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Visible phone service on Verizon network
Well, I continue exploring options for coming further into the 21st century  ::) , & saw this on a recent news broadcast from a Kansas City station.  I found additional info on CNET: What is Verizon Visible and is it a good deal? - CNET

I first dumped the ATT landline in 2014, after reading  on the old Yahoo forum about Walmart's Straight Talk Home Phone, which utilized the Verizon network for $15/month.  I found an adaptor that happily plugged into a 12v socket in the LD & was very satisfied.  Then came a discussion about the ATT Rural Home Phone & 250 Gigs of Internet for $60/month on the forum.  My ISP had dropped the $30/month service & jumped to a new-&-improved $70-ish plan (so I was going to the library) & the ATT plan was cheaper than the local cable company's combined phone & internet (which would not have been mobile like either the Straight Talk or ATT).  Though I've been unable to find a 12v adaptor, so must plug the ATT router into the LD inverter, it's worked quite well & the ATT coverage has been as good for me as I'd had with the Straight Talk on the Verizon network.

I'm perfectly happy with the dinosaur phone (the granddaughters think it's a hoot to push the buttons--no "old-fashioned" rotary dial for me  ;)--& put the receiver up to their ears when I visit), & the internet is plenty; I'm not really thinking about dropping the ATT plan, but I do think I'd enjoy the point & shoot camera capability/taking screenshots of documents as needed/additional addictive things I see folks do with cell phones (Ultimate Campground app/maps/GPS/etc.)...

So, I'd love to hear pros/cons, has anyone here used Visible, general thoughts, etc.  Also, since I don't currently have a cell phone, I would need to procure one.  I don't see a need for a brand new/top-of-the-line XYZ, & I've read about re-furbished iPhones (just as I'm satisfied with the re-furbished MacBook Pro I'm currently using), so would also appreciate thoughts on what/where to procure a phone, should I decide to make this leap.

Thx, & looking forward to a robust discussion (or at least as good as some of the coffee threads  ;D )

Lynne
Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #1 –
My advice is always worth what ya pay for it ...... with that in mind.....

Shop for the cell phone and cell service separately.   The two are different items.     Cell service providers are the worst misleaders in the USA.  If they (cell service providers) tell you the sun is shinning at 12 noon you need to go outside to check.  They have their own meaning  of words that don't conform to the meanings in any dictionary we humans use.    Cell phones companies are a tad better but its is a buyer beware war going on. 

This is a very good article from CR
Best Cell Phone & Service Reviews – Consumer Reports

I have my personal favs but I live in a different part of the USA and have a different use case.     <smile> Its like buying a RV, only you know what you need.    Don't have a heart attack on cell prices.  There are a ton of good cell phones in the mid price range.   Again it depends on what is more important  -- maps or photos or email or whatever.   


glen

PS if you can't get the link above I'll screen shot if for ya. 

personal fine art photo stuff
TF Mack | Flickr
It's all good .......
2014 Twin King
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #2 –
Thx, Glen.

I do use CR at the library, but since I'm not a member I've got no password to open the article in the link beyond the headings, so I'll go there to check out the hard copy.  I certainly understand  your caveats about buyer beware, individual priorities, & YMMV regarding both hardware & service plans...there's something to be said for Henry Ford's notion that his early customers could get any color the wanted--as long as it was black  ;D  vs. modern information overload.

I've been remarkably surprised (pleasantly so) with my experiences with the Straight Talk Home Phone & the ATT Rural Home Phone & Internet, which are on the respective cell networks.  Personally, my ideal scenario would be to be able to simply add a mobile phone or tablet to what I've got now--one number for the dino phone & a mobile, just as folks can access service across multiple platforms (mobile/tablet/computer/TV) on the same account...but that wouldn't fit the business model of getting people to buy more stuff.

Lynne
Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #3 –
I checked out Verizon Visible just last week.
It depends on what you do on your phones/devices.
Download speeds are very, very slow - they state the speed, it is crawling level and many things just can't be done on it.

