Success on activating a SIM card in a phone that shows not compatible.

[Anonymous]

Since Visible began to offer us existing customers on the old party pay plan a $5 discount for the new $30 plan I decide on Saturday to order a new SIM and it arrived today. I decided to be a sacrificial lamb and activate it on my noncompatible phone and hope for the best.

I was able to activate this SIM in my Motorola G Power(2021) phone running on Android 11 and the IMEI number shows not compatible when you run it through the checker. I did buy a phone from eBay, a G Power(2022) a couple months ago so I had a phone when they made us switch which I thought would be this month. That phone was sold by Visible last year so it had an IMEI number that worked which is why I bought it. Had I known I could activate a noncompatible phone I could have used an IMEI number that I generated from a Google search for IMEI generator, I tried it and that works to bypass the checker.

I followed the steps for activation and I successfully activated it, I could call and text. Of course I had one issue, I didn't have internet. So I contacted customer service via Facebook messenger and I was shocked I had a response within a few minutes, they needed full name and then verification by email on my account. I was still digging around in settings and at that point I saw the my problem. Apparently when you remove you SIM it toggles the mobile data button off and I toggled it back on and it works. Before CS even responded with a solution I just replied I got it fixed, felt not so smart(flagged the word I wanted to use) at that point that I even contacted them. I am not a very technical person when it comes to computers, I know just enough to be dangerous!

Conclusion, your phone can show not compatible and you can get around the IMEI number and get a card and still activate it. This was for an Android phone so for iPhones I have no clue on them. It seemed when I checked certain models of iPhones they are all compatible and never ask for a number.

I did was move the card into my 2022 G Power since the 2021 will no longer get security updates this year. Those that are buying Motorola phones you might want to look at another brand since they have the worst upgrade program in the business(1 OS and 2 years security updates from the time they are released). It's fine if you trade up premium phones every year or every other year but I was hoping to get 3-4 years before replacing it. So I won't be buying another Motorola phone for that reason.

[INXSible]

Visible/Visible Plus Plans are now on Verizon's core network... You can check device compatibility on https://www.verizon.com/bring-your-own-device/

[Anonymous]

I do not understand why you replied with that statement. I did use my old phone on the compatibility checker and it shows not compatible. I even contacted customer service back in October to find out why it wasn't since I bought the phone from here in 2021. Maybe you should have read the post before you replied. Thanks.

[skitar]

It helps others.

My phone said incompatible on Visible's checker but compatible on Verizon's.

Got the new Visible SIM and all is working well ! !

[Anonymous]

I am glad it helped you out and it worked for you. Had I known that it would actually have worked before I did this activation I could have saved $90 on the used phone I bought since it was sold by Visible in 2022 and had a compatible IMEI number. Maybe this will save others from buying phones they don't actually need to activate on Visible.

To me if a phone shows compatible on the Verizon network there should be no reason why it shouldn't be compatible here. Verizon owns Visible so why not update the IMEI database to reflect that. 

[INXSible]

This is the reason I posted Verizon's phone compatibility verifier/checker.  🖖

Visible's database is outdated.

[mpilihp]

Hi I am curious what the URL is for this google IMEI generator and how did you configure it to generate an IMEI that was compatible with Visible to get past the compatibility checker??

I am trying to buy a S20 Plus from a refurbisher to then port my number to and use on Visible.  Issue is each one I ordered and test the IMEI on have failed.  Im thinking if I got an SIM i could then try the phone with a physical SIM in it.

Thanks  Phil

[Anonymous]

Google IMEI generator, find coolgenerator, and open it. Leave the first box that says hot brand on random, in the second box select iPhone 14 and click generate. Grab the first number and put that number in the checker for Android. I now just tried it and it works. 

This will get you a SIM card. My knowledge on these phones are limited but if that refurbished phone you bought happens to be locked you will not be able to activate it. Make sure the phone is unlocked first, make sure it is updated with the latest system and security updates, you will need to download the Visible app to the refurbished phone. You will need Wi-Fi to activate.

Activating the card in my noncompatible phone did work for me and I can't guarantee it will work for you but I really don't see why not. It seems like the IMEI number is only there to stop you from getting a card unless you buy a phone from Visible which I think is a crock.

[mpilihp]

Thanks, but when I looked into now getting a physical card, it would instantly move my number to the card and I would be without a functioning phone until I received it and the person making the post said it was over a week.  I'm going to try US Mobile.

thanks

[Anonymous]

I didn't port in and not quite sure the exact procedure, but from what I read here you would be assigned a temporary number, the SIM card is shipped FedEx next day so if ordered early enough you would have it the next day. Instructions say not to cancel your current carrier until after you are ready to port the number in and activate.

