The Straight Talk update of November 2013 has disabled my Iphone 3GS data and their suggestion was that I contact apple to find out what I need to do....does anybody have a clue?

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The Straight Talk update of November 2013 has disabled my Iphone 3GS data and their suggestion was that I contact apple to find out what I need to do....does anybody have a clue?

Hi all, I've been a happy client of both apple and straight talk for some time - but with this new update I am completely without data use. I have contacted straight talk - and although nice enough, their final advise was for me to contact apple as straight talk did not have the resources needed to address the problem. If anybody has a solution I would love to keep my 3GS in service (works lovely - thank you apple) and would prefer not to pay an additional $600 just to be able to do what I was able to do 2 days ago....

iPhone 3GS, iOS 6.1.3

Posted on Nov 24, 2013 2:16 PM

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Answer 1

ChrisJ4203

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Nov 24, 2013 2:20 PM in response to IPelham

What update are you referring to, iOS update or something else? You refer to Straight Talk update, then mention Apple. If the update came from Straight Talk, I would guess it is a carrier update. They are the ones that release that information, so they would be able to fix. This is just a case of them not wanting to help. More than likely what you need to do is change the APN settings for data, and those settings have to come from Straight Talk. Otherwide, you can try to reset the phone by holding the sleep/wake and home buttons together until you see the Apple logo and then release. After the phone reboots, see if it works.

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Answer 2

KiltedTim

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Nov 24, 2013 3:57 PM in response to IPelham

StraightTalk is not a supported GSM carrier. They do not support the use of unlocked GSM iPhones on their network and neither does Apple.

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Answer 3

IPelham Author

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Nov 28, 2013 1:02 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

HI ChrisJ,

I'm sorry I was not clear. There was an update from Straight Talk, once I turned my phone off and on again, then the data no longer worked. I walked through their support guidance with them and in the end they basically said "sorry, it must be an apple thing - we have pushed this update through based on apple's changes in their software." They did try walking me through an APN change, but we were essentially refused the ability to change it. When I say refused, I mean that when we went to the site the "change APN" choice was greyed out. Thank you for suggesting the re-boot. I did it. No luck.

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Answer 4

IPelham Author

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Nov 28, 2013 1:03 PM in response to KiltedTim

Hi Kilted,

I'm using one of Straight Talk's SIM cards - no idea if it is GSM or otherwise.

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Answer 5

KiltedTim

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Nov 28, 2013 3:11 PM in response to IPelham

Yes. It's GSM. They are not a supported GSM carrier. They are a supported CDMA carrier, which requires a StraightTalk CDMA iPhone.

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Answer 6

ChrisJ4203

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230,347 points

Nov 28, 2013 4:51 PM in response to IPelham

If Straight Talk pushed a carrier update, then they are the ones that disabled the ability to change the APN. I find it strange that they are blaming Apple about this when the update is there. My suggestion to you is to contact them again and have them work this out. There isn't anything that can be done on the Apple side to change the carrier settings on the device. Straight Talk has to make the APN settings available. Without that, you cannot make settings changes that appear to be necessary for you to receive data. This is all on Straight Talk. Good luck.

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Answer 7

IPelham Author

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Nov 30, 2013 10:09 PM in response to ChrisJ4203

Thanks Chris,

Your answer was spot on! They were still unable to assist me, however there was a small app from a guy in NZ that changed the APN and my phone works perfectly again! Thank you for making me take another look at the carrier side instead of just giving up with "it can't be done"!

Much appreciated!

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Answer 8

ChrisJ4203

Level 10

230,347 points

Dec 1, 2013 4:25 PM in response to IPelham

You're welcome. I can find it interesting sometimes when a carrier will mess things up and then is unwilling to admit their update changes it. As a mini-computer, the phone will do what it is told, and since the adjustment of the APN is generally something that users don't have to worry about because of carrier settings, many carrier files disable the ability to adjust them. Glad you were able to get it taken care of.

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