Community Forums

smiller · 08-22-2019, 05:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom_M

Visible lifted the 5Mb/s speed cap on June 26 and claimed that the hotspot speed would remain capped. I am still getting uncapped speed connected to my hotspot. It's been almost 2 months. Hopefully this will continue unchanged.

Visible seems so swamped trying to keep up with demand that they perhaps don't have the resources to to implement the hotspot cap as soon as planned, although one has to believe that at some point they will. Until then... enjoy

I have been using Visible for about a month (on my Pixel 3) and so far network performance has been great, no problems at all and speeds always seem to match my Verizon postpaid work phone. Getting CS support can be bear but once activated it's been a great deal for me, $40 true unlimited on Verizon with hotspot, what's not to like. And they still have the $100 gift MasterCard deal going if you port a number. I hope they stay around longer than other carriers that have tried this, but with Verizon's deep pockets behind them I think there's a good chance they will.

(Shameless plug, if anyone wants to save $20 on their first months service you can use my referral link: https://visible.com/referral/zp6ts )

JTWard · 08-25-2019, 11:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gsgriffin

For those that spend a lot of time on the road, or those that need the occassional Internet access that is robust. For those that can access cellular towers from Verizon (You don't need to have a cellular service from them). For those that don't want a contract and just pay monthly as needed. For those that can live without having the absolute fastest speeds. Lastly, for those that $40/month with nothing extra fits the budget.....only paying for the months that you actually need it.

Very interested. And we already have Verizon.

BonS · 08-26-2019, 08:18 PM

My Visible SIM card running on a Verizon Jetpack died this past weekend. It happened on the exact date that a new billing cycle started and that wasn't just a coincidence. Or, so I'm told by Visible. I have an S9 that I used to initialize the SIM card and then popped it into my Jetpack. It worked great for about 45 days. Customer service says that it won't continue to run in a Jetpack because their app isn't there and the SIM card can't get refreshed as it must. Customer service kicked me up to the next level, but they haven't emailed me after several days. I gave up and canceled my account (no easy feat). I then opened up a new Visible account and bought their R2 for $19 and I'll just tether it to a router as the OP suggested. Anyone else had this issue or it just me?!

Oh, I did put the SIM card back in my S9 and it didn't help to bring the card back to life.

W5CI · 08-26-2019, 08:28 PM

I just wish my Verizon jet Pack would just work at the campgrounds that we use. it only works along the interstate. $40 a month for nothing. but my old Mobley just keeps on keeping on. $20 monthly

smiller · 08-26-2019, 09:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonS

Customer service says that it won't continue to run in a Jetpack because their app isn't there and the SIM card can't get refreshed as it must. Customer service kicked me up to the next level, but they haven't emailed me after several days. I gave up and canceled my account (no easy feat).

Sounds like Visible is serious about limiting the service to approved devices, I guess that's understandable else otherwise everyone would be moving SIMs to Jetpacks (just like what happens to 'Mobley' SIMs

Lucky the $19 phone provides an alternative, although maybe not the preferred one. Thanks for letting us know the results of your experiment.

But I'm not sure why it was difficult to cancel service? It's month-to-month so basically to do that you just stop paying.

gsgriffin · 08-27-2019, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BonS

My Visible SIM card running on a Verizon Jetpack died this past weekend.

Just for others that read through the post and consider using something other than their approved phones running their app...they are most definitely clear about their app must be running on a phone for it all to work. It is interesting that even for a period of time anyone is able to use a different device, but it is not like they didn't warn anyone.

The solution on post #10 was designed to be within their criteria of use and provide a device and experience that is very similar to a jetpack, except with this solution, you still have an extra phone to use, if you want.

