Buying a Used iPhone 4 for Straight Talk Wireless

A reader, Lindsay, asks…

I’m looking into buying a used verizon iphone 4 from Swappa and transferring my straight talk service from my current smartphone but I want to make sure it will work before buying. I don’t have access to the MEID number so I can’t check on straight talk’s website to see if it’s eligible. Any other way I can check to make sure this phone will work on straight talk?

Hi Lindsay,
Unfortunately, you will not know if its eligible until you check the MEID. So if your heart is set on this phone, make sure to check that you can return the phone if it doesn’t work.

That said, I’d recommend that you don’t buy a used Verizon iPhone 4 at all. The iPhone 4 uses iOS 7 and won’t see any more OS updates. Apple just released iOS 9, so it’s already two versions behind.

Also, if you are on a Straight Talk $45 a month plan, I’d strongly recommend you buy a phone that supports 4G LTE, your data service will be so much faster. And, your already paying for that faster data, so why not take advantage of that. a Verizon iPhone 5 or later will support 4G LTE. And, if the ATT network works well in your area, I’d recommend switching to that because phone capability is not as much of an issue. The Straight Talk ATT 4G LTE network is also way faster than the Straight Talk Verizon 4G LTE network.

I’d recommend a used iPhone 4 only for someone that doesn’t use too much cellular data, using a much cheaper cellular plan with little or no data. Even then, the camera on the iPhone 4s is so much better than the iPhone 4, that I’d is the oldest model I’d recommend.

If you’d like to discuss this more, let me know what you are currently paying for Straight Talk, what phone you are using, how much this iPhone 4 would cost. Also if the Straight Talk ATT network is an option for you and I could make some recommendations.

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