I switched my iPhone 4S from AT&T to Straight Talk Wireless (I wrote about how to do it here) a while back and at first the carrier said “Home.”
 |
| Straight Talk carrier shown as Home |
Some time later it switched to TFW and I always wondered what that stood for.
Answered: What Does Carrier TFW Stand For on Your Straight Talk Phone?
It just occurred to me–Straight Talk’s parent company is TracFone Wireless!! I.e, TFW. There you go, just in case you wanted to know, TFW stands for TracFone Wireless, the parent company of Straight Talk.
 |
| Carrier displayed as TFW, i.e. TracFone Wireless |
Amazon Associate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This means if you click on an affiliate link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. The price of the item is the same whether it is an affiliate link or not. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will add value to Share Your Repair readers. By using the affiliate links, you are helping support Share Your Repair, and I genuinely appreciate your support.
I ordered my phone through Walmart , it says it was straight talk it’s an iPhone 6s Plus . I had to buy the sims kit and I don’t know what sims card to use ? It only has verison at&t and t-mobile but the front of the kit say straight talk ? Please help me find what SIM card is straight talk 😩
It’s my understanding that Straight Talk is not a carrier, they simply sublease other carrier’s towers and then provide the billing and tech support. That tech support is so poor that I dropped them and switched to Verizon, who has a similar plan for the same money and good customer service. I’m guessing you can use any of those sims and it will work. I’d go with the carrier that has the best coverage where you need it.
John M it was purchased from straighttalk, was used TRW the whole time and they upgraded to another iphone. So the only carrier shown is right back to TFW with the numbers 28.2 following the TFW. I will try another visit to Walmart’s wireless representative.
I am nearing 86 years old, and my great grandson upgraded his iphone 5 and gave me the 5s. I cannot get it unlocked. Thought it would be a good way to educate myself on using the smart phone from a broken flip phone.
model md638ll/a
serial dnpl38f8fh19
imel o13435004446111
1ccid 8901410427941466807 carrier TFW 28.2
I cannot get it unlocked to put new service on.
any suggestions?
Ella, an iPhone can only be unlocked by the carrier who it originally was purchased from. You will need to contact them with the information about the phone.
OK, so I have an SE iphone purchased with one-year’s worth of minutes. I have wifi at home as well as a hot spot for use when I am out and about. I do not want to burn 25 cents a minute checking emails on the phone, which is why I got the hot spot. Does the TFW in the upper left hand corner of my phone mean that I am using my trac-phone minutes rather than the verizon home wifi/hot spot wifi either of which show up in settings as “connected” or “chosen.”
Susanne, you turn on Wi-Fi calling (if it is available on StraightTalk/TracPhon) by going to Settings > Cellular > Wi-Fi Calling. Then, you know you are on Wi-Fi calling if you see your carrier and then Wi-Fi up in the top left corner of your iPhone’s screen (and then the wifi signal indicator to the right of Wi-Fi). If you see that then your call will go through Wi-Fi. You will need to verify with your carrier that it doesn’t use your minutes when you are calling via Wi-Fi.
Hey there. I am trying to reactivate an iphone 5. It says Carrier TFW 16.0. What sim card do I need to get? We are doing the pre-pay thing with this phone. Thank you for your site here and response.
Amy, I’m not going to be able to help you with that. I dropped Straight Talk as my carrier a couple years ago because their technical support was so bad.
If you purchased your phone (ESPECIALLY iPhones) from a carrier on a device contract, or had a service agreement (2-year contract) on that phone with another carrier, that phone is likely to be locked. Carriers lock phone so if you don’t pay off the device completely or bail out two months into a 24 month service contract, you can’t just get service with another carrier and get away with a free phone. If you purchased the phone through a carrier other than the carrier whom’s SIM you are trying to use, it will not work. If this is your problem, you can request the phone be unlocked by the carrier you purchased it through, so long as the device is paid off in full, and you do not have any outstanding debts with that carrier. Some carriers may have more requirements as well. Google the carrier you purchased it through and the type of phone and you should be able to find out the steps to take. (I.e. Verizon iPhone unlock) or contact the original carrier’s support center and they can help. Many carriers have an online form you can fill out to request the device be unlocked and it can usually be done in 2-3 business days. Good luck!!
Thanks for the explanation. One thing to note is that Verizon’s phones are all unlocked now, so you don’t have to worry about them. I unlocked multiple AT&T iPhones after fulfilling my contract so I could take them where I pleased.
My phone doesnt want to accept the new sim card it keeps saying activation fail what can i do?
Jackelin, I’m sorry but I’m not going to be much help. Straight Talk (in USA) or TracFone Wireless was so incredibly hard for me to work with that I switched to Verizon and I get nearly the same plan with a lot of customer service, and no issues with switching phones. I tried real hard to stay with Straight Talk but they simply could not help me and only wasted hours of my time on the phone with their tech support.