Visible cellular by Verizon $25 unlimited talk text and data.

[brokedown]

Their app is required to activate your phone, but is not required afterwards. You can uninstall the app after activating. You can swap the SIM to a different compatible device and use it without installing the app... BTW - Visible is the only phone service I know of where you can get service without proving your identity.

[john61ct]

Then you haven't been looking too hard, literally dozens out there.

Of course the payment trail is usually easy to trace.

And it takes very little geolocation / call usage etc metadata to uniquely identify anyone "of interest"

[john61ct]

great sub for Visible details
https://www.howardforums.com/forumdi...repaid-Visible

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by Sehnsucht

Been trying to get signed up for Visible for a couple of weeks. Don't expect any semblance of customer service. I tried to keep my old number - no dice. They dragged their feet so long that the offer I initially signed up under expired so I lost out on a free tablet and a $100 prepaid card. Then the new phone got lost in the mail but they still kept counting down the two weeks for me to return my old phone in spite of this. And you can't talk to a live person, just an AI via chat. So what you're getting for that low low monthly price is a further erosion of our basic humanity in the name of lean business operation for profit.

Oh, and BTW, those Visible branded phones like the R2 are Huawei devices which are the ones the federal government has banned because their firmware is Chinese spyware. Just FYI.

I wish I just had your customer service experience. The chat service is usually a 1 hour or more wait and they only have canned answers and the typical "I'm sorry you are having a bad experience" bs. VISIBLE - the phone company that doesn't believe in using phones.


About 6 months ago I tried to get the service, ordered a $500+ Samsung 9+ (wanted the high speed camera). They double billed me, then sent an email congratulating me on my choice blah, blah, then another email canceling my purchase because they couldn't verify my address. 6 plus hours of chat time later I finally figured out (they didn't figure it out) that they use Google maps to verify addresses instead of the US post office. I finally decided that I had enough and said bye.


Where I live pots, cellular, or Hughes satellite were the only choices.
Then they extended the fiber link down the highway to a terminal box less than a mile from my house. We already have copper that was put in a long time ago to take advantage of some kind of fed handout, so luckily I am one of the few within range of the fiber that could get 10-12 mbs speed from adsl??(the copper goes to a wifi router then to my laptop, etc). That's the fastest speed you can get unless you move into town, $45/mo, no telephone, just data.


I also have a $20/mo T-moble telephone only service, so $65/mo total which is more than the $55/mo T-Mobile 13 gig/mo unlimited highspeed, text, phone but still cheaper than the $70/mo 13 gig/mo unlimited highspeed, text, phone Verizon that I had before..

Just before xmass I decided to try Visible again so I could have service when I am out and about. $19 phone and $25 first month service, and Google could finally find my address. The app worked but the chat is still a nightmare. Sometimes I get no data at all, but the phone still works. When I get data it averages around 2mbs. I could make do with 2mbs as a out and about spare service if I could get it when I needed it, but that is questionable.

The chat graphics appearance changed but the wait time was still over an hour. I am not happy with Visible, but I will give it 1 more month before I terminate it.

Having chatted numerous times and read their boiler plate canned (cut & paste) responses that often don't even have any thing to do with what you wrote to them, I can see why you think that they are AI, BUT , it seems like AI would cut down the wait times.

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by brokedown

The R2 is a ZTE phone, that's just untrue.

Hillary and I both signed up with no issues and have referred several friends who also did fine.

The customer service is not an AI, it's a person you can chat with, or you cal call. We've done both. Amazon are the ones using an "AI" for level 1 customer service now.

I couldn't get a phone number from them. Have you got it? Would you share it?

[brokedown]

The way to talk to a rep on the phone is to ask them in chat to call you. There isn't a direct call-in method. The supervisor we spoke to was very friendly and I forget if she was from Georgia or Texas but it was one of those two.

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by brokedown

Their app is required to activate your phone, but is not required afterwards. You can uninstall the app after activating. You can swap the SIM to a different compatible device and use it without installing the app... BTW - Visible is the only phone service I know of where you can get service without proving your identity.

Evidently you haven't bought service from Walmart. or Target. or most any store

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by brokedown

The way to talk to a rep on the phone is to ask them in chat to call you. There isn't a direct call-in method. The supervisor we spoke to was very friendly and I forget if she was from Georgia or Texas but it was one of those two.

That's what I was told also, but you said " it's a person you can chat with, or you cal call. " which I thought meant that you called them

[brokedown]

Well I don't claim to know everything, but I can say that the services I've used prior to this all required photo ID to set up. Glad to hear there are more options.

PS - I just paid my $25 monthly bill using the Visible app. It takes longer to type in my password (they really need a save password or use fingerprint method) than to re-up the service for another month. I'll probably remove the app and just do it on their web site from now on, it doesn't have any other features.

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by brokedown

Well I don't claim to know everything, but I can say that the services I've used prior to this all required photo ID to set up. Glad to hear there are more options.

PS - I just paid my $25 monthly bill using the Visible app. It takes longer to type in my password (they really need a save password or use fingerprint method) than to re-up the service for another month. I'll probably remove the app and just do it on their web site from now on, it doesn't have any other features.

