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I’ve been using internet-only telephone service called Visible for three months now… and I feel I’ve experienced all the pain and strain of using their service. The short story is that this is a very inexpensive mobile service, that offers everything (unlimited data, text, and voice) for $25. I stand behind that, I think it’s such a good price for what you get.
However, before you drop your current phone service, I need you to ask yourself:
If you said “yes” to all three questions, then Visible may be for you.
Now, with all that out of the way, I’ll start to rave about what I love about Visible. First of all, $25 for unlimited data, text, and voice is unheard of in the US mobile industry. Technically, it’s $40 for the service, but if you join a Party Pay group of four members or more, your cost is $25. Visible encourages joining Party Pay, some groups have over 200 members. Personally, I’m in a small group of 6 members at OldGreatParty.
The downside to Party Pay is that each member must have a payment option and unique user account. It’s not meant for family… so if a parent wants to buy a Visible line for their child, that child must have a login and payment option (the parents can’t just add a family plan option). The family thing doesn’t affect me, but I can understand that is very annoying for family plans.
The other important thing with the unlimited data is that Visible offers is the ability to tether or “Hotspot”. They limit the connection to one and the speed to 5mbps, which is fast enough for email and light web browsing. I didn’t have any issue with the speed cap, when I’m using my iPad or laptop. I think that’s acceptable, considering that Visible is trying to protect themselves. Think about it, if they all unlimited connection and unlimited speed… people will just cancel their home cable internet and start using their phone only. I understand why they do this, even though I do think the cap is very limited.
You can get around the one connection limit if you use visible on an iPhone. This is because iOS handles hotspot linking a little differently than Android. iOS has a built-in limit of five or six devices, using its own linking style. I have tested this out, and yes, I can connect a few devices at a time when I’m using an iPhone.
Over the last three months, I have to say that I’ve really enjoy using the Visible service. I don’t worry about my data usage anymore (before I had to watch everything I do when I’m mobile). I love the ability to tether, especially that it’s free with the service is amazing. My last phone company didn’t offer tether. So, for $25, I think you get a lot, especially the 4g/5g (if you have a newer phone). Speed test varies from anywhere between 70mbps to 30mbps. I can only assume it’ll be much faster on a 5g network.
Now for some complaints about Visible. The number one problem I have is that you have to use their app on Android or iPhone. I’ve used both, the one on Android is not very good, the one on the iPhone is slightly better. Their app basically suck, but you must use it to activate your service. You must use it to pay your bill (you can only pay 7 days before it’s due). Their autopay system didn’t work for me, so on the day my bill was due, they put my account on suspension. That’s fine, I just reverted it back to manual pay.
Since Visible is built on Verizon’s newer network, you cannot use the older CDMA technology. Visible wants you to buy their approved GSM phones from them … but you can bring your own device, so long you can provide the IMEI number.
If you have technical issues with Visible’s service, they don’t really have customer support. Actually, they do, sort of. You can chat with one of their people… but often time, they are not very good. The line to talk to someone is often really long. Like maybe the wait time might be as much as an hour during peak times. I’ve chatted with someone at Visible, and they were not helpful, so I suggest you sort out your problems on your own.
Sometime you can’t connect to Visible, this happens about once a month for me. When this comes up, just either power off/restart your phone or turn on and off Airplane Mode. When you do this, it resets the network protocol, and you should be able to get back on Visible’s network.
Despite these issues, I’m on good terms with Visible. The service is far from perfect, but given the freedom and pricing, it works for me. It might not work for you. I suggest if you’re on the fence about switch service - that you give Visible a trial month first. Do not port your number, just create a new number with Visible at www.visible.com. If you want to try out the service, please use my referral code 3ng2nr, so I can reduce my phone bill for a month. If you want to save $15, join a Party Pay like the one I’m in called OldGreatParty.
P.S. Since I like the ability to tether on multiple devices on an iPhone, I’ve given it some thought and I may be purchasing the new iPhone 12 off of Visible’s website. Now the problem is that Visible states you get a Visible SIM card with the purchase. I’m almost afraid that they might cancel my current Visible service for the new SIM. I don’t want or had a desire to active the new SIM. I would call and ask, but it’s Visible… so they probably don’t even know.
