Joe Maring / Android Authority
A little over a month ago, I made a big change in my cell phone world; after 10 years of being a T-Mobile customer, I jumped ship and joined Visible. Not entirely sure what to expect with such a dramatic transition, I’ve been very pleased with Visible so far. The sign-up process was easy, my service has been great, and I’m really happy with the price I’m paying.
As well as things have gone, there has been one hiccup that I wasn’t expecting. It’s far from a dealbreaker, but it’s something I didn’t realize until after my first month with Visible — and I wish someone had told me about it sooner.
Have a plan with HD video? You probably aren’t using it
Joe Maring / Android Authority
Visible has three plans you can choose from: Visible, Visible Plus, and Visible Plus Pro. The last two plans are Visible’s more premium options, offering features like faster 5G speeds, better hotspot performance, and more extensive international coverage. The plan you choose also dictates the kind of video streaming you can do on Visible’s network.
If you sign up for the basic Visible plan, video streaming is capped at just 480p SD. However, if you have Visible Plus or Visible Plus Pro, video streaming quality increases to 1080p HD or 4K UHD, respectively. Simple enough, right? You’d think so, but that’s not all there is to it.
While digging through the Visible app one day, near the end of my first month of service, I stumbled across something interesting. On the Account page under the Get the most out of Visible section, you can swipe through to see your various benefits, such as any Global Passes you have and your smartwatch service. At the end of the list is an option for HD Video.
I assumed this would just be an informational page about the 4K UHD max streaming quality that comes with my Visible Plus Pro plan, but lo and behold, there was more to it — specifically, an option to enable said streaming quality.
By default, Visible plans with HD/UHD video streaming quality apparently don’t have this feature enabled by default. Instead, you have to manually enable it yourself … in a sub-menu buried deep in the Visible app … one that the company never tells you about.
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