If you are only doing phone calls and texts you are fine.
I am not sure if simple emails would work on this (might, might not).

If you are sending pictures (via text or sharing them to the internet) or loading simple web pages  (e.g. not the typically more complicated more typically web sites), or using Apps, you may struggle to do that (or not be able to do it at all).

You will not be able to stream/download videos or video chat with people (skype, facetime, etc.).

We tried out Verizon recently and their throttle of the hotspot, though stated to be 3G speeds/a stated MB speed - I think 110mb, really was much much lower.  We struggled to load the fairly simple google web page (took 5 min if it did fully load, sometimes it didn't, this is a little text, one pictures, one text field to enter your search words).  The more complicated Verizon Wireless webpage, which more closely matches typical web pages, never got loaded.

So it depends on what you are doing.
Jane
Jane & Scott
Currently have a 1989 TK  LD we did a lot of upgrades on.
Bigfoot 25RQ Twin on order with early summer 2024 ETA

Our smartphone autocorrects into very poor English.
 We disclaim the illusion of ignorance this creates as we have enough ignorance we rightly claim.
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #4 –
Thx, Jane, for sharing your experience. 

Given that I'm satisfied with the ATT Rural Home Phone & Internet for general phone/internet (& that it is mobile with the LD, even if I can't put it in my pocket), I was thinking of Visible as an adjunct (photos/maps/apps/gps/etc.), & $40/no contract/no data cap seemed somewhat appealing (I might even learn to text  ::) ), but this doesn't seem like much of an upgrade from what I've got.

Lynne
Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #5 –
Lynn, I tried a Verizon hotspot recently and they throttle it down very low in our area (this can vary but there are a lot of complaints from all over the US on an unusable throttle speed so we seem to be the norm).  I also could not do any apps.  I edited my original reply to include that Apps were a maybe/maybe not.
Jane
Jane & Scott
Currently have a 1989 TK  LD we did a lot of upgrades on.
Bigfoot 25RQ Twin on order with early summer 2024 ETA

Our smartphone autocorrects into very poor English.
 We disclaim the illusion of ignorance this creates as we have enough ignorance we rightly claim.
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #6 –
I have a Verizon mobile hotspot (with an unlimited data plan for $70 that is not anymore available) since a couple of months. I tried it extensively in my house - and after two months I was so satisfied that I cancelled my cable Internet service.

Cable Internet service is, of course, faster and more reliable, mobile hotspot Internet service is, of course, not as reliable and at times slow. However, it was alway good enough for normal browsing and downloading (even movie files), and it was also always good enough for streaming Amazon Prime, or HBO, or Netflix in 720p quality. I have to add that my house is not in a very good location for data over cell - at my house I had rarely more than 30 Mbps download speed, but when I went with the hotspot an my iPad to the highway I got up to 90 Mbps.

Right now I'm at 11,000 feet at the Little Molas Lake Campground in Colorado (off Hwy 550), have 3 bars on the hotspot and 10 Mbps download and 1.5 Mbps upload speed. That is all I need.

I was also considering Visible but decided against it because it is explicitly meant for phones and not for mobile hotspots (although I read somewhere that it worked that way, too). Moreover, my previous experiences with using a phone as hotspot were always mixed at best.

I'm writing this because I think Visible is worth a try - even given that it is basically Verizon and Verizon and the likes do sometimes strange things. In the last four or five months it worked very well for my to have Verizon as my only Internet service provider.

Apart from that: this are just my five cents; others may have very different experiences.

Klaus
2001 26.5 Mid-Bath
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #7 –
The best place to research mobile Internet options is

Mobile Internet Resource Center - Mobile Internet Resource Center

Yes, they charge an annual membership fee for deeper content.  I have found it worth it.

They do review Visible.  A couple of things of note, you will be throttled to a  max of 5 mbps down in hotspot mode.  It also supports only 1 connection to hotspot (so you'd need to first tether to a router if you need to support more than 1 device).

