Category: Pictures and Video

Visible By Verzion Has An International Problem

by Anil Polat | Mar 6, 2025 | Pictures and Video, Tech | 0

Visible by Verizon, the monthly prepaid cellular service has a two big problems: their customer service and international coverage. Here’s what can happen to your IMEI if you use Visible’s Global Pass abroad and how it may potentially brick your phone from network coverage.

What’s An IMEI?

IMEIs are International Mobile Equipment Identity which are essentially a number unique to each individual mobile phone, they are something all phones have. Most newer phones have 2 IMEIs to support dual SIM functionality, which basically means you can use more than one physical or electronic SIM card at the same time. So what do IMEIs have to do with Visible? Well, network carriers can block IMEIs which means you can’t connect or use their service.

This could happen in the case where you report your phone stolen to your carrier, to prevent someone else from activating it on Verizon, T-Mobile, Visible.. whichever your current carrier is. These blacklists are a way to prevent stolen phones from being used on specific mobile networks and reporting a stolen phone to your carrier is generally a good practice.

Global Pass On, Off, And IMEI Blocks

The issue can happen where you activate, then deactivate Global Pass when you’re abroad. Doing so can automatically security flag your IMEI, getting it blacklisted from your Visible service or use on other U.S.-based carriers. An IMEI blacklist also means Visible won’t let you use another phone on their service, making things even worse.

Visible doesn’t have a phone number to call or email address, you can only really get in touch with them through a live chat. It’s very slow and you’re often waiting more than 5 minutes per response and more support cases in my experience take over half an hour for even the simplest requests.

Unblocking IMEIs Ain’t Easy

Visible will ask you to prove the phone is yours and not blacklisted by a previous carrier or manufacturer (for example if you bought the phone directly from Apple.) This can be a lengthy process of you getting in touch with your old mobile providers or maker of your phone, getting the needed evidence, then waiting for what is usually a negative response. Visible seem to keep placing the blame elsewhere for their own block.

Mint Mobile for example, who have their problems no doubt, at least let you get in touch with someone on the phone to sort out issues. Even an email address for Visible customer service would be useful – they send you responses but you can’t email them. Which means you have to waste your time waiting for a chat window when you could literally be doing anything else.

It’s a shame because Visible has good deals, good service in many places, and a solid set of features for the price. But it’s not worth the hassle if you ever have to deal with their customer service or plan to use their service abroad.

How To Search A Hotel Room For Bed Bugs

by Anil Polat | Feb 20, 2025 | Pictures and Video | 0

Arriving at your fresh hotel room after a long trip can feel like the weight of an elephant has been lifted off your back. Ready to start an adventure or vacation after a little rest, it’s tempting to plop yourself down on the bed and nap. Or open your suitcase and unpack everything so decide on an evening outfit.

The bad news is, these are all things you shouldn’t do if you want to avoid bed buds. To avoid the bloodsucking nightmare that can ruin a trip and your return home, watch this video where I show you how to properly check a hotel room for bed buds.

Some Tips

Keep your bags as far away from the bed as possible, preferably in the bathroom during your inspection.
Keep your clothes in your zipped bags until you actually need to get stuff out of them.
Use darkness to your advantage and make sure to check out the entire mattress.
A thorough check should take you about 10-15 minutes.

How To Protect Yourself In London From Phone Snatching

by Anil Polat | Feb 6, 2025 | Advice, Pictures and Video, Security, Tech | 1

You may have seen recent videos like this one from London, England where brazen thieves on e-bikes snatch people’s smartphones out of their hands in broad daylight. It’s a quick crime that’s been reported over 73,000 times in a recent 12 month span. Despite the headlines though it’s an classic crime and the tactics to avoid it are nothing new.

What’s Phone Snatching?

Phone snatching is a type of theft that’s just what it sounds like: someone grabbing your phone out of your hands and making off with it. In London the increasingly common tactic is several thieves working together on e-bikes in busy areas who quickly and quietly come up on someone texting, talking or just holding their phone. It’s a quick grab and by the time you notice they’re speeding away down the street.

Phone snatching also occurs on metro platforms where thieves can grab your phone just as the doors close. Again, the tactics is snatching, whether it’s a phone, purse, or backpack so here’s how to protect yourself.

Avoid Being A Phone Snatching Victim

There’s often a spotter looking out for people texting, talking, or simply walking with their phone held in hand. The crooks are looking for distracted people so the first line of defense is when you’re not using your phone, keep it in your (front) pocket or purse. When you need to text or make a call “pull over” away from the center of the sidewalk so there’s some physical barrier like a way on your back. This cuts off the angles someone can attack you from or just have a look around and get to a less crowded spot.

SURPHY 2 Pack Phone Lanyard, Phone Wrist Strap, Anti Theft Phone...

