Which Bands?

[Fisher99]

Does anybody know which bands Visible uses for LTE service?  Do they use the exact same bands as straight Verizon service (I think they use 2, 4, 5, 13, 46, 48, 66).  

I'm curious because there's a location where we go on an annual camping trip that the 7 other members of my family, who are on straight Verizon, have LTE cell service but my wife and I, who are on Visible, do not.  Their LTE service is a bit spotty, but usable, while our 2 phones have zero LTE.  In fact "LTE" doesn't even show on our screens.  I'm wondering if actual Verizon uses a band that isn't available to Vixible users?

The other difference is that they are all on Apple phones, ranging from XR, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 14, while my wife is on a Pixel 7 and I am on a Pixel 7 Pro.  But in general when we travel together, we all have pretty much the same access to LTE except for this one location, so I'm not thinking it is related to the phones themselves.

Thanks

[RyanBlakeIT]

Hi @Fisher99 - It might be a situation where the towers in the area are on partner towers with Verizon, which may not include the Visible "MVNO" service.  It could also be an issue where the campsite uses repeater devices which are only certified for use with Verizon.  While I'm not 100% certain, I would expect Visible to use the same bands as Verizon.

Also, do you have Roaming enabled on your phone?  You could try toggling that on and see if it makes a difference for you.

[Fisher99]

Hi Ryan,

Thanks for your reply.  I could be wrong, but I'm thinking that Visible is no longer an MVNO?  A few months ago we all had to get new sims and (I think) were told that we would now be directly on Verizon, just like a Verizon prepaid service?  But I get your point.  Maybe the towers are indeed on a partner service with Verizon and Verizon isn't extending that access to Visible users.

And I do have roaming turned on.  And also the campground doesn't have any repeaters.  The campground hosts say that AT&T is the strongest (but still not strong) signal there, followed by Verizon, which spottier than AT&T.  And that no other carrier has any signal at all.

[RyanBlakeIT]

Have you tried checking Visible's Coverage Map?  This link also gives some more information around Visible's offerings: https://www.visible.com/help/network-features.  I also found a third party website that references the bands that Verizon uses.  If you'd like to know for certain you could download a third party app called Network Cell Info & WiFi for your Android phone.  There should be a similar app for iOS (I believe one is called "LTE Finder") that will show you what band is being used when your family at the campground.  I checked mine with my Pixel 8 Pro phone and I'm on Band 2 (PCS).

Hope this helps.

[Fisher99]

Great info!  I will check it out.  Thanks Ryan.