The Unofficial 7-Eleven Speak Out Wireless Canada Consumer Page 
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8:55 am
April 6, 2011
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Here's the problem, I like the SO service provider because it is the cheapest but my Nokia cell phone is not modern. I like my new Samsung flip phone that I have with Telus but Telus is more expensive than SO. I don't want to keep two cell phones with two different providers . What's the solution ?
I was looking around in the mall and every store told me that the cell phones are "locked" There was one booth where they told me they could unlock phones for $65 .The problem is that the store told me that even if I unlock a cell phone there is no guarantee that it would work with a SO SIM card.
So I thought that the best idea would be to go to a 7-11 store to get a better phone than the old Nokia SO phone that I have now. They have nothing to choose from, only one phone available which I didn't like . Also gave out wrong information . I was told that the airtime from my old Nokia could be transferred to a new phone but the SO website says that it can't be transferred.
12:44 pm
October 14, 2008
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You can port your number to SO so you only have one number, and leave the old provider.
Your best bet would be to find a phone that's compatible with SpeakOut (That uses the 850/1900 GSM bands), and get it unlocked. It shouldn't cost $65. That booth gave you that price because they are to make money off you. You can get unlock codes from sellers on Ebay for as low as $5, but it depends on the phone you end up with.
The site was correct in saying that airtime cannot be transferred between accounts. However, the airtime (and your account) is tied to the SIM card within the phone, not to the phone itself. Once you get a new phone (and get it unlocked if it isn't already), just pop in your SO sim and it should be good to go.
3:03 pm
April 6, 2011
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iamdrumming said:
You can port your number to SO so you only have one number, and leave the old provider.
Your best bet would be to find a phone that's compatible with SpeakOut (That uses the 850/1900 GSM bands), and get it unlocked. It shouldn't cost $65. That booth gave you that price because they are to make money off you. You can get unlock codes from sellers on Ebay for as low as $5, but it depends on the phone you end up with.
The site was correct in saying that airtime cannot be transferred between accounts. However, the airtime (and your account) is tied to the SIM card within the phone, not to the phone itself. Once you get a new phone (and get it unlocked if it isn't already), just pop in your SO sim and it should be good to go.
Would you know if the Samsung C414 cell phone is compatible with SpeakOut ?
4:26 pm
October 14, 2008
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It should work. Rogers carries that phone, so it should work with SpeakOut. Other carriers such as Bell sell it as well though. If you get it unlocked, it should work just fine.
4:28 am
April 6, 2011
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So what I ended doing in the end is buying an LG -A341 flip cell phone from Black's for $59. That was a good price because the Telus store wanted $100 for the same phone. Then there was a booth in the mall across from the Black's store where they unlocked the phone for $45 and installed my SO Sim card in the phone. I have a more modern phone now but I can't access it's extra features if SO is the carrier that I use. To access it's features I would have to be with Telus .So basically I am not any better off with this phone than I was with my old Nokia phone except that this phone has a camera which my old phone didn't have.
One thing that I always find amusing is that in any store that I go to , is that no one has heard of Speak-Out. The sales clerks ask which carrier I am with and when I reply Speak-Out they always ask me what country is that from . Outside of customers of Speak-Out I don't think that anyone has heard of it .
6:16 am
May 3, 2011
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PeterU said:
One thing that I always find amusing is that in any store that I go to , is that no one has heard of Speak-Out. The sales clerks ask which carrier I am with and when I reply Speak-Out they always ask me what country is that from . Outside of customers of Speak-Out I don't think that anyone has heard of it .
That's less of a condemnation of SpeakOut than it is about how uninformed people are. They blissfully go about their business thinking the only options they have are the big 3, Bell, Telus and Rogers, and have no clue that they have other options. Not just in wireless, but in home phone, internet, all telecoms. They just don't bother to seek alternatives and pay whatever they are told to pay. And the Big 3 just love it that way.
7:18 am
December 30, 2010
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human nature, we don't want to voyage into uknown territories even when horror stories of the big 3 poping up all over the place like 5 figure phone bills
11:00 am
September 19, 2012
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PeterU said:
One thing that I always find amusing is that in any store that I go to , is that no one has heard of Speak-Out. The sales clerks ask which carrier I am with and when I reply Speak-Out they always ask me what country is that from . Outside of customers of Speak-Out I don't think that anyone has heard of it .
This is largely because SpeakOut and Petro Canada mobile are not advertised anywhere except at their retail locations. I think this is part of the deal that allows Rogers to tolerate the arrangement. This is probably a good thing for US as customers.
There aren't that many 7/11's around these days. The entire convenince chain sotre segement is practically extinct (at least in Ontario) many people born after 1988 have never even been inside a 7/11 or Mac's let alone a Hasty or Beckers so it is no surprise they never heard of 7/11 unless they'd done a great deal of research online about their wireless options.
11:11 am
October 14, 2008
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I would disagree with your statements. 7-Elevens are far from extinct. There are many in Ontario. 2 are in my city, with one just down the street from me. There are 14 locations within Toronto itself.
Anytime I go there, there are plenty of kids there buying candy, chips, etc.
1:32 pm
September 19, 2012
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No 7/11 specifically is now probably the most numerous of the old corner store chains. But in general these stroes are much less numerous than they used to be 20 years ago when a significant percentage of corner stores belonged to one of the big franchise outfits.
But today, I think its fair to say most people have some driving to do in order to get to a 7/11 or Macs, while Hasty and Backers are almost all gone.
They are probably less outnumbered in smaller communities where there are fewer corner stores in general (although while driving from Beamsville through Grimsby and to Stoney Creek this spring, I didn't notice any franchise convenience stores).
Strangely enough in downtown Toronto, 7/11 is probably better represented than ever. But in the rest of the GTA, it's almost entirely independent stores.
