What's the catch with visible?

[Anonymous]

There has to be a catch with visible plus because why else would I continue paying Verizon over $200 a month for cell service when I can switch to visible plus for $35 a month per line which would be under 70 for us.

We do use unlimited data quite frequently and travel both nationally and internationally though not on a regular basis. It looks like they use the same service as Verizon and we can even get new phones since we both desperately need them. What am I missing here?

[Anonymous]

I’ve been on Visible for 2 years. Works fine.

[Anonymous]

I plan to switch. On Mint now which is TMobile. But it has less coverage and I plan to travel more

[Anonymous]

So Verizon is selling the same service for $80 cheaper per line? That doesn't seem like a smart business move

[Anonymous]

The catch is visible. Doesn't work with anything Android. Is that correct. So you pretty much need to convert everything to Apple for it to be 100% functional. For example, my Samsung smartwatch will not work with visible

[Anonymous]

You're simply paying more than you need to. There are a lot of discount plans like Visible (https://www.nerdwallet.com/p/best/finance/cell-phone-plans) that provide the same service for less. Spend a little time and you can find one that will save you thousands of dollars over the next few years.

I use Google Fi ($25 per line, with the option to switch to the international plan for $40 per line when we travel), but there are others that might suit your needs better, but still at a much lower price.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There has to be a catch with visible plus because why else would I continue paying Verizon over $200 a month for cell service when I can switch to visible plus for $35 a month per line which would be under 70 for us.

We do use unlimited data quite frequently and travel both nationally and internationally though not on a regular basis. It looks like they use the same service as Verizon and we can even get new phones since we both desperately need them. What am I missing here?

Lower priority for bandwidth. Apparently coverage is poor in densely populated areas at peak times. If that's not your usage pattern, Visible should be fine. They often have deals that make their plans even cheaper..

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The catch is visible. Doesn't work with anything Android. Is that correct. So you pretty much need to convert everything to Apple for it to be 100% functional. For example, my Samsung smartwatch will not work with visible

This is not true. I have an Android phone and have had Visible for a couple years.

I had some issues receiving and sending texts the first couple months, although calls and internet were fine. That has since cleared up.

My husband switched to Mint for some reason I can't remember and has had equally good service with that. Also an Android user.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has to be a catch with visible plus because why else would I continue paying Verizon over $200 a month for cell service when I can switch to visible plus for $35 a month per line which would be under 70 for us.

We do use unlimited data quite frequently and travel both nationally and internationally though not on a regular basis. It looks like they use the same service as Verizon and we can even get new phones since we both desperately need them. What am I missing here?

Lower priority for bandwidth. Apparently coverage is poor in densely populated areas at peak times. If that's not your usage pattern, Visible should be fine. They often have deals that make their plans even cheaper..

I was nervous about this but haven't experienced issues with it. OTOH I haven't had to RTO in DC rush hour yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There has to be a catch with visible plus because why else would I continue paying Verizon over $200 a month for cell service when I can switch to visible plus for $35 a month per line which would be under 70 for us.

We do use unlimited data quite frequently and travel both nationally and internationally though not on a regular basis. It looks like they use the same service as Verizon and we can even get new phones since we both desperately need them. What am I missing here?

Lower priority for bandwidth. Apparently coverage is poor in densely populated areas at peak times. If that's not your usage pattern, Visible should be fine. They often have deals that make their plans even cheaper..

I was nervous about this but haven't experienced issues with it. OTOH I haven't had to RTO in DC rush hour yet.

I have ATT (direct) and spouse has Verizon (direct). post paid plans. When we went to a football game at Michigan stadium, neither of us had coverage. So crowds affect every service..

[Anonymous]

Google the service that you want to use and "QCI level" to see if it is deprioritized and by how much. Lower numbers are better. Most consumer services are in the 7-9 range. As noted above, this won't make a difference if the tower to which you are connected is not busy. When said tower is busy, subscribers with lower QCI levels (=higher priority) will receive priority.

Different prepaid services work at different QCI levels. The whole basis of that business model is re-selling of excess capacity (which exists most of the time). When there is no excess capacity, prepaid subscribers get screwed to varying degrees. This is distinct from "coverage," which is the same for prepaid and postpaid subscribers to a given network operator (Tmobile, Verizon, ATT). When a given tower is busy, you will have "coverage," but might not have "service" (or said service might not be good).

Deprioritized service might be fine for you, but it is important to understand why the prices for that service are lower.

[Anonymous]

I have had Visible for several years and am very happy with the service. I noticed the throttling of data when it was using 4G-LTE but it has been fast and trouble free since the transition to 5G.

Does anyone see these slowdowns in 2025?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There has to be a catch with visible plus because why else would I continue paying Verizon over $200 a month for cell service when I can switch to visible plus for $35 a month per line which would be under 70 for us.

We do use unlimited data quite frequently and travel both nationally and internationally though not on a regular basis. It looks like they use the same service as Verizon and we can even get new phones since we both desperately need them. What am I missing here?

We have Verizon direct and pay $30/line for unlimited welcome with autopay. We have 6 lines which helps a lot, any parents or siblings (we pay for parents).

Signing up for Unlimited Welcome was not obvious; they default you into a plan with “perks” that usually cost about $15 more.