Visible Review: 5 Things To Know Before You Sign Up

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Visible is a cell phone provider that offers access to Verizon’s network for as low as $25 per month. You can even try out Visible free for 15 days with an eligible and compatible phone.

For this Visible review, I tested Visible for 30 days to try out the service myself. I’ve also compared its plans to more than 70 other phone plans to see how Visible measures up.

In this article, I’ll take a close look at Visible’s plans and pricing. I’ll also fill you in on how to get started and what to expect from Visible’s service.

This article was updated in February 2024 and I review it every six months. Detailed notes on all updates can be found here.

What To Know Before Signing Up for Visible

Visible is a wireless carrier that runs on Verizon’s network. As of February 2024, Visible offers two plans. They’re both unlimited plans and begin as low as $25 per month.

Previously, Visible offered only one $40 unlimited plan. When I tested Visible, this was the only plan available. However, like Visible’s two new options, the original plan was also unlimited. I switched to Visible to try out the carrier’s plan myself. For 30 days, I used Visible for phone calls, text messages and browsing the web. 

I had a great experience with Visible during the month that I tested it. I didn’t experience any dropped calls, undelivered texts or data overage caps. However, speeds were slower than some other phone plans I’ve tested.

Table of Contents:

Below, you’ll find more information about Visible including what to expect from its cell phone plan, how to check coverage in your area and how to make the switch. 

Plans and Pricing

Visible offers two phone plans: Visible and Visible+.

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The Visible plan includes unlimited talk, text and data on Verizon’s network. With this plan, there is no high-speed data limit; however, typical download speeds are expected to be between 9-56Mbps. You will also have access to 5G data if your device has 5G capability.

The plan also includes unlimited data sharing via mobile hotspot, but speeds are capped at 5Mbps. Calling and texting to Canada and Mexico are also included in Visible’s plan. 

Visible’s most affordable plan costs $25 per month for one line with taxes and fees included. Visible also offers a premium plan, called Visible+, that’s $45 per month for a single line.

With the Visible+ plan, you’ll get everything included with the original Visible plan plus the following extras:

  • Access to 5G Ultra Wideband
  • 50GB of Premium Network Experience
  • Unlimited talk, text and data roaming in Mexico and Canada
  • International calling from US to 30+ countries
  • International texting from US to 200+ countries

According to Visible’s website, 5G Ultra Wideband is Verizon’s highest-performing 5G. It uses a different spectrum to deliver a top-of-the-line 5G experience and provides speeds up to 10x faster than 4G LTE. So you can expect access to faster 5G speeds with Visible+.

“Premium Network Experience” for Visible+ ensures faster speeds by providing 50GB of premium data every month on 5G Nationwide & 4G LTE. After 50GB, when the network is experiencing heavy traffic, your smartphone and hotspot data may be temporarily slowed.

No matter which plan you choose, you can always lower your bill by using a referral code. The referral code allows both you and a friend to get $20 off a future monthly bill. To find a referral code for your first month, visit Visible’s Savings Spot forum. There, you’ll find hundreds of referral codes. You can find more information on referring a friend on Visible’s website.

If you decide that you want to try out Visible’s plan, you may be able to do it free for 15 days.

Activation Process

Once you decide to join Visible, you’ll need an account and a SIM card. You can visit Visible’s website to get started.

When I decided to try out Visible myself, the friend code referral worked a little differently. While it’s now used to get $20 off a future month of service, I was able to test Visible for $5 during my first month at the time.

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I clicked on a friend code to get my first month for $5 and then clicked “join with my phone.” 

Join Visible with a friend code
Screenshot from Visible (offer no longer available)

Even if you choose to not sign up with a referral code, you can still visit Visible’s website to get started. Just click “bring my phone” or “get a new phone” to begin.

First, I had to check my phone’s compatibility. I chose between iOS and Android software and then entered my phone’s IMEI

Visible phone compatibility checker
Screenshot from Visible

Once I saw that it was compatible, I was able to order a SIM card. 

