What exactly is required for compatibility?

[Badwolf340]

I have a Moto g8 Power and it's not compatible with Visible (or even Mint, for that matter) because apparently it doesn't have voLTE capabilities.  I figured my model was going to be compatible because it's rather recent and they have a bunch of Motorola models, but I guess I was wrong.  So that makes me ask, what specs are required for your phone to be compatible?

[rjniles]

A Moto G Power has VoLTE

Similar story. I bought a Moto G Stylus 5G to  use on my existing Visible plan. The online checker said not compatible. Started a chat session and was told it is compatible. Inserted the SIM from my old phone (Moto G Power) and it works fine. Moral of the story: the online compatibility checker is not always right.

[Anonymous]

I mentioned this to you in another post, you are on the existing plan as am I. The compatibility checker is for the new plan and not the old plan that is no longer available to new customers. My G Power (2021) is still working with the old plan and it says not compatible with the new plan. Sure a non compatible phone will work with the new plan but one has to activate the new card and not sure if that can be done in a phone that shows not compatible. 

[rjniles]

I have a Moto G Fast that my wife used but was not compatible with the old Party Pay plan. I bought a Moto G Power 2021 as it was/is compatible with the old plan. Under the new plan the G Power is not compatible but the G Fast is. Strange but that is what Visible's compatibility checker is telling me.

I am considering ordering a SIM for the new $30 plan using a different email address and activate it in the G Fast. After activation I'll swap the SIM into my wife's G Power  and my G Stylus 5G and see if either will work.  

[Anonymous]

In the thread I had started about this compatibility topic there was one person that bought a phone from Best Buy with a Sim for the new plan and moved it to his noncompatible phone and it worked. Even though there is a way around ordering a SIM with a fake IMEI number I would be curious if it can be activated in a noncompatible phone. But I guess it doesn't matter for me since I now have a phone that is compatible. I will probably do the same once I finally switch to a new plan and move it to the 2021 model and see if it works. Even if it does work I will likely just likely keep using the 2022 model and use the 2021 for a back up if something happens with the newer phone.

I just don't get the logic with Visible that my G Power(2021) in not compatible but the 2022 model is and both were on android 11 and certainly can't be much difference in tech. Yet, Visible sells 3 phones that have OS systems and the tech on those must be 3-4 years old, but a phone bought here last year here doesn't work because they told me it doesn't have the right technology, go figure! I am guessing they are just doing this so you have to buy a phone from them is my thinking. Is this compatibility thing just with android phones because it seems like if I check newer iPhone models they say compatible and asks if it is unlocked. Am I to gather iPhones don't have IMEI numbers and are not as restricted here as android phones? Wasn't a fan of the OS and set up on my iPod touch which is why I went with android last year. Just wonder when we will to switch and hope I don't run into problems as I don't want to deal with the poor customer service.

[Anonymous]

I don't think there is a set guide line for specs, it boils down to a whitelist and blacklist for IMEI numbers. I was in a couple different conversations with customer service and got different answers. On chat I got an answer that my phone did not have the right technology whatever that meant but yet Visible sells 3 budget phones with 2-3 old OS so not sure how those qualify as low tech as I think they would be. I attached a link with a thread I made about a conversation I had on Facebook after I did the chat thing.

https://community.visible.com/t5/Need-help/An-update-on-phone-compatibility/td-p/27975

I just come to the opinion that Visible has blacklisted all old phones that they have not sold this year. In the thread above one person had taken a SIM that was activated on the new plan and put it in an older phone that showed not compatible and it worked. A person can get around the IMEI checker by entering a valid number(I did this by downloading an IMEI generator app and selecting one of the Samsung phones I think is how I did it) and was able to proceed to order a SIM card but stopped. But the question is can it be activated in the non compatible phone or does it have to be activated in a compatible phone first in order for the SIM to work in the old non compatible phone.

Sorry for being long winded and hopefully somewhat answers your question. You could try and get a more precise answer from Visible customer service and see if they have come up with a better answer but I wouldn't count on it.