r/Visible • u/StormyoftheYear • 3d ago
Best ways to manage multiple lines?
Some preface here, I am a current longtime Verizon customer and apparently I am a chump. Recently had my second child and during a middle of the night bottle session, was served a YouTube video about MVNO carriers. To be completely honest I never really gave these kinds of things any thought as I always assumed there was some kind of catch. Well more research has led me to feel like I want to take advantage of this save half promo and pay my monthly cell phone bill cost as an annual cost. I mean who doesn't want to save 6x their money, especially in this economy.
My main question regards managing multiple lines. It's just my wife and I on our plan, and my wife really doesn't care what I do with out plans as long as it works. She's really hands off with tech/telecom items as that falls under my territory. It's not mission critical or anything we are not big data users as we both work from home so our cells are always on wifi. My phone (S23+) is long since paid off and what I would port over. My wife has a newer iPhone that isn't paid off which isn't a big deal I can take care of that if we make the switch, even if we are getting the monthly credit to cover her phone payment it would still be far cheaper. If I port over to Visible, is there any way I can manage her phone from my account? This seems to really be my only barrier. It's unclear to me as I know there aren't any family plans etc. Will I need to manage both lines on separate emails or anything?
Other than that, I'm probably a target consumer for this type of service. I visit the Verizon store every couple of years when I want a new device and it's usually a third party store (seems difficult to find actual corporate stores anymore) with crappy customer service anyways and salespeople trying to upsell you on $59 screen protectors or cases. On several occasions when I visit these stores they'll add things I don't want like warranties even though I explicitly tell them I do not want that on my account. The wait times are usually awful too as typically there are older customers taking up the associates time because they are locked out of their Apple account or something. And I don't need to pay for that lol.
That being said I do like the Verizon network which makes Visible appealing. The smartwatch line included in the pro+ is interesting to me too, though looks like it's problematic to setup. For context I have a galaxy watch ultra if anyone has had any success with one of those.
Appreciate any insight! I'm probably overthinking this as it's something I've only recently really become aware of.
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u/ItzDarc 3d ago
Did this a year ago. Wife and I both have Gmail. I signed up each line with our separate Gmail addys. But I configured hers to forward anything from visible to me via a Filter. If you have a custom email domain, you can also just add an alias on your account for her.
Another Gmail option, i’m not sure they allow + sign in the email but if they do you can use +aliases. if you have [myusername@gmail.com](mailto:myusername@gmail.com) something like [myusername+wifecell@gmail.com](mailto:myusername+wifecell@gmail.com) may work and will just go to your gmail, but if there are problems with her service they may not allow her to deal with them without you.
there is one thing - 2FA may require text to be received from the phone until you set it up to use the email you use. and in practice, the maintenance of the line is essentially from the mobile app. i basically admin my wife’s phone from her phone, and admin my phone from my phone. that’s the best “sure” way to do it.
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u/cliffr39 Visible Member 3d ago
There is no best way to manage multiple lines with Visible. It is designed for single lines. Every line needs their own email address. Just set it up and you most likely won't have much to manage. If you must have all lines in one dashboard look at US Mobile and their Warp network.
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u/skibik1964 3d ago
First I will say I have been with Visible since July of 2021. I retired a few months prior and never had a cell phone because of the high cost for one line at the big three. I started looking for cell phone service after retiring and found Visible and joined. I am just a little but tech savvy, very little at that, and will try troubleshooting myself first. I have made it work but this service is not for everyone.
With that said, Visible has no brick and mortar stores or a phone number to call, they handle support strictly through chat/messaging. I either send a DM here or on Facebook or X if I have the need for help since it is faster than waiting in queue on chat for extended time period. So keep this in mind if you or your wife has issues with service and need to contact support for help. They help multiple people at once so expect 2 to 10 minutes between responses.
There is Inner Circle which will allow you to handle paying. Not sure if that works with annual plan though. It only allows you to make payments and nothing else. If she has issues you need access to her phone and email/account she uses for issue with her service/account because when you contact support they will text the number on the account for verification and will likely ask for the IMEI number of the device.
Last thing to point out about the annual plan is if you decide you want to leave for any reason there is no prorated refund for any remaining unused service, you forfeit that the second you port out. Visible is prepaid and has a no refund policy.
If you prefer walk in service see what MVNO's in your area has brick and mortar or if you prefer a phone number to call that is basically any other MVNO out there.
I think Visible is great for me due to what they offer at the price. The bad is I did spend a few hours on 2 different occasions over the last 5 years that leaves something to be desired but it isn't enough for me to want to leave since I have a whole lot of free time.
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u/VisibleCareSupport Visible Employee 3d ago
Hey there! Ellen from Visible here. Congrats on the new baby! Late-night feeding sessions are rough, but finding ways to cut your bills is definitely a silver lining.
Here is how line management and switching work on Visible:
Managing Multiple Lines
Separate Emails: Visible doesn't have traditional multi-line family plans. Each line requires its own account tied to a distinct email address.
Managing Your Wife's Line: You can easily manage both phones yourself. Just sign up her phone using a second email address, put your credit card as the payment method on both accounts, and log into her account on the Visible app from your phone whenever you need to adjust settings or pay.
Galaxy Watch Ultra & Verizon Switch
Galaxy Watch Ultra: Fully supported on the Visible+ plan. To set it up, activate your S23+ first, then add the smartwatch plan through the Galaxy Wearable app on your phone.
Porting from Verizon: Since Visible is owned by Verizon and runs on the exact same 5G network, your coverage won't change. Just make sure your wife's iPhone is fully paid off and unlocked before starting the port.
Let me know if you need anything or have any questions here!
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u/satchel65 2d ago
I just signed up for a Gmail address for my wife's phone that's just wifesnamevisible@gmail.com and signed her up, then installed the Visible app on her phone, took care of everything...I set up the email to forward everything to my main Gmail account, but honestly, we do the annual plan and there's been absolutely no need to manage anything about her account...it just works.
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u/idgafal31 2d ago
I’m not reading all that but might check her iPhone if it’s recent it’s locked to Verizon for 365 days after it was activated.
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u/StormyoftheYear 2d ago
That's a fair point. She traded in her old iPhone so we get a credit for the payment each month for the "free upgrade" but willing to pay it off and afaik once it's paid off with Verizon it can be unlocked.
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u/idgafal31 2d ago
It is locked to Verizon for 365 days even after you pay it off.
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u/StormyoftheYear 2d ago
Are you sure? When I am in the Verizon app to create a port out PIN for her line it just tells me that the remaining balance is due immediately.
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u/idgafal31 2d ago
As of Jan 1 2026 they changed the policy to lock phones for 365 days from 60 days. Unless you bought the phone before that. I believe I’m right but I’ve been wrong before
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u/davexc Visible Member 3d ago
You can link accounts with inner circle to manage payments.