"Visible"comes into Focus

[112059]

@bingyee

I'm aware of several ostensibly incompatible phones that actually work fully on Visible's current network. For example, if you run the Visible's IMEI checker on my Galaxy S7 Verizon (SM-G930V), it will say that it's not compatible. But I know it works because I have one and have used it recently on Visible. Also, I distinctly recall that with Visible's old network, my S7 could only get data, but on the new network, the phone works fully.

This is also true of the Galaxy S5 (Verizon) - it also works on calls/text/data, although with the data it won't let me do hotspot or USB tethering.

I'm happy to see some older phones also work. If I upgrade I might try my Moto G6 that wouldn't work with Visible before.

[112059]

@bingyee

I have a hunch that the G Power 2021 will work on the new network even though the Visible checker says it won't. Run the Verizon's IMEI checker to see if the phone will work on the mothership network. If Verizon says it's compatible, it should work on Visible upgraded network.

If you have an old incompatible phone and a spare number lying around, you could also do a self-referring swap order. You can activate service on the swap phone, which will be on the upgraded network, and then use the SIM from the swap phone to see if it will work on the G Power 2021. Make sure you change the APN to VZWINTERNET.
This pays for itself because you get $20 off on both ends with the referral.

Thanks for all the help, I did upgrade to the new network and both the Moto G Power 2021 and my old Moto G6 work using data, calls in/out, and texts in/out.

[bingyee]

I think Visible is essentially discontinuing service on their old server (i.e. pre- circa Oct. 22). I still have one dormant line activated just before that. I was just logging into that account to see if Visible had permanently deleted the line. They had not, but I see this pop--up:

After your next payment, you must upgrade to our new network to continue your Visible service.

Your manual payment can be made within 7 days of your due date, Jun 30, 2023, and will cover your next month of service. You’ll need to complete your network upgrade to make future payments and continue service beyond that month.

(Note - this is one of the lines I've been able to put in a sort of purgatory by putting the SIM into a blacklisted iPhone).

[Redrotors]

Visible disables auto-pay to encourage confusing plan switch
https://9to5google.com/2023/06/22/visible-auto-pay-switch/

[bingyee]

I think I figured out some technical aspects on how Visible tries its best to enforce the one hotspot restriction on IOS devices. Apparently, this restriction is only applicable to devices running IOS 15.5 or later. With devices running lesser IOS, you can continue to hotspot to multiple devices.

Click on this link
Firmware/iPhone/15.x - The iPhone Wiki

You can see that for IOS 15, Apple changed the baseband beginning with IOS 15.5. Evidently, the hotspot functionality must be controlled by some coding in the baseband. Visible (Verzon) must have insisted on Apple that it change the coding to enforce Visible's 1-device hotspot limit.

It's also not a coincidence that Visible has had a policy for about a year that only allows you to activate a Visible plan on a device running IOS 15.5 or later. This is done via Apple's app store. If you try to download the Visible app on a device running lower than 15.5, the app version is an outdated one that does not work. This is how Visible encourages you to only use IOS devices with the latest IOS, or at least 15.5. If you only have one device, you are out of luck.

Visible's methodology is not fool-proof, however, if you have access to two IOS devices, one running IOS 15.5 or higher and one running below IOS 15.5. All you have to do is activate the plan on the device running on 15.5 or higher, using Visible's most up-to-date version of the Visible app, and then transfer the SIM to the other device. This is what I do. I activate Visible on my work phone (work forces me to update IOS ASAP, otherwise I lose functionality). Once that's done, I transfer the SIM to my personal device, currently a 2nd gen SE running IOS 14.4.2 (personal line on eSIM, data line on Visible pSIM).

So, if you want to ensure that you have an IOS device that can do multiple hot-spotting, you need to be extra vigilant in ensuring installation on your IOS 15.4 or less device the TVOS beta profile IOS update blocker.

[bingyee]

Visible finally killed the swap program. In its place, they now have a payback program where you get bill credits in the course of a year for their cheap phones.

[Diedrich_Duo]

Too bad they discontinued the swap option, but it's no surprise given how many people abused the system. It was never intended to be used over and over again by the same people. As one of our distinguished Nth Circlers has posted in the past, "This is why we can't have nice things."