There is also a fair amount of activity on Reddit (there's a Visible sub-Reddit).  At the moment, Visible has lifted the hotspot speed caps, but reports are they will be back in force in a few weeks (and no grandfathering)  Visible is a small company and customer support is reported to be fairly weak.  Visible is also considered a VZW pre-paid plan, and as such will always have low priority/be subject to network management more stringently than regular post-paid Verizon.
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #8 –
Quote from: Michelle C  - 
Visible is a small company...
Visible is not at all a small company but Verizon itself, selling a prepaid plan under a different name. An interesting article about Visible and their plan can be found here: What is Verizon Visible and is it a good deal? - CNET.

To be clear: When paying $40 a month for unlimited data you get, of course, in one way or another less than when paying $150. This should go without saying. On the other hand: 5 Mbps download speed is more than enough for streaming video in 1080p quality. For me that would be enough, but that can be, of course, different for others.

Quote from: Michelle C  - 
It also supports only 1 connection to hotspot (so you'd need to first tether to a router if you need to support more than 1 device).

That is correct and was a main reason for me not to go with Visible. I also experimented with tethering a router to a phone (or a mobile hotspot). It's possible but turned out to be a pain in the butt and not very reliable. Not a good idea, in my opinion, if you want to have several devices online for longer times without problems.

Klaus
2001 26.5 Mid-Bath
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #9 –
Klaus
Quote from: Klaus  - 
5 Mbps download speed is more than enough for streaming video in 1080p quality.

Klaus, I am surprised you can stream videos with 5 mbps.  I typically want 20 mbps for that, but then I admit I am typically doing other things on the computer at the same time as streaming.
But the data supports what you say What internet speed you need...

Hmm, I wonder if I could throttle my connection down to test this  :D
I found this link that throttles:  Throttle your internet speed using Chrome

I was able to throttle down to 2gb and stream fine (just grabbed a show on CBS.com to test with). 

Jane
Jane & Scott
Currently have a 1989 TK  LD we did a lot of upgrades on.
Bigfoot 25RQ Twin on order with early summer 2024 ETA

Our smartphone autocorrects into very poor English.
 We disclaim the illusion of ignorance this creates as we have enough ignorance we rightly claim.
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #10 –
Quote from: Klaus  - 
Visible is not at all a small company but Verizon itself, selling a prepaid plan under a different name.

Klaus,

Yes, Verizon owns Visible, but if you read the sub-Reddit, it appears Visible is run as a separate entity under the big red checkmark with some customer-response issues due to their size.

What's going on at Visible? : Visible
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #11 –
Lynne, I have Republic. I live in an area with no cell service and no land line. The Republic is used over my Hughes Internet Service. It is better than no phone but does have a lag on the line, and sometimes garbled. Most of the time it is just like a land line with a delay. I use a Verizon jet pac on the road which works great. I don't watch  movies or do any gaming. My cost is about $30/m. Works for me. I have low tech skills. Love that you still have the push button phone! Sharon
2005 RK
 
Re: Visible phone service on Verizon network
Reply #12 –
Hi, Sharon--

RE; "...low tech skills..."  I'm not a complete Luddite, but consider myself marginally technoliterate, & just haven't expended a lot of energy on this, hence my questions & appreciation of the discussions on this site.

I've gotten mailers for Hughesnet, but have been very satisfied with the ATT Rural Home Phone & Internet, & that I can take it in the LD (my understanding is that Hughesnet is tethered to a specific location).

RE: "...Love that you still have the push button phone! "  There's still a rotary-dial phone Dad moved from their previous house & wired into the garage when they built this one in "88...it worked fine 'til I dropped the ATT hardwired landline to switch to the Walmart Straight Talk Home Phone (technically on the Verizon network), which is touchtone-only like the system I have now.  I must admit there's a certain perverse pleasure in being a bit of a dinosaur  :-* .

Lynne
Lynne
LDy Lulubelle, Green '05 31' TB
Lilly, the 4-Legged Alarm