Verizon's Visible unlimited data prepay service now as low as $25/mo

[Dutch_12078]

Visible has announced a "Party Pay" replacement for their customer referral program. Under the new setup, you can get up to three other people to join your "party" and you all save $5/mo per member. Each member gets their own account and their own service, and the members do not need to be connected to each other in any way. There is no contract, and if a member drops out, all that happens is the remaining members bills go up $5/mo until a replacement is found. This appears to be a nice way to save even more on an already low cost $40 "all in" phone plan with hotspot capability. If you've been thinking of getting a Visible account, now might be a good time to go for it.

https://www.visible.com/party-pay

And Technomadia's report:

https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/visible-introduces-party-pay-reducing-cost-of-unlimited-verizon-plan-to-as-low-as-25-month/

[Jimmy61]

Does this plan limit data if you use a cell phone as a hotspot?

[Dutch_12078]

4 hours ago, Jimmy61 said:

Does this plan limit data if you use a cell phone as a hotspot?

Visible doesn't limit the amount of data, but the TOS says the hotspot is limited to 5 Mbps. Since they eliminated the speed restriction for the phone data though, most of us have seen higher speeds on the hotspot as well. Will that last? Who knows...

Note that the hotspot only allows a single connection, but that connection can be any of the available WiFi routers that accept many more connections. I'm currently using my Visible phone with a Pepwave router that allows 256 connections.

[Bobbyb]

There is a long thread on IRV2 about visible. The OP is a tech guy. He has written a document that shows how to use a certain router. Very inexpensive. When using that router the speeds are not limited to 5 mpps.

[Dutch_12078]

It isn't the router that limits the speeds. Wired tethering versus WiFi hotspot tethering seems to make a difference though.

[Tom_M]

I have had Visible since June. I am using the Visible R2 phone and a router connected  to the hotspot. I am still getting full speed data even though Visible states that the hotspot speed is limited to 5Mb/s. Impossible to say if this will continue, but is nice while it lasts.

[Dutch_12078]

Tom, have you set up or joined a "party" yet to reduce your Visible bill? I found a thread on Reddit where people post party openings that anyone can join. 

https://www.reddit.com/r/VisiblePartyPay/

[Tom_M]

Thanks Dutch. I have not joined a Party. I think I'll try to round up some people I know first.

[Tom_M]

On second thought, I decided to jump on board. My next bill will be for $25. You never know when this Party Pay offer will end. Thanks again Dutch.

[Cianne]

3 hours ago, Dutch_12078 said:

Although only one device can be connected at any time, you can use a nano router which will allow up to 4 devices. I have two phones, a Kindle, and a computer with no problems.

[Tom_M]

Cianne, Did you just join the same Visible Party that I am in?

[Dutch_12078]

For those that are a bit leery of joining a party with unknown partners, the only information the other party members see is your first name, area code, and last 4 digits of your phone number. Someone would have to try the various exchange numbers in your area code until they got lucky if they attempted to contact you.

[Zulu]

Since Visible is a separate company, what do you do with your Verizon data plan?

[Dutch_12078]

When I'm satisfied the Visible plan is a good fit for us, I'll drop the $65 Verizon prepaid hotspot plan. Our AT&T Connected Car plan will likely become our primary carrier at that point, with Visible filling in the "holes".

[Zulu]

56 minutes ago, Dutch_12078 said:

When I'm satisfied the Visible plan is a good fit for us, I'll drop the $65 Verizon prepaid hotspot plan. Our AT&T Connected Car plan will likely become our primary carrier at that point, with Visible filling in the "holes".

So, if I'm understanding you, you currently have 2 Verizon plans, but you'll probably end up with just one Verizon plan -- the Visible one, right?

[Dutch_12078]

41 minutes ago, Zulu said:

So, if I'm understanding you, you currently have 2 Verizon plans, but you'll probably end up with just one Verizon plan -- the Visible one, right?

That's the plan... We'll save $40/month as long as Visible's "Party Pay" stays fully in effect.

[Technomadia]

The new Party Pay is super cool! Our bill actually dropped down to $5/month as we had 12 months of referral credits stacked up. 

That said, before considering Visible as a primary internet connection - do know there are some limitations besides the 5 Mbps mobile hotspot speed cap and 1 device limitation (this is not currently reliably enforced):

• Only includes Verizon's LTE native towers (no roam, no 3G)
• Higher ping times 
• Lower priority on the network

Aside from our coverage of Party Pay linked above (thanks - super appreciate our content being shared) - we also have a full free public review of Visible, including some head to head speed test results against other Verizon based plans:

http://www.rvmobileinternet.com/visible 

 - Cherie

[acampingwewillgo]

So I just sign up for this and looking for some "Party People" to Join..... Party name "RVNTime".....

[Dutch_12078]

You might want to check in at Reddit to find other party members.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VisiblePartyPay/

Edited December 6, 2019 by Dutch_12078

[Lou Schneider]

I just had an unbelievable "chat" with two different Visible representatives after missing 3 calls from my auto repair shop today.   The shop reported getting "out of service" messages instead of the call going through or getting routed to voicemail.

Both representatives confirmed this is normal behavior.  I even waited through the Chat queue a second time to see if I got the same answer because this seems so preposterous.

If the phone gets de-prioritized due to tower congestion Visible doesn't roll over incoming calls to voicemail, they just report the phone as unreachable.  Both representatives said the same thing happens if your phone is off or outside the coverage area. In other words, voicemail is only active while your phone is connected to an uncongested tower.

No notification is given about the missed calls, they just vanish into the ether.

I've never experienced this from any other cell carrier, and IMO  this is eliminates Visible as a viable provider.  They only provide service when they feel like it?   No thanks.  Maybe I'll keep it strictly as a backup hotspot, but at twice the cost of my AT&T Mobley I'm not sure it's worth the hassle.

Edited December 6, 2019 by Lou Schneider

[Dutch_12078]

That's good to know, Lou. I'm only using my Visible service for data, and at $25/mo with the Party Pay incentive, it works well as a backup to my AT&T Connected Car Plan. I have no intentions of using it for voice or text service other than as a temporary backup if one of our other phones fails. Even then I would likely only use it for WiFi calls.

Edited December 6, 2019 by Dutch_12078

[Lou Schneider]

Never mind ....

 

Edited December 6, 2019 by Lou Schneider

[Pappy Yokum]

On 12/5/2019 at 5:54 PM, Dutch_12078 said:

You might want to check in at Reddit to find other party members.

https://www.reddit.com/r/VisiblePartyPay/

 

NO need for *YOU*  to "round up" other party members!

Or - to try to keep your/a party  "organized".

Go to the above link - if party member drops out, a new one will join.

Your billing info is not shared with the other party members.

.