Visible is a prepaid carrier owned by Verizon and offering cellular service on the robust Verizon 4G LTE network. 


Visible can be a great option for a backup data plan or fall back plan.  At time of writing this Visible has unlimited lines using the Verizon network available for $40/m.  These plans are not specifically designed for hotspots but as of the time of writing this article they do work in Pepwave modem's based on our internal teams testing. A key detail is that the plans throttle the connection speed to 5mbps. That may not sound like a lot of bandwidth but if you are a serious mobile enthusiast who is watching their GB consumption on higher priced faster plans, the Visible option could be a solid solution to give you a backup connection on the nations largest cellular network at speeds that are more than suitable for video calling and working from the road. 


There are a number of reasons we do not recommend this plan as your primary internet, the largest one being that it is pre-paid and subject to change at anytime by the carrier, that said it has been tested by many of our users to work in Pepwave mobile routers and for that reason it is a great choice as a backup data plan. Interested in getting connected on Visible with an unlimited data plan with a 5Mbps data cap? Read on for instructions below but remember we do not provide technical support or assistance for these plans. This information is provided to our customers as a courtesy and is not supported by our team beyond what you see in this article. 


Table of Contents

Summary


In this article, we will review how to sign up for the Visible plan, how to install the nano sim in your pepwave using a SIM adapter and the configuration changes needed to get up and running using a Pepwave mobile router.


Disclaimer


The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of MobileMustHave.com. Any content provided by our bloggers or authors are of their opinion and are not supported, endorsed or guaranteed by MobileMustHave.com.


Pepwave devices are not a supported device on Visible.com, but with these steps it has worked for our staff and other customers. Because of this, Visible likely will not be able to offer support if you run into issues. MobileMustHave.com does not provide support for 3rd party data plans such as the ones mentioned in this article.

Things you will need for this article


Quick summary of events that will take place.  Read the full article below for more details about each step: 


  1. Sign up for Visible.com
  2. Visible overnights you a nano sim
  3. Activate the SIM in your smartphone
  4. Move SIM to Pepwave
  5. Configure Pepwave
  6. BOOM! You are online.


1. Signing up for Visible

First step is to get signed up for the service.  Go to Visible.com and look for the Bring-Your-Own device option (or click here). 


This is where a bit of trickery starts.  Visible will not give you an option for a hotspot device so you must enter a phone device compatible with the Verizon network to proceed.  You have to put in your phone (or spare phones) information and IMEI information. Putting in this information will not mean your phone will stop working on your cellular network, you simply need to get past the order screen to complete the order and an IMEI is required so your phone is likely a good one to use.   Select the type of phone and carrier to proceed. 


Next screen will ask you if your device is unlocked.  Your phone will need to be able to work on the Verizon network as Visible will need to be activated on your phone, so make sure your phone will work with Verizon.  If your phone is locked to AT&T or TMobile keep that in mind. 


Click Order SIM


This will then take you to a shopping cart screen where you can review your order.  Click continue on the right. And fill out your information for your account then your bill/shipping information. 


The next step asks if you are keeping your current number.  Select NO.  If you select yes, you will be changing your service from your current vender to Visible.  This is not what you want to do if you are setting this up for a hotspot. 


Make sure to select NO for keeping your current number. Selecting YES will port your cell phone number and cause your phone to stop working. Again SELECT NO for keeping your current number.


The next questions are for creating a phone number for your new plan. Since this is for your pepwave it doesnt particularly matter what number you choose since you wont be accepting phone calls on your hotspot but all cellular devices including hotspots require a phone number to activate.  You can put in any zip code and that will give you area code suggestions. Which you can select your favorite option! Again, it ultimately doesn't matter, the line is going into your pepwave so this phone number is not something you need to remember.  


When you click continue this will take you the the payment screen where you fill out your information. 


From there you should be all set!  You will get email information with your order confirmation and tracking sent to you. 


2. Overnight Shipping of SIM

Visible will overnight you a SIM card, meaning if you order in the early half of the day, you should get the sim the following day.  If you order it in the evening it will ship the following day, then you will get it in 2 days (weekends dont count!)


3. Activating your Visible SIM

This process is going to be done on your phone.  Download the App on your smart phone, remove the sim on your phone, insert the Visible SIM and follow the instructions on the app.  After putting in the Visible sim, your phone may need to be restarted for the new SIM to be seen.  It depends on the type of phone.


4. Moving SIM to Pepwave

Once the sim is active in your phone, you can turn off your phone, remove the SIM and prepare it for the pepwave. The nano sim WILL NOT fit in some of the Pepwave's without an adapter.  Sim adapter kits are available from our store below or by clicking this link. 




If you put the Nano sim in a pepwave that requires a full size sim IT WILL GET STUCK. This can cause internal damage to pepwave and may have to be sent in for repair. Make sure to use a full size sim adapter if applicable.


Depending on your setup you may wish to install the SIM in slot A or B. For this example, we have installed the sim in a Transit Duo with two modems.  We have configured this sim as a failover or backup to a primary plan.  We have placed the Visible SIM in Modem 1 slot B.  In slot A we have an AT&T line with 500gb which is the primary.  In this example setup if the AT&T plan exceeds the data allowance or there is no cellular signal on AT&T, slot B is set to activate using the Visible SIM. 


These are just examples of a configuration. Pick the SIM slot and failover configuration that is best for you based on your needs, modem and setup. Once of figure out the best slot based on your use case, you can move to the next step!


5. Configure your Pepwave

There are 2 key things that need to be changed for your visible sim to connect.   


Step 1: Log into your Pepwave's admin console


Step 2: On the dashboard click details on the cellular modem where your recently installed Visible SIM is located. 



Steps 3 and 4 written below are based on Visible Legacy plans. In August of 2022 Visible revamped thier plans and now includes two plan options. Please review this article for more information https://www.rvmobileinternet.com/visible-revamps-plan-lineup-and-retires-party-pay/

If using a new plan please set the Network Mode to Verizon and the APN to VZWINTERNET. Continue to step 5.



Step 3: Clicking Details above will bring up the "WAN Connection Settings” page. Change Network Mode to Generic, as shown in the below screenshot.
Update: Since first publishing, we have found that in some locations Auto or locking to Verizon under Network Mode can work as well.  We suggest starting on auto, and it won't connect, change the setting to Verizon or Generic.


Step 4: Further down in the next group of settings look for APN.  You need to type in VSBLINTERNET


Step 5: For testing make sure you have the Visible SIM set as primary under "SIM Card" to ensure the modem will boot up the Visible SIM. You can change this back to your desired primary/secondary settings one the sim has been tested and functional.

 

Step 6: Hit Save and Apply at the bottom to save your settings!


Your modem will reboot the cellular module.  It will take a approximately 30-90 seconds too to fully come back online. Note you must have the correct SIM card selected Once the Pepwave registers  comes back online it should look like this: 


6. You Are online!

Remember that Visible is throttled so it wont be the fastest connection, but at this point you should be able to load google, mobilemusthave.com and other websites.  


Requesting Assistance

MobileMustHave.com does not provide complimentary support for 3rd party data plans. We do offer per incident support which is billed in 30 minute increments with a 1 hour minimum if you get stuck getting your unit online. You can inquire about per incident support by contacting us at info@mobilemusthave.com or by starting up a chat on MobileMustHave.com


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