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da ([personal profile] da) wrote2007-08-28 05:15 pm
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Speakout Wireless from 7-Eleven

I'm writing this up in case someone googles for 7-eleven US service numbers; it's been a real pain to find this information myself.

When I was in NY, I planned on buying a SIM for my phone. A bit of research told me that the one I wanted for US prepaid minutes was 7-Eleven's "Speakout Wireless": 20 cents a minute, minutes don't expire for an entire year, 5 cent text messages, and if you bought $50 more airtime, the SIM (and a cheap Nokia phone) came free.

So, what happened? I stopped at the Henrietta NY 7-Eleven; bought my phone; turned it on after I left the store (yes, that was a mistake; I just wanted to get on the road again) and the phone said, "SIM Registration Failed."

On Friday and Saturday I spent a little while parked in the call queue for the service number reported on the airtime card, without getting through to anyone.

When I got back home, I called Nokia; they had me take out the SIM and blow on the phone's contacts; and wait a minute then put the SIM back in. When that didn't solve it, they told me to call 7-Eleven's service number. It took me a while yesterday to find the correct number, which was 888-832-8633, speakout dealer support. When I got a hold of a human being, she told me they will mail a new SIM within two weeks.

Whether that will work is anyone's guess.