Not sure who the person is that said you would be without a phone for a week, it is possible if you have issues that some of the agents at customer service can't seem to figure out and some lack training on a lot of issues. The answers and replies in these forums do not come from Visible, it is just a peer to peer forum. If you need answers that you can't find here contact customer. Use Facebook messenger since I have had the quickest responses using it.

Good luck at US Mobile. Check out Mint also, I saw some ads where they have had some good deals also for multiple lines. 

[mpilihp]

Hi so I'm already with Visible but using an eSIM.   I want to now change out my phone to a different one I'd buy from a reseller but all so far have been not compatible.  I wanted to try your trick with a sim but to get the Sim now I would go without a working phone until it arrived...   I'll go to US Mobile and then I will try the Sim with visible and a temp phone number and maybe if it works ill come back.

thanks. Phil

[Anonymous]

You actually have an Android phone and eSIM worked with Visible? From what I have been reading I didn't think Visible got the bugs worked out of that for Android devices. I know iPhone had some issues but they do work with them.

I thought you were trying to sign up with a new account. I don't know how eSIM's work but since you are a customer already there should be a way to transfer an eSIM to the new phone, the IMEI number should not make a difference. From my experience the IMEI checker is to be able to order a card and/or make you buy a new phone from them and in my case had nothing to do with activating it. If your plan is to come back to Visible in the future before you leave you might want to check into a way to transfer the eSIM instead then you wouldn't need a pSIM sent to you.

[mpilihp]

I didn't state I was already a customer, sorry.  But yes both my wife and I have S20s and we want to get refurbished S20 Plus which would allow inserting a 1T microSD card.  But none we have bought have passed  compatability.  Without passing I don't think the esim will work.  But a a physical Sim maybe.  So going away and then coming back to visible but doing with a physical Sim hopefully will woek.  

I want to be with visible because they offer home internet forn45 a month.  It's not avail yet where I am but hopefully will be soon.

thanks

Phil

[Anonymous]

In your first sentence on your last reply it said "Hi so I'm already with Visible but using an eSIM." That is why I thought you had Visible already.

From the posts I have read eSIM on an Android phone doesn't work or the bugs haven't been worked out of that at Visible yet and it has only been working on iPhones. If I had the capability of eSIM and still had a pSIM slot I still would get physical SIM.

You could buy 100 phones from what I have found in my searching through eBay is that unless you buy an Android phone from Visible it will show not compatible. I don't see Visible changing that anytime soon. So even if you try to come back down the road it will still show not compatible and you will be in the same boat.

If you are interested in Visible order a SIM card, there is no charge until it is activated. If you plan on porting in a number read up on the port in procedure. From my understanding you will be assigned a temporary number until you port the old one in, again I don't know how port in works. You should not lose your service with your current carrier, as you don't want to cancel that until after you port in or you will lose your number. It shouldn't cost you anything if the card doesn't activate because billing doesn't start until the day the card is activated, and that is the day of the beginning of each months billing cycle.

[Sundog]

Thank you for sharing your experience. 

I tried an IMEI generator and the first two numbers I tried came back as "incompatible" so not sure how many tries I can attempt?

Is there a better generator that has success?

Or what am I doing wrong??

Thank you in advance.

[Sundog]

Sorry I did not read farther down in the post from the start.

I saw your post regarding coolgenerator and using random/iThing14... I used that number by clicking on Android as far as my OS and it came back with "Compatible."

That took me to an order page which made me leary... but in short, it's nothing charged until activation and they include the valuable new Sim card shipped to me. 

So? Once I get it, i'll wait till a day before my month payment is up, then I'll put the new Sim card in my existing Moto Power G 2021 and see what happens.

Thank you.

[Anonymous]

One thing I am going to point out is that this I did for the upgrade from the old unlimited plan to the new basic plan. If you are porting in a number I don't know if it will work because if you have issues you probably will need to give them the IMEI number to your phone and not the phone you selected to generate the IMEI number. I don't know what the procedure is for porting in. 

The other thing is, I got into an argument with customer service over this compatibility issue thing and activating phone that show not compatible. I was told that if I had any issues since I used the noncompatible phone I would not get any help.

if you are already on Visible's old plan and upgrading to a new plan you don't need to wait until your billing date, if you are upgrading to get the valued member discount and staying on the basic plan you won't be charged anything and your billing date remains the same.