Newbie Questions Before Signing Up

[CR500]

I'm a complete Newb.  Always had a work phone so never looked into wireless service.  Plan on getting a used iPhone 12 Max Pro.

I don't do any streaming (music or video), occasionally use app or surf web at HomeDepot or various airlines & hotels.  It will primarily be used with Waze and in-car race track lap timer apps (Track Addict and Harrys).  I think the lap timers mainly use GPS but may also use some cell tower data.

How intrusive is the throttling?  Would it even be an issue for what I do with the phone?  Does it affect phone calls?  Any statistics / graphs on the throttling?  I'm in the MD/DC/VA area.

Initially thought the $25 service would work, now not sure.  Oof, also googled Visible and complaint and now thinking that maybe I should just pay up and go with Verizon ..  Is it just the unhappy people that are vocal?

Thanks!

[skibik · Accepted solution]

Visible doesn't throttle data but you are at the mercy of the congestion on the Verizon towers in your area. The basic plan you are deprioritized on data so if you have heavy tower traffic you will see slower speeds. The plus plan will get you premium data(not prioritized) for 50GB then you will be back to deprioritized data speeds. The plus plan would be similar to a Verizon plan. Only restriction is hotspot speeds are limited to 5Gbps no matter which plan.

If you get a used iPhone 12 it should be capable of an eSIM so you can actually get a free 15 day trial period. I believe the trial is for the basic plan so you can try it out. From what I have read get a different email address and sign up for the trial, if you like it some have had problems with the same account, then sign up with your regular email address on a new account. 

I have been with Visible since July 2021. I like the unlimited plan I started with and now the basic plan and have good luck with service. I did have horrid data speeds up until last fall when Visible upgraded their system to use the same core system as Verizon(Visible's parent company). The drawback or the dislike for Visible that you probably read about is customer service. If you have any issues or problems you don't have a brick and mortar store to go to or even a phone number to call. They handle their customer service online through chat, Facebook messenger, Twitter DM and Visible's Reddit page by messaging them. Getting an issue fixed is a long tedious process that may end in frustration and some have been given the runaround for days on some problems including activations. With that said I can say I have only had a minor issue or two and only reason I have mainly contacted them is to get some questions answered but end up with vague response that really doesn't give me an answer, kind of like an answer a politician gives.

Hopefully this helps on whatever you decide. If you get an iPhone here is the link to the free trial. 

https://www.visible.com/free-trial?CMP=MarketingTactic-KNC_Site-GAW_Funnel-AC_AudienceType-PSP_Audie...

[CR500]

Thanks for the info.  I'll give the free trial a try and see how it goes!

[InquisitiveOne]

Hey,  CR500.  Just curious how your trial run is going.  I am about to be a new customer as well as soon as they get my desired phone back in stock. (Currently they are sold out of twelve different phones.)  How has your two week trial experience been?

[CR500]

Actually just got my phone yesterday.  Will sign up for the trial this weekend!

[CR500]

Service so far seem ok.  Waze worked w/o issue and I was able to get service out at Summit Point WV.  I just ran speedtest (6pm on a Sunday) and only got 15mbps.

[CR500]

So not quite so rosy.  I carry my new phone with Visible trial service and a work phone with AT&T.  Visible service is LTE and the ATT 5Ge.  Speed test constantly shows the ATT service being faster.  A quick google and I see 5Ge is ~3x faster than LTE.

Tried checking gmail this afternoon using Safari and the Visible phone sat with blank screen when the ATT checked w/o issue.

Also, overnight the Visible phone went from 100% battery down to 55% and the ATT stayed fully charged.  Checking the battery usage, the Visible phone used 85% of the power used searching for a cell signal.

I'm guessing I'd have these issues with any provider that uses the Verizon network.  Surprising as I don't live out in the boonies.

[CR500]

forgot to add, running speed test while at my office is about 0.3 Mbps, the ATT is 1 Mbps.  Dog slow on both.

[InquisitiveOne]

Thank You CR500 for taking your time to experiment and share your experiences in your various specific locations. That is very helpful to the rest of us wondering what to expect for ourselves in similar environments as well. I believe Visible should now allow you try a two week trial using their Visible Plus plan to see what difference it makes, if any, using their "Premium Network Experience"! 

I can appreciate the opportunity for a Basic Plan trial run , however considering the results, If they want your business, it would only make sense now to offer a two week trial of their Better plan to try to keep from losing you and others as customers. Wouldn't you agree?  Thank You again for sharing your experience with the rest of us!

[CR500]

When I signed up, there wasn't any way to pick which plan to test.  I'm guessing its the plus plan.  I think today is the end of the freebie.  I'll probably sign up for a few months and see how it goes.

[InquisitiveOne]

CR500, to the best of my knowledge from what I have read, the fourteen day trial is the Basic Plan. According to the details, the Plus Plan gives you priority in times of tower congestion over basic plan users and also access to 5G Ultra Wideband Network in some Metropolitan areas if your phone has the Ultra Wide Band capability.  Maybe the results will improve if you are signing up for the upgraded Plus Plan. I am still waiting for some of the phones to come back in stock.

[CR500]

Good to know, you'd think they would use the higher speed service to suck you in!  I'm going to test one of the ATT network providers at the end of this month.  Then I'll decide which to go with.

[InquisitiveOne]

I totally agree with you. Please share the findings of your comparison tests. It will be interesting to see the actual results.