouldn't, as long as the IMEI checker for the service of your choice says the phone is compatible or the service uses Verizon towers if it doesn't pass the IMEI checker it should work. Any more info on this phenomena is welcome.
I have a small feeling this may not actually be news to anyone very familiar with straight talk but I thought I'd share!