[SeanW]

I believe that Visible is the absolute best overall value in the entire mobile/data provider universe (if value is defined by what you get, divided by price paid)
I hope it never goes away because of user abuse.
And Visible hasn't stopped their swap program , they are still giving a free phone, but via monthly cell phone bill credits, which is quite reasonable.

[MobileGuru]

@Diedrich_Duo

It was never intended to be used over and over again by the same people.

Visible is owned by Verizon so there is a chance that they let that happen on purpose, maybe to be disruptive to competitors.

Also a chance that they simply didn't manage it properly because they are a bit incompetent from a management perspective while having the cover of Verizon's deep pockets.

@SeanW

I hope it never goes away because of user abuse.

I doubt Visible would go away seeing they are owned by Verizon.

[bingyee]

I'm firmly in the camp that thinks this was poorly conceived and implemented, because Visible did do one significant correction along the way to try to limit the abuse - they started requiring a number to be ported in rather than letting you just get a new number. Beyond that, I think there were some other things that Visible could have done differently.

1. 60-day unlocking policy should have been strictly applied - Although Visible's stated policy was that phones unlock only after 60 days following activation, this was not true in practice. All of their swap phones were unlocked out of the box.

A few of their swap phones, such as the TCL 30 LE and the Visible Midnight, had OS modifications so you couldn't manually change the APN. However, this was only effective in making the phones unworkable on AT&T, because on T-Mobile, the APN autoloads when you put in one of their SIMs.

2. Customers should have been made to pay upfront the full cost of the phone, after which they get that price back as a credit only upon acceptance of your "trade-in" phone - Visible allowed you to only have to pay the price of your first month of service; the price of the new swap phone was $0 up front. Instead of doing that, they should have made customers pay full cost up front, and then given a credit back upon verification that you had sent in a valid trade-in. This is essentially how the Google Store and Samsung run their trade-ins. If Visible had done this, they would have avoided all those bad faith customers who never even bothered sending in their old phone, while ordering using a one-time Privacy.com account with a lifetime spending limit of $10 to ensure that attempts to recoup new phone's full cost would not succeed.

3. Clearer guidelines and enforcement of what swap phones were acceptable - Another point of abuse was that just about any piece of junk could be accepted as a swap phone. Cracked/non-working screen - no problem. iCloud/FRP locked - no problem. No battery/doesn't power on - no problem. Bad IMEI - no problem. IMEI doesn't match what you gave Visible at the time of order - also no problem. Visible really should have insisted that whatever was traded in in was a phone in good working order.

4. Referral discount should not have been stackable with a swap. By allowing you to do a referral on a swap order, you could literally get a month of service and a new phone for the price of $5 plus swapping in a piece of junk. This could be done indefinitely, as along as you had access to phone numbers to port in and sufficient numbers of junk phones.

[SeanW]

ADWEEK September 21, 2023

Angie Klein, president of Verizon Value, is a seasoned executive with more than two decades of experience at Verizon, spearheading key initiatives such as Fios and Mix & Match. She masterminded the award-winning Verizon Up loyalty program and has been the driving force behind Verizon’s Visible.

Verizon's Marketing Evolution, From Landlines to 5G

[bingyee]

Visible's swap program lives on in part, possibly, thru 12/5/23.

This afternoon, I was just browsing around their site, and I eventually wound up getting to the page with the headline: "Get at least $100 for your trade-in." I was intrigued and I started plugging in some scenarios. While it seems that this program will only work for phones listed on Visible's drop-downs, you theoretically can get a pretty good deal. For example, a fully functional and undamaged iPhone 5 (eBay value of ~$25) qualifies for the $100 trade-in value. That $100 would mostly pay for a TCL LE 30 ($99 + tax), which used to be offered as a swap phone.

[Edit 12/1]: I placed an order for a TCL LE 30 on one of my existing accounts. Apparently, Visible let's you do that. My trade-in will be a good condition HTC One M7 (Verizon). It has to be sent to Assurant, and I get 3 weeks to do that. Will update everyone on the progress, especially if I have problems getting my $100 credit.

---

Here are the T&Cs

Minimum $100 value for any trade-in device in good and working condition.

1Receive your estimate. Answer a few quick questions and get your trade-in estimate on the spot.

