$25/month unlimited internet....interested?

[smiller]

The variation in experiences with Visible is just so strange. I have crossed the country multiple times with it and rarely had any problems worth mentioning (meaning no more occasional issues then I ever had with VZ, AT&T, or T-Mo in the past so nothing I could identify as Visible-specific.) The one exception might be a handful of times having to toggle airplane mode on/off, but this action has always restored normal service and I've never needed to call CS for anything beyond initial setup. My phone is a non-carrier-branded Pixel 3 XL, who knows if that's relevant or not.

The 'love it/hate it' syndrome isn't unusual with any carrier's service but it does seem to be enhanced with Visible as is evident here, on Facebook, Reddit, etc. Curiously it doesn't seem to be related to any clearly-identifiable difference in phone type, geographical location, or any other particular factor. It's just odd and not much to do on an individual basis I guess other than see if it works for you since it doesn't cost much to try.

I don't think it's any secret that it's all a big experiment but since there's virtually no competition offering truly unlimited hotspot on Verizon's network (for $25 no less) then I'll stick with Visible until I start to have problems. So far so good for me is about all I can say for certain about the beast.

[gsgriffin]

Thanks to everyone for posting their actual experience in using Visible and the config on Post #10, where applicable. It is healthy and desired to have both in order to set expectations (which I try to do over and over).

Nobody should expect flawless service or even consistent. So far, everyone has agreed that it is truly unlimited (haven't heard of people using the config on Post #10 getting kicked off ever), sometimes very fast, sometimes very slow, always pretty darn cheap.

For those beginning to look for a more expensive and more consistent internet option moving into the future, the Starlink public beta is now available in very limited areas. I was fortunate enough to be in the target zone for their initial offering and have an antenna arriving on Saturday. I've started a new thread that is to be focused on that Internet service option but really to discuss how to mount and use the new satellite dish on RVs (it is only designed for houses...but what the heck...this will be incredible for RVers)

https://www.irv2.com/forums/f53/star...se-512812.html

FYI...$99/month in beta...don't know about the future. $500 for dish. Extra for different roof mounts. 30 days to return for refund. Limited access and not great to start with now. Go to the thread above to get a lot more details or simply Google Starlink to read more.

[rfg9585]

Originally Posted by slabman

I have been using Visible on both and Apple and Android phones over the past month, covering a 4,000 mile trip around the eastern U.S. When working, the Visible system worked quite well. But almost EVERY time I moved I had to get online chat help, asking them to "tweak" my settings to allow reasonable speeds. Usually, they were able to help, but it took another day or two. So if traveling, this will not work for you. I concluded I can't live with this.

I did pop the Visible sim into my Netgear Nighthawk router and was successful in getting some unreal data speeds! I would continue this way, but not sure how long before they see my usage and suspend my account?

I was unable to tether my iPhones after doing the IOS 14.xx update and the sales mgr. from iNet confirms Apple did something which made their router un-tetherable. I found the same problem with my wiFi Ranger. So my advice for anyone initiating this program is to go with an Android, which IS tetherable.

I have fulltimed with VZ service for 10 years and never seemed to have a service coverage issues, but this time I was quite surprised. In almost every town I landed, I found multiple AT&T towers and only ONE VZ tower! My primary phone is the top of the line VZ plan and data speeds were comparatively bad...don't quite know what happened to their coverage....

So I am dropping one (maybe both?) Visible accounts and will be moving over to AT&T with my new primary iPhone when it finally is available. I may come back to Visible at a later date, but think they still have some issues with their system and don't care to keep being frustrated with no data and no TV streaming. I still believe in this program and believe each of us will have differing experiences, depending on phone, location, etc. Maybe in time these issues will diminish.

I have a nighthawk router. Where is the slot to insert the sim?

[BobGed]

Originally Posted by rfg9585

I have a nighthawk router. Where is the slot to insert the sim?

Open the back and remove the battery.

[rfg9585]

Originally Posted by BobGed

Open the back and remove the battery.

I don't see anyplace to open that would hold a battery. Mind is a nighthawk X8.

[BobGed]

Originally Posted by rfg9585

I don't see anyplace to open that would hold a battery. Mind is a nighthawk X8.

Okay I was referring to the M1. Are you sure your X8 accepts a SIM card? Not all routers do.

[lllkrob]

Originally Posted by rfg9585

I don't see anyplace to open that would hold a battery. Mind is a nighthawk X8.