If your phone is eSIM eligible, you may be able to activate your service in as little as 15 minutes. If you need a traditional SIM card, Visible will overnight one to you. 

Visible’s checkout process
Screenshot from Visible

With the friend code discount applied, my first month’s total dropped from $40 to $5 with a free SIM card and free FedEx next-day shipping. 

Next, I created an account using my name, email address and password in order to continue. 

Finally, I entered my billing and shipping address. According to Visible, if it’s a weekday, Visible will send your order overnight.

I chose to get a new number, but if you want to bring your existing phone number, you can do that as well. Then, you’ll be able to enter your payment information, but payment won’t be due until you activate your Visible service. 

Of course, at the time that I tested out Visible, only one plan was available. Now, you’ll be able to choose between Visible or Visible+ and add the appropriate plan to your shopping cart.

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Visible fees and charges
Screenshot from Visible

The Visible SIM card arrived in the mail the day after I placed my order. 

I visited visible.com/activate and followed the instructions on the screen. I had to download the app and log in to Visible from my phone. 

Visible’s app and plan activation
Screenshot from Visible

From there, I was walked through the process of putting the SIM card in the phone, allowing Visible to make and receive calls, verifying my payment information and activating my service. 

Then, I restarted my phone to pick up service. Once it restarted, I immediately picked up service on Verizon’s network and was able to place a test call.

Call and Text Performance

Over the 30 days that I tested out Visible’s cell phone service, I sent and received phone calls and text messages regularly. 

I did travel to two states while testing out Visible, and I had good service in all of the areas I visited with no dropped calls or undelivered texts. Of course, this may not be true for your area. 

Still, Visible does offer great coverage throughout the U.S. by providing access to Verizon’s network. The Verizon Network is currently tied for the highest-ranking network in the nation based on test results published by RootMetrics.

To see if Visible offers coverage in your area, check out its coverage map.

USA map showing Visible’s area coverage
Screenshot from Visible

You can visit Visible’s website and enter your address or ZIP code to see if you’ll have service in your area.

Data Speeds

Visible offers access to Verizon’s 4G LTE/5G network on its original plan and access to Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service on the Visible+ plan. Based on my experience with Visible and Verizon’s data coverage map, it appears that you’ll likely have access to reliable data with Visible if you’re covered by Verizon in your area.

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While you’ll have unlimited data with Visible’s original plan, you aren’t going to see high download speeds as you would with many other phone plans prior to hitting a “high-speed data cap.” Instead, you’ll have consistent download speeds of 9-56Mbps throughout the month on Verizon’s 4G/LTE network. Still, this is fast enough for most regular web browsing.

When I tried out Visible myself, I checked the data speeds using speedtest.net.

Speedtest showing 12.93 Mbps and Ping of 42 ms
Screenshot from Speedtest.net

While the speeds varied quite a bit throughout the month, I saw an average download speed of around 10Mbps. The highest download speed I saw was 25.13Mbps, and the lowest download speed I saw was 1.27Mbps. However, my phone was not on the 5G network.

I also connected my laptop to the phone’s hotspot and tested the speeds using the same website.

Speedtest showing ping of 118 ms, 3.86 Mbps download speed and 3.74 Mbps upload speed
Screenshot from Speedtest.net

I saw consistently lower hotspot speeds, which makes sense, as Visible has a 5Mbps speed cap on mobile hotspot data. If you’re interested in a plan with better hotspot capabilities, check out our list of unlimited hotspot plans here.

While Visible’s speeds are lower than average, I didn’t find myself complaining about slow internet. I had no problems browsing the web, checking Facebook, sending emails and watching YouTube videos throughout the month using mobile data.

Plus, now that Visible offers Visible+ with access to Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband service and 50GB of premium high-speed data, you have options when it comes to choosing faster speeds.

Customer Service

Visible is an online-only company, which means there’s no physical store Visible subscribers can go to for customer support. In fact, there isn’t even a phone number that you can call. Instead, the best way to reach Visible is through its online chat feature.