Auto pay is an option on the app.

[brokedown]

I'm a simple man, I like to decide when money comes out of my bank account,

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by brokedown

I'm a simple man, I like to decide when money comes out of my bank account,

but... if I auto pay all of my regular bills they will never know I died till my bank account runs dry...LOL... come to think of it, maybe that is not a good plan


It is 06:50.... past my bedtime, bye


Gotta quit editing my posts....

[brokedown]

Originally Posted by kidharris

but... if I auto pay all of my regular bills they will never know I died till my bank account runs dry...LOL


It is 06:30.... past my bedtime, bye

My GF has strict orders if I happen to die to immediately drain all my bank accounts.

[PNW_Steve]

Regarding support, my experience with the chat was dismal. Using FB messenger worked better for me.

I still have a spot open in my "party pay" group if anyone is interested.

[wrenchtech]

YI am using a company called Mint Mobile, which is a reseller of T-Mobile wireless. There are two things that I like about it. One is that I can buy my time in blocks of three months, six months, or 12 months to lower my monthly charges. The other thing that I like is that they have Wi-Fi calling, where the phone automatically switches over to an available Wi-Fi network whenever possible. Talk, text and data are all run through the Wi-Fi, which has allowed me to purchase a 3 GB data plan, which I purchased in a six month block for $20 a month. If I would’ve chosen a 12 month block I could’ve gotten my bill down to $15 a month. T-Mobile‘s coverage is very good around me and I spent so much time in range of good Wi-Fi that I never come close to depleting my 3 GB of data. When I travel across the hinterlands I am aware that T-Mobile‘s coverage is not the best. It’s not a problem for me though, because I have a mobile hotspot that runs on an AT&T plan that I got through Apple that gives me unlimited data for $30 per month.Because my Mint Mobile plan has Wi-Fi calling I can run all of its features through the AT&T hotspot. I like to travel with a tablet or a laptop as well, and the AT&T hotspot provides a wireless connection for those too. It costs me a total of $56 a month to run phone and the hotspot with unlimited data. I’m happy with that deal.

I just compared the two services, Visible Wireless and Mint mobile, by reading the reviews in the Apple App Store. There are a lot of people unhappy with Visual and plenty of very happy customers with Mint Mobile.

[kidharris]

Originally Posted by wrenchtech

YI am using a company called Mint Mobile, which is a reseller of T-Mobile wireless. There are two things that I like about it. One is that I can buy my time in blocks of three months, six months, or 12 months to lower my monthly charges. The other thing that I like is that they have Wi-Fi calling, where the phone automatically switches over to an available Wi-Fi network whenever possible. Talk, text and data are all run through the Wi-Fi, which has allowed me to purchase a 3 GB data plan, which I purchased in a six month block for $20 a month. If I would’ve chosen a 12 month block I could’ve gotten my bill down to $15 a month. T-Mobile‘s coverage is very good around me and I spent so much time in range of good Wi-Fi that I never come close to depleting my 3 GB of data. When I travel across the hinterlands I am aware that T-Mobile‘s coverage is not the best. It’s not a problem for me though, because I have a mobile hotspot that runs on an AT&T plan that I got through Apple that gives me unlimited data for $30 per month.Because my Mint Mobile plan has Wi-Fi calling I can run all of its features through the AT&T hotspot. I like to travel with a tablet or a laptop as well, and the AT&T hotspot provides a wireless connection for those too. It costs me a total of $56 a month to run phone and the hotspot with unlimited data. I’m happy with that deal.

I just compared the two services, Visible Wireless and Mint mobile, by reading the reviews in the Apple App Store. There are a lot of people unhappy with Visual and plenty of very happy customers with Mint Mobile.

How does the AT&T coverage work out? Do you run into dead spots in the sticks or on the highway? Is the AT&T a legacy system or is it still offered By AT&T? Speed?

[wrenchtech]

AT&T seems to be just about everywhere I go. In remote western Colorado, as long as I was on a highway.

[wrenchtech]

I just ran Spectrum Internet’s free Internet speed test, which I have used pretty frequently, and which seems fairly reliable. I am out at a farm at the moment, where Internet reception can be hit or miss, and I just 24 gbps download and 4.5 upload. Fairly respectable I would say. In the nearest town, I have done test where I’ve gotten as much is 45 gbps download speed. This is on my $30 a month AT&T unlimited data hotspot plan. Last summer when I was in Colorado searching for a vehicle to buy I used 115 GB of data searching FB Marketplace and Craigslist, plus using the connection for navigation and live weather radar. If my data connection was throttled at any point, I didn’t notice it.

[john61ct]

Yes ATT is fantastic for coverage, in many places VZW doesn't get.

Overall for rural USA they are neck and neck, but bandwidth / congestion is the deciding factor for a given urban area.

I find T-Mobile great, but of course not close to those two for full rural coverage.

They put in a tower behind my house, but few other people use it, so I get much higher bandwidth from my cell at home than from my cable provider!

Best strategy traveling is multiple network hotspots and Wifi calling for your main number.