However, before you drop your current phone service, I need you to ask yourself:
-
1. Can I live without customer’s service?
2. Can I live with only 4G or 5G service?
3. Can I live with random drop calls/unexpected disconnections?
If you said “yes” to all three questions, then Visible may be for you.
Now, with all that out of the way, I’ll start to rave about what I love about Visible. First of all, $25 for unlimited data, text, and voice is unheard of in the US mobile industry. Technically, it’s $40 for the service, but if you join a Party Pay group of four members or more, your cost is $25. Visible encourages joining Party Pay, some groups have over 200 members. Personally, I’m in a small group of 6 members at OldGreatParty.
The downside to Party Pay is that each member must have a payment option and unique user account. It’s not meant for family… so if a parent wants to buy a Visible line for their child, that child must have a login and payment option (the parents can’t just add a family plan option). The family thing doesn’t affect me, but I can understand that is very annoying for family plans.
The other important thing with the unlimited data is that Visible offers is the ability to tether or “Hotspot”. They limit the connection to one and the speed to 5mbps, which is fast enough for email and light web browsing. I didn’t have any issue with the speed cap, when I’m using my iPad or laptop. I think that’s acceptable, considering that Visible is trying to protect themselves. Think about it, if they all unlimited connection and unlimited speed… people will just cancel their home cable internet and start using their phone only. I understand why they do this, even though I do think the cap is very limited.
You can get around the one connection limit if you use visible on an iPhone. This is because iOS handles hotspot linking a little differently than Android. iOS has a built-in limit of five or six devices, using its own linking style. I have tested this out, and yes, I can connect a few devices at a time when I’m using an iPhone.
Over the last three months, I have to say that I’ve really enjoy using the Visible service. I don’t worry about my data usage anymore (before I had to watch everything I do when I’m mobile). I love the ability to tether, especially that it’s free with the service is amazing. My last phone company didn’t offer tether. So, for $25, I think you get a lot, especially the 4g/5g (if you have a newer phone). Speed test varies from anywhere between 70mbps to 30mbps. I can only assume it’ll be much faster on a 5g network.
Now for some complaints about Visible. The number one problem I have is that you have to use their app on Android or iPhone. I’ve used both, the one on Android is not very good, the one on the iPhone is slightly better. Their app basically suck, but you must use it to activate your service. You must use it to pay your bill (you can only pay 7 days before it’s due). Their autopay system didn’t work for me, so on the day my bill was due, they put my account on suspension. That’s fine, I just reverted it back to manual pay.
Since Visible is built on Verizon’s newer network, you cannot use the older CDMA technology. Visible wants you to buy their approved GSM phones from them … but you can bring your own device, so long you can provide the IMEI number.
If you have technical issues with Visible’s service, they don’t really have customer support. Actually, they do, sort of. You can chat with one of their people… but often time, they are not very good. The line to talk to someone is often really long. Like maybe the wait time might be as much as an hour during peak times. I’ve chatted with someone at Visible, and they were not helpful, so I suggest you sort out your problems on your own.
Sometime you can’t connect to Visible, this happens about once a month for me. When this comes up, just either power off/restart your phone or turn on and off Airplane Mode. When you do this, it resets the network protocol, and you should be able to get back on Visible’s network.
Despite these issues, I’m on good terms with Visible. The service is far from perfect, but given the freedom and pricing, it works for me. It might not work for you. I suggest if you’re on the fence about switch service - that you give Visible a trial month first. Do not port your number, just create a new number with Visible at www.visible.com. If you want to try out the service, please use my referral code 3ng2nr, so I can reduce my phone bill for a month. If you want to save $15, join a Party Pay like the one I’m in called OldGreatParty.
P.S. Since I like the ability to tether on multiple devices on an iPhone, I’ve given it some thought and I may be purchasing the new iPhone 12 off of Visible’s website. Now the problem is that Visible states you get a Visible SIM card with the purchase. I’m almost afraid that they might cancel my current Visible service for the new SIM. I don’t want or had a desire to active the new SIM. I would call and ask, but it’s Visible… so they probably don’t even know.
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