You can visit Visible’s website or download Visible’s app to log in and chat with a live agent. The online chat feature is available 24/7. 

When I tried out the service myself, I contacted Visible customer service a few different times to see how it would go. Each time, I was connected with a live agent within a couple of minutes, and they were all able to answer my questions immediately.

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Chat with Visible Customer Service bot
Screenshot from Visible

While I had a great experience with Visible and its customer service team, that isn’t the case for everyone. Despite having a B rating with the Better Business Bureau, Visible had an overall score of 1.19 out of 5 stars based on customer reviews as of February 2024.

Trustpilot tells a similar story with a rating of 1.4 out of 5 stars based on 1,007 customer reviews, leaving Visible with a “bad” rating on the review site in February 2024. 

While this would normally be alarming, a study by the American Customer Satisfaction Index revealed that scores for MVNOs, in general, fell 2.7% in customer satisfaction from 2020-2021. Between 2021 and 2022, those scores remained steady. According to the most recent study, satisfaction scores rose slightly throughout 2023.

Simply put, high demands on cell phone service providers during COVID-19 had led to more dissatisfied customers in general. That being said, Visible itself is not notorious for poor customer service, and I had a great experience with the company.

Methodology

Before I began testing phone plans, I highlighted the key factors that I would be exploring. This way, I would be able to accurately compare phone plans and get a full overview of what to expect from the service.

Here are the key factors I considered while trying out each phone plan: 

  • Length of Time. I tested each phone plan for 30 days to observe the network’s reliability and gather feedback from friends and family regarding service. 
  • Signing Up. I signed up for each phone plan myself to document the process of getting started, testing phone compatibility or bringing your own device, how long it takes to receive the SIM card and the activation process.
  • Reliability. I used my personal AT&T line as a base to see how often the tested phone plan had service and noted any dropped calls/undelivered text messages. 
  • Service. During the month, I made/received at least 15 calls and sent/received at least 15 text messages. I also tested the phone’s data speed and hotspot speed using speedtest.net. 
  • Customer Support. During my time testing out each phone service, I contacted customer support in all available ways to determine which method is best, how long it took to reach them and how helpful the experience was.

Final Thoughts

Ultimately, I had a great experience with Visible Wireless review and would consider switching to it full-time. I had great service and coverage for the 30 days that I tested it. 

Despite lower data speeds compared to major service providers, I had reliable access to the internet throughout the whole month and never had to worry about hitting a high-speed data limit. Plus, the new Visible+ plan offers solutions for the lower data speeds. I also liked being able to contact customer service at any time through the Visible app and website. 

If you’re thinking about switching to Visible, ask yourself these questions first: 

  • Is Verizon’s network strong in your area? You can check Visible’s coverage map and Verizon’s coverage map online to see if you’ll have service in your area. 
  • Can you get by without high-speed data? I had consistent download speeds of around 10Mbps throughout the month. If your phone is 5G-compatible, your speeds will be faster. Still, this was fast enough to do everything I needed including browsing the web and watching videos. If you do need faster download speeds, consider Visible+ for $45 per month.
  • Is your current phone compatible with Visible? You can check your phone’s compatibility online.
  • Are you okay with online, chat-only customer support?

If you can answer “yes” to each of these questions, then Visible could be a great choice for you. There are no contracts when you sign up, and you can cancel at any time.

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For more options, be sure to read our guide on the best cell phone plans and deals available now. Once you’ve decided on a new phone plan and you’re ready to make the switch, check out this guide that we put together to take you step-by-step through the process.

Have you tried Visible? Share your experience and Visible review in our Clark.com Community!

Article Updates
  • February 20, 2024: Updated expected download speeds to 9-56Mbps based on the latest information on Visible’s website
  • February 20, 2024: Added the latest data from ACSI on MVNO customer satisfaction
  • February 20, 2024: Updated Visible’s ratings from BBB and Trustpilot
  • August 2, 2023: Visible’s basic plan now costs $25
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