2Find your new phone. Browse our shop and pick your new phone.

3Return your device. Print the return label, prep your device and ship it within 21 days of placing your order.

4Get paid. Once your phone has been verified, you'll be issued a credit.

Offer disclosure: Offer ends [now extended to 12.31.2023]; subject to change.

For a limited time, new and existing members will receive a minimum $100 trade-in credit when they trade in a device in good and working condition and purchase a new device through Visible.com.

Good and working condition: The phone will turn on and stay on, there isn't any kind of liquid damage, the phone is free of major physical damage, the screen is functional and is free of cracks and damages. If the device is not returned in the condition stated or we don’t receive the expected device make/model tied to your estimate, your trade-in value may change.

How to trade in your device

1Get your trade-in estimate. Answer a few quick questions about your device and receive a trade-in estimate on the spot.

2Find your new phone. Browse the Visible store to choose the new or pre-owned phone you want, then make your purchase through Visible to qualify for trade-in. Finance options are available.

3Send in your old phone. Print your return label, make sure phone's securely packaged with location finder turned off and SIM removed, and ship it out within 21 days of placing your order. You will receive your final trade-in value once phone has been evaluated and its condition has been verified.

4Get paid. Your credit will be applied to the payment method you used to purchase your phone. If we can't credit that payment method for any reason, you’ll receive a pre-paid gift card in the amount of your credit. Either way, you get paid!

Void where prohibited, taxed, or otherwise restricted. Limited time offer. Visible reserves the right to change or terminate this offer at any time, with or without notice, including for any violation of Visible’s terms of service. If Visible, in its sole discretion, determines that a member has engaged in abuse, misuse, or gaming in connection with this offer, or that the member intends to do so, Visible reserves the right to disqualify the member from this promotion at any time. Visible Trade-in Program Terms and Conditions apply.

[bingyee]

I had two trade-ins process successfully this morning. First one was an HTC One M7 that I mentioned in my prior post. The second one was a Samsung Galaxy S5 that had a defect - part of the screen was unresponsive.

I also did a chat with Visible CS support and they clarified that cracked screens are not a disqualifier for the lower end $100 value phones. (I asked about the 5s specifically because what I'll do is swap out a good screen for a cracked one and then save the good screen as a spare for one of my 1st gen SEs.)

Me: Let me give you an example
Agent: sure, I am here with you to help you out.
Me: I have an iphone 5s with a cracked screen but the body has no major damage, it turns on, and there is no water damage
so I would check the first 3 but not the 4th of those criteria
when I do that, the system says that my 5s would qualify for $100 trade in credit
I just want to make sure that in this case, Assurant won't categorize the crack on the screen as "major physical damage", which would disqualify me
Agent : please be rest assured! you can proceed with the trade-in. Select the 4th one as your screen is cracked.
Me: ok that's the clarification that I need[/quote]

PS: one advantage of the trade-in program over the swap program is that you don't have to port in a number

[Redrotors]

Curious to know what you think of the new phone(s).

[bingyee]

The main thing I cared about is that the new phones are more functional and marketable than the ones I traded in. The main drawback is that the TCL isn't on AT&T's whitelist.

[bingyee]

Trade-ins are allowed for Visible's pre-owned iPhones. I just placed another order for a new line with the purchase of an iPhone SE 2. Including sales tax, after Assurant processes the trade-in, I'll wind up paying a tad under $50 for the phone.

The SE 2 goes in and out of stock. I jumped on it when Visible restocked. I had to settle for a red one.

Also, while I did this order with a port-in (gotta get rid of a line on Xfinity), new line and phone purchases with trade-ins can be done with a request for a completely new number.

[bingyee]

Something must have changed recently on the Visible network. When I operate a Visible line on an IOS device running an IOS version earlier than 15.5, the carrier denotation at the top left shows Verizon, not Visible. I initially thought in late March that this was an error with transferring a line from pSIM to eSIM on an iPhone SE gen 2 running IOS 14.4.2, but I've noticed that this is consistently happening now with pSIM on my other devices running IOS 15.0.2, 14.1, 13.6.1, and 11.4.1. However, my work iPhone 13 running 17.4 and my wife's SE gen 3 running 16.2 are showing "Visible."