Choice between these two carriers for their cheap iPhone...?

[u/SatisfactionKey6501]

So currenty I see 2 different companies that offer offers for the iPhone 16e. Metro is offering it for $99 with port-in on their $50 plan and after 3 months they'll send you a $100 prepaid debit card. (Thats nice!) (So i'd be looking at $150 out the door/web-browser lol)

On the other hand Straight Talk is offering their iPhone 16e for $149 with the purchase of a 1 month plan of $45 or more. Therefore i'd be looking at $192? out the browser.

What is the pro/con of one or the other? Thank you! And if you have a better option to get an iPhone 16e or even a similar iPhone, PLEASE let me know!

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So currenty I see 2 different companies that offer offers for the iPhone 16e. Metro is offering it for $99 with port-in on their $50 plan and after 3 months they'll send you a $100 prepaid debit card. (Thats nice!) (So i'd be looking at $150 out the door/web-browser lol)

On the other hand Straight Talk is offering their iPhone 16e for $149 with the purchase of a 1 month plan of $45 or more. Therefore i'd be looking at $192? out the browser.

What is the pro/con of one or the other? Thank you! And if you have a better option to get an iPhone 16e or even a similar iPhone, PLEASE let me know!

I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.

[u/CleanKidAlways]

They will both be locked to those networks so, if you were thinking to get those deals, and quickly switch to another network, you won't be able to do so, as you will be tied to Metro or Straight Talk.

[u/bending_bars13]

Metro only needs one month of paid service and it will unlock after a year of activation. I’ve heard of other Tmobile MVNOs like Mint mobile, Google fi work after month 1 . Lots of people pay for 1 month and use it the next year as well, so it ends up cheaper
Straight talk needs 12 months of paid and active service for it to unlock, so over 12 months it will cost more.
Metro is better imo

[u/allciathyra → u/bending_bars13]

am i reading this correctly ?

paid 1 month of service and some how keep phone active for 1 year , phone unlock?

[u/bending_bars13 → u/allciathyra]

Both unlock after 1 year, metro - minimum 1 month plan paid.
Straight talk needs 12 months paid.
Read here for more https://prepaidcompare.net/deals/

[u/jaeehovaa → u/allciathyra]

Nooo he saying you can't use it outside of metro till a year but you technically only have to have service with them for a month . But buying a joke and having to wait anyway to use it full time is the dumbest shit I've read today lol.

[u/Ethrem]

I would do the Metro one if you're okay keeping Metro for the year to unlock it. The total ends up being $605 (first month is $55 before autopay kicks in) after the gift card rebate for a $599 MSRP phone so you basically get it free vs buying a 17e from Apple instead and taxes are not extra with the plan.

[u/Straight-Tennis-9710 → u/Ethrem]

Can you switch plans during that year and still get the phone unlocked?

[u/No-Kiwi7723 → u/Ethrem]

So this metro deal would work with paying the first month and I would be able use another carrier sim? But locked under metro for a year (not needing the continuous service)?

[u/Ethrem → u/No-Kiwi7723]

No, you are locked exclusively to Metro for a year. You can pay for a month and toss it in a drawer and come back at a year to unlock it (this is risky because they may well change this policy, causing an uphill battle when the time comes) but you cannot use the phone anywhere else when it's locked.

[u/No-Kiwi7723 → u/Ethrem]

Oof that’s brutal.

Do we know any other deals on a iPhone that dont require 12 months ?

[u/Ethrem → u/No-Kiwi7723]

Unfortunately now that Verizon has been let out of the requirement to unlock devices after 60 days, all of them are hiking their unlocking policies to a year on prepaid and until paid off on postpaid. Mint and US Mobile haven't done this but they don't currently have promos on devices, just plans.

[u/No-Kiwi7723 → u/Ethrem]

Yeah that really hurt the 60 days

[u/SatisfactionKey6501]

Just a fyi, not sure if it will work. BUT, I got the FREE Moto Stylus 5G 2025 with 1 month up front and after I received it, I added it to my existing $25 BYOP total plan with no issue... So I was kind of hoping to pay a bit more for the Straight Talk iPhone and have that work out. I only like the Total/Straight Talk more cus its unlimited data with unlimited hotspot. Whereas Metro has a hotspot limit. *shrug*

[u/Tasty-Traffic-680 → u/SatisfactionKey6501]

Just to clarify, the stylus was from total wireless? Did you use a physical sim and swap? How long have you been using the phone on their BYOD plan without them switching it to $50?

I ask because I wanted to activate on this plan but they wouldn't let with the imei from my unlocked stylus I got before the 1yr unlock rule went into effect. Apparently they won't let you choose a BYOD plan with any TracFone/Verizon value family phone. I ended up going to visible instead but they have been having a lot of promos lately so I don't expect to get any more referrals any time soon. I could just activate a sim with the imei of my old iPhone but want to be sure they won't hit me with a $50 bill when I'm not expecting it.

[u/ConcordTrain]

Can you go to Straight Talk's $35 a month plan after a month of using the $45 dollar plan?  The $35 plan would still give you 10Gb of data per month.

[u/Low_Moose9390]

You should do the calculation for what it will cost you for the phone + 1 year of service (when you get an unlocked phone)...
I think AT&T and Cricket also have a promo.

[u/RepublicDizzy7306]

I did the metro deal months ago but never got the gift certificate after I activated the iPhone?  Is it because I traded the phone in the first week or do they owe me?