Same thing goes for when you’re taking photos. When you are looking at your phone it’s most vulnerable so try to be mindful of what’s going on around you. Also, knowing where phone snatching rates are highest in London can help you increase your own awareness.

What To Do If Your Phone Is Snatched

Now if your phone does get snatched make sure to report it as soon as possible. Then, as quickly as you can, log into Find My Device on Android or iCloud for iPhone to mark your device as lost. You’ll also want to update your phone service carrier as well. If your phone was unlocked when it was snatched then be sure to change all of your passwords as soon as possible. That includes email, iCloud, social media, and cancel all of your credit cards and report them stolen if they were on your phone through Google or Apple Pay. I would also let your friends and family know in the meantime that your phone was stolen and to ignore any suspicious calls or texts from you until you’ve had a chance to reset all of your passwords and get a new phone.

Prevention is key to avoid being in this situation so no matter where you are in the world, be mindful when you take out your smartphone, know the local areas more prone to snatching theft, and create a backpack security system.

Does Garmin’s Jet Lag Advisor Really Work?

by Anil Polat | Dec 12, 2024 | Health and Fitness, Pictures and Video, Tech | 0

Garmin smartwatches can tell you a lot about your body with real-time updates of heart rate, stress, calories, respiration and more. The higher up you go in their line the more data you get and recently Garmin has introduced a Jet Lag Advisor that takes that information to help with every travelers headache.

I tried Garmin’s jet lag advisor for several months and over 50 time zones to find out if it really works. You can watch the video above and read the recap below.

What Jet Lag Advisor Does

For Garmin watches that do support jet lag advisor (Forerunners 265, 965, Fenix series, and others) when you have a trip coming up go into the Garmin Connect app on your phone – it’s the only way to enter your trip data – go into training and planning, and then Jet Lag Advisor. Once there you can enter in any number of flights you have coming up. Note that if you’re taking a long flight but don’t cross any time zones, Jet Lag Advisor won’t be used and will let you know (although you can still enable it anyway).

For flights that do cross time zones though, you enter in your departure and destination cities – Jet Lag Advisor tells you to ignore any layovers.

Before Your Flight

One the details are in Garmin Connect it will sync with your watch in the upcoming trip in the Jet Lag Advisor glance. A few days out Jet Lag Advisor will begin alerting you with recommendations on moving your body clock closer to your destination time. These notifications can be toggled on or off as you like with recommendations on when to avoid or seek light, take a nap, use caffeine, get some exercise or take melatonin as some examples.

When you’re actually traveling you’ll still get prompts but even more. A neat feature is the timeline both on your watch and in the Garmin Connect App that shows good times to eat or take a nap and at the beginning of each windows you’ll get a notification on your watch. It’s fun having the recommendations but when you’re traveling they often are just that – recommendations you can’t practically use at certain times when you’re actually in transit. Avoiding light when you’re waiting for your next flight on a layover wouldn’t be feasible for example. During these times I would put the Jet Lag Advisor as something fun rather than an actual coach you can use to adjust your body clock. But where it can actually help that I noticed, it when you finally arrive.

Kicking Jet Lag Upon Arrival

Once you’re at your destination Jet Lag Advisor reminds you of when you should sleep or not. It’s that common traveler dilemma when you get somewhere new and are tired but don’t know when you should sleep without completely throwing off your body clock. Jet Lag Advisor gives good guidance on getting your clock adjusted and coaches you during the first few days.

I use the Jet Lag Advisor most closely after I’ve arrived somewhere and will avoid napping or force myself to get outside or keep the lights on based on the watches recommendations. I’ve found Jet Lag Advisor does help reduce the amount of time you feel jet lagged. You’ll still feel jet lag of course but having a coach that keeps you on the schedule can help and if that doesn’t work, peanuts might be another jet lag cure.

QuietComfort Earbuds Review Might Be The Best Bose In The Lineup

by Anil Polat | Dec 5, 2024 | Pictures and Video, Tech | 0

The new Bose QuietComfort earbuds are half the price of their flagship Ultra line and a compelling buy because they’re as good or better in many ways. Recently launched, for some reason Bose have named their latest mid-tier earbuds QuietComfort (again) which seem to be taking a new place in their line up as the best buy for most people.

You can watch the video for the full review after reading this recap.

Introducing The QuietComfort Once More

The QuietComfort come in three colors; black, white smoke, and chilled lilac as Bose are calling them. They’re definitely clunkier than the Bose Ultra and stick out from your ears so while they don’t look that great Bose have packed in about 8 and a half hours of battery life compared to the 4 and a half of the Bose Ultra. The case is a bit thick but completely pocket-able adds 18 hours of additional battery life and charges full in about 2 hours.

Bose QuietComfort Bluetooth Earbuds, True Wireless Earbuds with...

