Cellular Service at the "Right" Price!

I switched my cell phone provider to Visible!

On Tuesday, September 28, 2021, I switched from Verizon prepaid to Visible because: The limitation on the hotspot useage is the only limiting item I've found on the plan. Even thought it's throttled to 5Mbps and limited to one device, that is still far more generous than other plans I've seen.

First Step to Sign-Up

Each of these buttons opens Visible's web site in a new tab and passes a "referral code" that saves you $20 on your first month. It also reduces the cost for one future month by $20 for the person named:

Bring Your Current Phone

• Click one of the button(s), above, then "Join with my phone".
• Then "Check Compatibility".
• Then "iOS" (Apple) or "Android".
• If iOS (Apple), they ask "Select phone model" and "Select your current carrier".
• If Android, enter the IMEI (Settings | About Phone is where I found mine).
• Answer "Is your phone paid off in full? AKA is it unlocked?"
• When you respond "Yes", you get "Order a SIM". I don't know what happens if you respond "No" to this question.
• Some funny icons appear. A popup "Your phone works with Visible" may appear, to which you reply "Okay".

Then you get to the order page.

Buy a New Phone

• Click one of the button(s), above, then "Join with a new phone".
• Shop for sub-$100 "generics" to the $1000+ phones.
• I didn't follow this path, but I assume you skip the "Check Compatibility" steps.

Then you get to the order page.

The Order Page

• This has probably changed since I last visited, since the page used to state a rate of $40 on the left then applied things on the right like the "party plan" discount, referral discounts, etc.
• The "Total due today" is $0 for the plan. If you order a new phone, my guess is you pay for it "today".
• Click "Continue" and "Create your account".

Respond to e-mail that asks to confirm your e-mail address. The SIM card will ship without confirming the e-mail address.

Here are some potential issues you may encounter if you pay for more than one phone line:

• You need a different e-mail address for each phone line.
• The account's name and address needs to match the name on the credit card.
  • Visible told me to use PayPal if I want to pay for multiple phone lines with one credit card, but have different account name for each.
  • Since I wanted to use a credit card, not PayPal, I had to use my name on several accounts.
    • I found I could capitalize a different letter in my first name on each account.
    • So, on the portal, I can glance at my name on the menu and confirm which phone line I'm viewing.
• Each phone line is billed separately. Your credit card statement will have one billing line for each phone line.
• If you bring your current phone number, you'll need information such as the account number, the passcode, and the billing ZIP-Code.

I ordered on Friday, the SIM card arrived Monday via FedEx. Because my Verizon prepaid just renewed on Sunday, I waited another 8 days before I actually downloaded the app and went through the "Activate" procedure, described below.

After You Receive the SIM Card

These notes are based on bringing your current phone and telephone number. If you purchase a new phone, your tasks are likely simplified.

• Download the Visible app, if you haven't already done so.
• Follow the instructions in the app.
• Click the "Activate" button or link in the app. In a short period of time*:
• You should receive an e-mail with the subject line like "Congrats, 123-456-7890 is now Visible!"
• You should receive an e-mail with the subject line "We got your payment."
• It's also possible to monitor the progress of the "port" by watching a couple items on the Visible web site/portal under (your name) then "Account"
  • In the "Overview" section will be your proposed charge for 30 days from now. Don't get upset if it says the wrong amount; that gets fixed later.
  • In the newly-added "Payment History" section, you'll see today's is what you expected for the first month.
• Once you know there's a charge on your account, swap your existing SIM card for the Visible SIM card.
• Retart your phone.

* A short period of time can be a few minutes (10 minutes in my case) or up to a few hours, depending on the accuracy of porting credentials entered during the order process, the co-operative level of your existing carrier (which is losing business), and other stuff. If the "port" takes more than a few minutes, you might contact your existing carrier and see if they will speed up things. If it's not them, check your credit card information.

Note: If you join Visible using one of the above "Referral" codes and set up your own for referrals, let me know the details and I"ll add your code to the list, above.

After You've Activated

You're not quite done! There are some things to do on the Visible portal. "Sign in" if you have not already done so.

• On the menu line, highlight your name, then choose "Account".
• "Overview" shows most details of your account. Don't get upset if you see the wrong amount. That gets fixed later.
• See if any discounts or promotions are available and take advantage of them, if appropriate.
• Still on the "Overview" tab, I assume you want to enable AutoPay.
• "Referrals" tab is where you see referral your code to let others join Visible for $20 off the first month and you get $20 off a future month When someone activates their phone line using your referral code, the "Bring a Friend credits" portion of this page shows the number of credits forthcoming to your account. In addition, the "Summary" tab reflects a $35.00 discount when it shows the planned charge for your next billing.

Summary

Briefly:

• Use the Visible web site/portal to sign up
  • Choose one of the buttons, above, to get your first month for a dicounted price.
• Receive your SIM card
• On your phone
  • Download the Visible app
  • Choose "Activate"
  • Change SIM cards
  • Restart your phone.
• Re-visit the Visible web site/portal:
  • Set up Autopay, if you like.
  • Utilize the "Referral code" to get a future (up to 12) month at a discount.
  • Oh, when your credit card expires and you need to enter the new date, you may have to delete the old one before adding. Be sure to add the new card to AutoPay (it doesn't happen automatically)!
• Remember to cancel your account with your old provider. Otherwise, they might keep billing you.

Enjoy unlimited Verizon service.

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I am an optimist. "A pessimist is a person who turns to the last page of a history book to see how it ends." (definition by Danny Stewart, circa 1980).

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