That router is not designed for sim cards. It can only be connected by a tethered cord connection to a modem device.

[rfg9585]

Thanks!

[docj]

I've never been really happy with my Visible connection, but I've been wiling to attribute most of my slow speed problems to my location and the inexpensive ZTE Prime A7 I've been using.

But today I put the SIM into an iPhone 11 Pro Max and connected the phone's Lightning port to an HDMI cable using an adapter I bought from Apple. iPhones are among the few that still provide HDMI output through a port.

The change has been dramatic. Using the tether avoids any hotspot speed limitations that may or may not still exist. I've been watching video for several hours now without even a momentary rebuffering pause. I would guess that the video quality is mostly 720p which is fine with me. Occasionally, it does drop to SD quality I know that my Visible connection through the hotspot would not have been stable enough to have done that.

I'm now a happy camper!

One interesting "geek" sidebar is that when I start a video stream it often seems to start as SD and then change to 720p after a couple of minutes. I can't prove anything, but my suspicion is that the change in resolution occurs after the phone and the tower negotiate the 4x4 MIMO and carrier aggregation settings.

Joel (AKA docj)

[PbdBlue]

Originally Posted by docj

I've never been really happy with my Visible connection, but I've been wiling to attribute most of my slow speed problems to my location and the inexpensive ZTE Prime A7 I've been using.

But today I put the SIM into an iPhone 11 Pro Max and connected the phone's Lightning port to an HDMI cable using an adapter I bought from Apple. iPhones are among the few that still provide HDMI output through a port.

The change has been dramatic. Using the tether avoids any hotspot speed limitations that may or may not still exist. I've been watching video for several hours now without even a momentary rebuffering pause. I would guess that the video quality is mostly 720p which is fine with me. Occasionally, it does drop to SD quality I know that my Visible connection through the hotspot would not have been stable enough to have done that.

I'm now a happy camper!

One interesting "geek" sidebar is that when I start a video stream it often seems to start as SD and then change to 720p after a couple of minutes. I can't prove anything, but my suspicion is that the change in resolution occurs after the phone and the tower negotiate the 4x4 MIMO and carrier aggregation settings.

Joel (AKA docj)

So just to be clear is the performance due to the phone or the fact that you're not tethering or using it as a hotspot?

[CAMPER70]

I'm looking to replace my intro R2 phone. I'm looking at the Moto G Power as a replacememnt. Is anybody using the Moto G and what is your experience. I don't care for Apple products so please do not suggest one.

[docj]

Originally Posted by PbdBlue

So just to be clear is the performance due to the phone or the fact that you're not tethering or using it as a hotspot?

I think it is both. It's my understanding that the phone has Category 19 modem with 4x4 MIMO antennas. I think the ZTE I was using has a Cat 4 modem with, at most, 2x2 MIMO.

I'm unsure if Visible still has a hotspot speed limitation. I've seen statements that it no longer has one, but I rarely ever saw speeds suitable for streaming. Now I can stream without any problems.

Joel (AKA docj)

[tetranz]

Originally Posted by docj

I think it is both. It's my understanding that the phone has Category 19 modem with 4x4 MIMO antennas. I think the ZTE I was using has a Cat 4 modem with, at most, 2x2 MIMO.

I'm unsure if Visible still has a hotspot speed limitation. I've seen statements that it no longer has one, but I rarely ever saw speeds suitable for streaming. Now I can stream without any problems.

I think they officially announced that the speed cap was temporarily removed on phone but not hotspot but in practice it seems to be removed on hotspot too.

I often get 30 Mbps or more with USB tethering to an old iPhone on Visible. Streaming works well.

I tend to tether all day on an Android with a T-Mobile plan. I don't have big data needs for work. After hours for streaming TV etc I tend to switch to Visible to avoid getting too excessive on the T-Mobile plan. Latency is quite noticeable when clicking around on Visible which is why I don't use it for work but so far it works pretty good for me for streaming.

[Jakm]

[QUOTE=slabman;

(“I was unable to tether my iPhones after doing the IOS 14.xx update and the sales mgr. from iNet confirms Apple did something which made their router un-tetherable. I found the same problem with my wiFi Ranger. So my advice for anyone initiating this program is to go with an Android, which IS tetherable.”)


Looks like iPhone users who update to the IOS 14.1 are SOL for tethering for an unknown time. My Visible iPhone Se was working great through my Gl-net Slate until I did the update. Found this on an Apple community,

[url]https://discussions.apple.com/thread/251829006?page=1[/url]