Intermittent Service after Phone Used with Another Provider

[gradyvalentine]

Hi all, I recently traveled overseas and purchased a local SIM for use with the same unlocked phone (Galaxy S9+) I use on Visible. All went smoothly until returning, although I'm not 100% certain the other SIM or carrier is involved in this issue.

Now my phone will occasionally lose service and continually show "Searching for Service" despite being in an area with strong signal. I've discovered through trial and error that if I either swap in a different (non-Visible) SIM for several minutes then replace the Visible SIM, or factory reset the phone, it will reconnect. After some amount of time, which has been 15 minutes and has also been 3 days, but generally late the night after the reset, the phone reverts to the "searching for service" state. 

I'm a bit stuck here, with some temporary band-aid solutions that really aren't practical. I've tried backing up my settings and restoring them after the drop, but that doesn't seem to work. Any ideas to make a fix stick?

[SimpleSavings2]

Hi gradyvalentine,

Have you tried Visible Help here: https://www.visible.com/help

Otherwise, in the lower right-hand corner of that page you can contact Visible by chat.

[gradyvalentine]

I chatted with Visible entirely too many times for my own well-being, including 3 separate support tickets (apparently the DC metro area doesn't have LTE coverage!) and many new grey hairs. My next hope is that someone out there has had this happen as well and managed to get it patched back up, because Visible's support doesn't have that expertise.

[CJ]

Grady,

I have not had this issue, though I would check the following: what are your cuurent APN settings? Do they look like these:

https://www.wikilogy.com/apn-settings/united-states/visible/

A long, long time ago, Verizon Wireless used to recommend dialing *228 to update your phone. This may work on Visible too. More info:

https://www.reference.com/world-view/number-someone-dial-update-verizon-phone-2f1c15289b48b16e

If neither of these approaches work, I would try contacting Visible via a different support method, ie if you used chat before, try Twitter DM, and ask them to escalate the issue.

[gradyvalentine]

Thanks for the suggestions. I have indeed tried reviewing the APN settings, however at least on this device (Galaxy S9+) the APN settings are set and locked by the SIM, and I'm unable to view the details or create additional access points. Presumably this isn't the issue, as Visible support have also reviewed the SIM settings and even sent a replacement SIM.

As for the dial code, I did also see that in a Verizon support forum from 5+ years ago. When I call, I only get a "call cannot be completed as dialed" error. Presumably this isn't supported by Visible, or is no longer in service with Verizon. I recall many of these hidden dial codes only worked with CDMA protocol, but I digress.

As for Visible support, as I said I've contacted them through all avenues more than 50 times over the past month, including 5 escalated tickets and two calls with supervisors, yet none have resolved the issue, nor even come close to realizing what it is. More than once, Visible's technical team have determined that the issue is marginal LTE coverage (I live in the DC metro area and have full service for many miles around) and close the case without recourse. It seems far more likely some other soul has encountered a similar issue and found a solution, as Visible's support seems unable to progress beyond basic troubleshooting.

[CJ]

Here are some workarounds for a locked APN: https://blucellphones.us/apn-settings-greyed-out/

I just tried *228 on my Visible phone. No audio message is played, but I do get a brief text on the screen saying roaming codes have been updated.

You may want to confirm what service you have based on your zip code here: https://www.visible.com/plan/coverage

I looked at 20036, it looks like LTE 4G & 5G is everywhere. That LTE comment does not sound correct.  

I would post your question over on the Reddit Visible forum.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Visible/

The Reddit forum has at least one Visible employee tackling issues there (MVNOresearch).

You may want to look for a Samsung forum on Reddit.

If you get no responses, I would then file an FCC complaint. 

[phoneman2021]

If there is anyone from Visible on here can they look at it or have it pushed up the chain please?  This seems like a true issue that needs looked at.  Customer care didn't get this right and need additional training so issues like this don't happen in the future.  You shouldn't have to chat in 50 times and not have your issue resolved.