Visible just announced two new data plans to choose from: the Visible plan which unlimited talk, text, and data plan for $30/month, and the Visible+ plan that gives you unlimited everything, along with 5G Ultra Wideband coverage and a guaranteed 50 GB of high-speed data every month. We like how Visible does away with stores. Customers sign up online and get a SIM card in the mail. Insert the SIM card into your phone, download the app, and you’re good to go. You can even pay your phone bill using Venmo. We don’t like that there’s a cap on video streaming and 5G speeds, or the risk of deprioritization, but these factors are outweighed by Visible’s reasonable pricing. Let’s dig in to the details. Many MVNOs (and even traditional carriers, like AT&T) will throttle your data after you use a set amount. That could mean you’ll be getting data at 1–3 Mbps, instead of 5–10 Mbps, even with your unlimited data plan. With this cheaper unlimited plan, you get access to Verizon’s 5G Nationwide network, which isn’t quite fast as Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network, but you can still expect data speeds up to 200 Mbps. This is why we like Visible’s “baked-in” price. The price tag includes everything: taxes, fees, and any other possible charge you could think of. That’s because Visible Wireless runs on Verizon’s network. Visible service is available across the continental U.S. and customers can make calls to Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. No, this doesn’t mean your phone will slow down when you’ve got a nasty head cold. It means that Visible’s network owner (in this case, Verizon) will prioritize certain customers’ data speeds over others when too many people are connected in one area. So if you sign up for Visible, you may notice that your phone has a hard time streaming Disney+ during your evening commute. If your aim is to have the highest quality plan out there, regardless of price, then you’ll want to look at some more traditional unlimited plans. There are quite a few other MVNOs that offer great unlimited plans for a great price. Mint Mobile, US Mobile, and Tello. But as far as unlimited prepaid phone plans go, we’ll recommend Visible Wireless ‘til the cows come home. That being said, the Visible+ price still gives you more value than the cheapest offerings from AT&T, T-Mobile, or Verizon: The company also tops many of the rankings in OpenSignal’s latest “Mobile Network Experience Report,” although T-Mobile is giving it a run for its money.2 Here’s the power rankings of best network coverage right now. But there is one metric we judge Visible Wireless by, and that’s its rating in the Apple App Store. The company’s app retains a 4.4 star rating after more than forty-seven thousand rankings.3 That’s lower than, say, the myAT&T app, which has 4.1 stars with 3.9 million ratings.4 But it’s better than the MyMetro app, which has 2.9 stars after about a thousand ratings.5
Cheap and powerful unlimited plan: You get access to unlimited and unthrottled LTE data on Verizon’s network for just $30/month. The only downside is that there’s a cap on video streaming speeds … and you might get deprioritized during peak hours. You can upgrade to the Visible+ unlimited plan and avoid deprioritization for $45/month. Access to the best coverage network: By the numbers, Verizon covers more people in the country than any other carrier. Since Visible uses Verizon’s network, you can expect the same coverage as a Visible user. Compatible with the latest phones: All the latest phones will work with Verizon. You can port over your iPhone 13, or you can purchase a new phone directly from Visible.
Visible Wireless came into the industry wanting to shake things up. With Verizon’s support, Visible offers a refreshingly simple, cheap, and useful way to get cellular service. If that sounds like the cell phone company you’ve been waiting for, then go ahead and sign up.
Download the app
Go to the Apple App Store or Google Play app store and search for “Visible.” Then download the Visible Phone Service App. When you open the app, you’ll need to scroll to the right twice and then hit the blue Got it button. You’ll see two options: Activate my service and Get started. If you’ve already received a Visible SIM card in the mail from a previous order, then hit Activate my service. If this is your first time signing up, hit Get started. 4. Choose your phone If you want to use your existing phone on your new Visible plan, then click Check if my phone works and follow the prompts to enter your phone model. If you want to buy a new phone when you sign up for Visible, click Shop new phones. 5. Click Continue After you choose your phone, you’ll be taken to a checkout screen where Visible’s Unlimited Data plan will automatically be included in your shopping cart. Click the blue Continue button to move forward with your purchase. 6. Create an account Next, you’ll see a page that says Let’s create your account. Enter your information on this page and then click Create account. 7. Enter your mailing address Fill out the address form on the page that says Where should we send everything? Then click Continue. (Yes, you probably knew that, but we said this was step-by-step.) Because Visible Wireless piggybacks off of Verizon’s towers, there is a chance that Visible Wireless customers are at risk of having their data deprioritized during times of congestion. Verizon customers will have access to faster data because they are paying more. But a $30 a month unlimited plan is pretty hard to argue with. Plus, Verizon offers a few other MVNO options outside of Visible that are worth checking out. If that $30 figure is all you needed to hear, then you can sign up now.