Link to solution:
http://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/40-mo...ml#post4758860

SkiSmuggs · 08-27-2019, 06:16 AM

I've been agonizing over this since AT&T works better in my area, then Visiible added support for my favorite Moto G series and had a sale on it. So I ordered the G7 Power for $199 and am porting my Red Pocket VZ $10 back up number for $100 virtual credit card. Once that is active, I will port my main number with Cricket to Red Pocket on their $15 GSMA plan.
The phone arrived yesterday, is all set up and is waiting for the port to complete for activation.
Maybe it is because it isn't active yet, but USB tethering is grayed out although the hot spot function is not. I hope that changes with activation as I got the GL iNet router some time ago to replace my old Pepwave.

WVI · 08-27-2019, 08:08 AM

Will the R2 work as a hot spot?
If so, would it work on my Samsung smart TV to get Amazon and Netflix's shows??

CoachStreamr · 08-27-2019, 01:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WVI

Will the R2 work as a hot spot?
If so, would it work on my Samsung smart TV to get Amazon and Netflix's shows??

You can connect 1 device to the R2's hotpot. You can connect many more when using the router/tether option.

BonS · 08-27-2019, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by smiller

. . . Thanks for letting us know the results of your experiment.

But I'm not sure why it was difficult to cancel service? It's month-to-month so basically to do that you just stop paying.

You're welcome. Visible wanted me to just let the month run out but I didn't want to do that because I don't have any service and I was paying for nothing.

As to why I didn't just use the R2+router solution, the R2, at the time, was an extra $100 and I already had the Jetpack. Now, with current pricing it's a no brainer when the R2 is only $20.

And it was just that, an experiment. Oh well, It didn't work. It really shouldn't have been so hard for Visible to remedy the problem but once you get outside of their front-line service folks they're pretty bad.

My new phone will be here tomorrow and I'm whole again. Meanwhile I'm using my backup AT&T Mobley for streaming and it's doing a good job.

gsgriffin · 08-28-2019, 05:20 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SkiSmuggs

Maybe it is because it isn't active yet, but USB tethering is grayed out although the hot spot function is not.

You need to plug in a device (like the suggested portable router on Post #10), and then the option will show up. You cannot select the option without an appropriate device plugged in. If you have something plugged in, it might not be responding to the phone correctly.

When you first plug a device in, the phone will prompt you and ask what to do with the detected device. Don't select Power/Charge only. That will do nothing for you. Most times it will have a prompt option (perhaps the last) that says something like "Install Device Driver". Choose that. Option for USB tether should then appear.

brucev · 08-28-2019, 01:33 PM

Many thanks to gsgriffen and all of you for taking the time to share. I just ordered the basic phone for $20 as a test. I am currently using a hotspot with T-Mobile but I rarely get good downloads when camping anyway. Even here in Anaheim I only get 10-20mbps. Looks like the 5mbps cap is in place for new subscribers but if I can reliably get 5mbps I can live with it. I am also installing a Weboost Drive X-RV and will be traveling to places with bad cell service in October. I'll report back how it all goes. Again, many thanks to all of you.

smiller · 08-28-2019, 04:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brucev

Looks like the 5mbps cap is in place for new subscribers but if I can reliably get 5mbps I can live with it.

Note that the unlimited speed deal (on the phone) is still in place for new subscribers ('for a limited time', whatever that means to Visible.) But it's still available, per their website. So is the $100 prepaid Mastercard, if you port a number. They just gave me mine right after my 2nd month's payment, as promised.

Hotspot data is (or will be soon, according to Visible) limited to 5 mbps, but that's true for everyone. Still, hard to complain about true unlimited hotspot data on Verizon for $40, even with that restriction.

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tlkhorses · 08-28-2019, 05:43 PM

So I ordered the R2 and started testing it. I have no problems with using it as a phone. One thing to note, it is a basic phone and as such out of the box and installing their app around 70% of the storage is used.
Now's as for data, I'm not having much love for it yet speed wise. I have a Samsung S9 on Verizon and side by side speed tests with the R2 were vastly different. S9 was getting around 50meg down while most of the time the R2 was getting around 4 or 5. It made it to 8 once. I chatted with their support and we tried some things but no joy. Ticket has been escalated and I'm waiting for a reply.