Emphasis On Comfort

Even though they are bulky the earbuds are light and very, very comfortable. They’re probably the most comfortable earbuds I’ve ever worn. The ear tips are soft and the weight of the buds nicely distributed so you hardly notice them at all. The standard ear tips work well for me but Bose have also included a few other sizes to help you get the best fit.

Something else unexpected Bose have done with these earbuds is they don’t use the same Bose Music app as the Ultra. Rather it’s the Bose QCE app that gives you more options, information, and customization options for the QuietComfort than the Bose Music app. The QuietComfort have responsive touch pads which can be configured independently, voice controls, and multipoint support (still missing from the quickly forgotten QuietComfort II).

Is There A Price Catch?

Better battery life, more features via the Bose QCE app, and active noise cancellation nearly as good as the QuietComfort Ultra at a third of the price. You’re probably asking what the catch is and honestly there aren’t many good answers. The physical design is a bit clunkier, active noise cancellation just a notch less than the Ultra (but hardly significant) so unless those two things are extremely important to you, I would save your money. At $100 cheaper the Bose QuietComfort are the earbuds that make the most sense for most people in the Bose lineup. Beyond that, for $189, they might be the best deal in premium earbuds right now including the Sony options.

Where To Find The Best Vegetarian Food In Hanoi, Vietnam

by Anil Polat | Jun 27, 2024 | Food, Pictures and Video | 0

Vietnam is a paradise of food and its capital city, Hanoi, is famous for a number of dishes and drinks. Although meat is an important part of Vietnamese cuisine for various cultural reasons finding vegetarian and vegan local foods isn’t as difficult as it might seem. Many dishes are vegetarian in their traditional form while some require substitution.

You can take a tour of Hanoi’s vegetarian food in the video above or read on.

The Word To Know

For those of you looking to order food in Hanoi or elsewhere in Vietnam, the word to know is “chay.” Pronounced like the word tea (you can hear it in the video here) this means without meat. By saying “chay” at the end of your order (for example bahn mi chay) is asking for a vegetarian version of the famous Vietnamese sandwich. Anytime you see the word chay on a menu it’s a strong indication that the dish is meatless (though not necessarily vegan).

Vegetarian Food Spots To Try – Old Quarter

Xôi xéo – Sticky rice and corn with mung bean. It’s not for everyone, some may find it bland, but ended up being one of my favorite foods in Hanoi. Play around with different toppings, like eggs, get a picked cucumber salad, and cold beer. https://g.co/kgs/LqVnTN8
Bánh mỳ chay – Vietnamese sandwich with egg omelette, green papaya, cucumber, carrots, coriander, chilly, and mushrooms sauce. Long lines throughout the day but worth the wait. https://g.co/kgs/Xmw3msZ

A Taste Of Sweets

Cốm and Côm xào – The former is sticky green rice with lotus seeds and coconut. It’s like a little ball of sweetness something I can describe as a coconut gummy bear flavor. Served underneath is green rice stir fry with coconut and coconut dipping sauce. https://maps.app.goo.gl/evgaMJbkcp5QpM3W6
Che chuoi nuong – Grilled banana inside sticky rice with coconut milk, fresh coconut, peanut, and tapioca. There are several versions of this warm winter soup served year round. https://g.co/kgs/8EApbS9
Che khuc bach – Sugar water cold soup cooked with jasmine flower, condensed milk, chocolate, green tea jelly , and almonds can be found at the same spot as che chuoi nuong.
Coconut ice cream – Fresh coconut water, condensed milk with coconut cream. Served on the street, perfect for the hottest days. https://maps.app.goo.gl/At6HAQ8mahUP1G4JA

Classic Hanoi Dishes

Bánh xèo chay – Crispy pancake made of wheat, turmeric, coconut milk , green onions, mung bean filled with bean sprouts, eggs, and tofu. One of those foods perfect before or after a night. https://maps.app.goo.gl/LnYK9j4jKtE9scNEA
Banh cuôn chay – Rice roll with shallots and soy dipping sauce with chilly and lime. One of the most unique flavors and consistencies of food I’ve tried, one of my favorites in Hanoi. https://g.co/kgs/JGwNazA

Best Coffee I’ve Had

Egg coffee is a uniquely Hanoi beverage. Strong Robusta coffee with cream and egg yolk, C.O.C. serves the best coffee I’ve had anywhere. The ambiance is helped by its hiding spot you get to through some alleyways and narrow stairs (https://g.co/kgs/VdeXBjM).

Like many other places such as Turkey where you wouldn’t expect to find vegetarian food Vietnam’s broad use of fresh ingredients as a base makes omitting meat in common dishes possible. Remember to make sure the sauces aren’t meat or fish based if you’re a strict vegetarian and enjoy eating in one of the best places to travel.

About Anil Polat

Hi, I'm Anil. foXnoMad is where I combine travel and tech to help you travel smarter. I'm on a journey to every country in the world and you're invited to join the adventure! Read More