Help needed finding a compatable S20 Plus Model Name

mpilihp
Novice II

Hi so I am trying to buy a refurbished Samsung S20 Plus to use on Visible, but each one I have purchased the IMEI fails the compatability test.

 

We have tried a SM-G986U and SM-G986U1, these are both listed as being US unlocked phones.

Our S20s we brought to Visible are SM-G981V, which is specifically for Verizon.  I havent been able to find for sale a SM-G986V.

 

Anyone have any luck buying a S20 Plus and getting it working on Visible?  If so what is the model name IE SM-GBLAH  and where did you buy it from.

 

Thanks

 

Phil

3 REPLIES 3

Anonymous
Not applicable

I did reply to your response in my thread about successfully activating a card in a noncompatible phone.

 

I will add this. Last fall when they come out with the new plans I was worried that my noncompatible phone wasn't going to work when they made us switch to the new plan. Instead of buying a phone here for full price I searched high and low on eBay for a cheap phone like the one I had which was a G Power(2021). All the year newer models along with other similar brands that didn't cost a fortune. All the phones that listed IMEI numbers didn't work no matter what the brand, these were android phones as I didn't want an iPhone since it seems all those are compatible no matter what as they don't ask for an IMEI number on them. The only one I found was a 2022 model of my phone which was actually sold by Visible to the seller I got it from earlier in 2022, at least it was cheap. I wasn't going to switch yet because it would raise my monthly bill by $5 I know it isn't much but on a budget and I would rather have it in my pocket than someone else's. Visible finally gave us current customers the same price as the party pay and I decided to make the switch and of course I didn't need a phone and I was able to activate it. Making us buy a phone is ridiculous when we don't actually need it.

mpilihp
Novice II

Hi thanks yes I think they are only white listing their own phones.  

I think we are going to switch to US Mobile which also uses Verizon network and from reviews almost any unlocked phone will woek with them.  Also pricing is similar and can have multiple phones on one account to get group savings...

Anonymous
Not applicable

The sad part is that 2021 model year noncompatible phone I bought from Visible when I started in July of 2021 so they even blacklisted phones that were purchased before 2022.

 

I did a lot of research before I found Visible, never had a cell phone so this was my first carrier. I searched around through all the different carriers and they were all too expensive and none had true unlimited data. I noticed lately a lot of the MVNO carriers now offering decent deals for multiple lines. For me I only need one so that was why I couldn't find a budget carrier. Fi or what I am paying I can put up with customer service or the lack of it. Good luck!