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If your phone is not under contract or you pay full price, it is possible. This means their IMEI number has been released and can be used with compatible carriers. Speaking of compatible carriers, some phones can operate on gsm or cdma only, but StraightTalk supports both. This is a really great feature because one can stay with Straighttalk but just switch the sim to the preferred carrier if needed due to a location move where another carrier may have better service. You will need to be able to access Straighttalk's website to make this change and follow their instructions. Other phones are locked not only to a carrier but a particular type of service. For example, a Straighttalk iPhone SE sold as prepaid (usually at a heavily discounted price for older models) can ONLY be used with Straighttalk's prepaid service. These prepaid iPhones offer the same features. The only difference is they are locked to a particular carrier and service type. We've had no problems updating the software on the prepaid or postpaid iPhone models. However, My son doesn't seem to be able to get the 6.01 update for his Android phone, which was originally purchased as unlocked but had AT&T software on it. Prepaid phones may be unlocked after a certain period of time, but it is more much difficult than unlocking a postpaid phone. If you are purchasing this phone at full price, you may want to look into an Apple sim-free model iPhone. You can use with any carrier or with postpaid or prepaid service. The next best option is to purchase an unlocked phone that will let you use with any gsm or cdma carrier (whatever radio type the phone has, and some models may have both) and with postpaid or prepaid plans. My older kids have Straighttalk, and they have been happy with it. It offers a good package including data for the price. General Comments: Shop around for prepaid carriers. Not all prepaid carriers are the same. Some plans have additional lines that can be added, better customer service, hotspot (another device like a laptop or tablet can use your phone's data plan where a certain amount of data is purchased each month), get the same data speeds at postpaid customers except during times of congestion whereas other carriers THROTTLE data speeds all the time, can use a reusable plastic refill swipe card (after the card is entered the first time, funds that are added to the refillable swipe card after that are automatically credited to the account account), have user-friendly phone app, "always on data" (after data runs out, you at least have a very low-speed data suitable for the most basic tasks), WiFi calling (this is where you can use Internet to make/receive calls where the signal may be poor), and high definition voice and video. With any prepaid carrier, sometimes one does not have the choice of streaming speed, which means YouTube videos may be streamed at 480p (I would probably opt for this to save data, BUT since my plan has a set amount of data, this should be MY choice). If you already own the phone, most prepaid sites have a way to check compatibility. I am a long-time postpaid customer, but really am glad I switched to prepaid. Whatever phone and service you decide on, there is no worrying about additional charges or contracts any more.
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