Compatiblity

[Cath121]

I bought a moto g stylus 5G from Motorola.  The exact same model that Visible sells.  But I'm told the IMEI is not compatible with the upgraded service requirement.  I bought the new phone because my old one, which used to be compatible, suddenly wasn't and not eligible for this fabulous upgrade.  So, I looked at the list of phones Visible was trying to sell me for my "upgrade" and bought the same thing for cheaper through Motorola (unlocked, of course). But for some reason only phones sold through Visible are compatible.  It would be nice if there were some kind of warning or disclaimer about this.  It's not like you can find out what a phone's IMEI is until you purchase it.  Luckily, my new phone works with the sim card from my old phone.  I would've just kept my old "incompatible" phone if I'd known only phones purchased through Visible magically meet their requirements.  Very disappointed and frustrated.

[Anonymous]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Visible. I get your frustration, been there. Had you bought a used unlocked iPhone less than 5 year old it from any other seller it would have passed the IMEI checker without asking for a number. I have gone a couple rounds with customer service over this issue, most recently last night. Was told that even though you can buy the same phone at Motorola, Samsung or Google it isn't optimized to work on Visible, whatever that means. But funny thing is Verizon owns Visible, the new plans are using the same core system now that they use(the reason for the new plans), that phone you have, even your old one, will likely pass the IMEI checker at Verizon and work their. From my research and reading the difference in the phone you buy at Motorola versus Visible is of course the IMEI number, they are not programmed any different. Visible buys phones in lots and puts those IMEI numbers in their database. 

Read yesterday on Visible reddit page someone bought 4 phones previously for family members. This person runs the accounts for his four family members. He come to upgrade them to the new plan and only 3 of the 4 phones passed the IMEI and they were all bought at the same time. 

I was lucky enough to find a like new used phone on eBay that was sold by Visible last year to get a card since the phone I bought here in 2021 it not compatible or so it said even though I activated it without issue. I an using the newer phone since I bought it but my account reflects my old phone. Was told by CS that if I have any issues using a phone that isn't approved I wouldn't get the help I need. Hopefully I don't have any issues with service because since my account didn't get updated with the new phone/IMEI number I used for my new phone so I probably won't get help since my account still shows my old noncompatible phone.

Sorry for the rant. Hopefully the IMEI database will be fixed soon. Maybe click on the link below and put a comment or complaint in on that thread, hopefully the Manager of these forums will see it. 

https://community.visible.com/t5/Feedback/Visible-needs-to-update-the-IMEI-number-list/idi-p/34783

Thanks.