When the FCC cleared Verizon of its 60-day device unlock policy a week ago, we talked about how the government agency, which is as anti-consumer as it has ever been at the moment, was giving Verizon the power to basically create whatever unlock policy it wanted. We also expected Verizon to make a change to its policies in a hurry and they did not disappoint. Again, the FCC provided them a waiver 7 days ago and they are already starting to update policies.
New Verizon Device Unlock Policy
As of this morning, Verizon has implemented a new device unlock policy across its various prepaid brands and I’d imagine their postpaid policy change is right around the corner. Brands like Visible, Total Wireless, Tracfone, and StraightTalk, all have an updated device unlock policy today that extends to 365 days of paid and active service before they’ll free your phone from the Verizon network.
Starting January 20, Verizon says that devices purchased from their prepaid brands will only be unlocked upon request after 365 days and if you meet several requirements, which are:
- You purchased the smartphone on or after the 1/20/2026 (Effective Date).
- You activated the smartphone more than 365 days ago.
- Note: This means you have an active plan on your phone, whether it’s an upgrade or a new line.
- The device has at least 365 days of paid service.
- Note: If you stop paying for service, your progress toward the 365-day requirement pauses. It will resume once you reactivate your account and continue until you reach a total of 365 paid days of service.
- There was ordinary usage of the smartphone in compliance with our Terms of Service
- Nobody reported the smartphone as lost or stolen.
- There are no signs of fraud with your account or the smartphone
What exactly is changing here? Well, if you purchased a device from Verizon’s value brands previously, they would automatically unlock them after 60 days. Now, you have to wait 365 days, request the unlock because it doesn’t happen automatically, and also have active service.
This is a really big change, especially on the prepaid side, where the idea is supposed to be that you prepay for your service and have ultimate flexibility to change carriers at will. That’s gone now if you buy a phone from these prepaid carriers run by Verizon. You can’t just pay off your phone and then ask them to unlock it. Visible’s policy, for example, says that “the device has at least 365 days of paid service” on it – paid service.
The FCC mentioned in their waiver that by allowing Verizon to create whatever unlock policy they wanted that this would “benefit consumers.” How does any of this benefit consumers?
I moved on from Verizon about 12 years ago because they were getting ridiculous with prices. I was with visible last year but changed because of prices. I'm happy with Google fi
@FCC once a phone is paid off it should be unlocked. Forever.. We all know at least in my area that service sucks here and there. So why make someone who moves and gets bad service not be able to switch companies for a year. What a joke.
I remember Boost mobile had an unusual requirement for some of their promos where, say, you can get an iPhone 12 for 99 dollars–BUT, the fine print stated that if you didn't keep your service active for however many months they required you to keep then they could claw back the discount and charge you the difference between the 99 dollars (or whatever it was) and the FULL price of the iPhone 12, which would have been so not worth it since the iPhones models released have already gotten to 15 or 16 so a full MSRP iPhone 12 would not be worth it.
For those who were going to choose to stay with Boost through the entire period it wasn't a deal-breaker, but it was one of the first times where I saw this requirement but probably not the last.
It's pathetic. Knowledgeable consumers like us will be able to work around this bs but it will catch most of the technonoobs. I'm sure they've run the models and its a net positive, but I hope they see a ton of churn and activations drop off a cliff. Have we heard what the others are going to do?
The others as in other carriers or other customers?
I can't wait to leave Verizon. Fuck the FCC, fuck this administration, fuck Verizon and fuck taking away freedom of choice for the consumer. So much for the "party of freedom"
????
I just switched from Visible to Mint, but I never bought a single phone from them or any other carrier, nor will I ever. The only way to fight this is to show them that they won’t sell phones anymore. I really wish people were capable of banding together and staying strong, but it’s too much to ask and always has been.
Pay upfront and never have to deal with this bullshit. But American consumers are to broke ass to do it. The only thing they can afford to own are the Libs.
They aren't too broke. Its priorities. America is a "I need this now" society. Buy a cheap phone on marketplace and tough it out for awhile why you save $$ and buy the phone outright.
Or simply ignore finances the way they do with other, even more expensive decisions. $950/month for a truck ya won't fully utilize? No problem! Another family trip to Disney? Pile it on top of the credit card debt! $700 phone? Oh, I can't afford that. Better lock myself to the carrier for three years to get plan "credits."
All of my phones are unlocked. I stopped buying phones through carriers over ten years ago.
You're not going to get a "free" phone, but you can typically get an interest free payment plan if you go direct to Google or Samsung. I'm sure there are others that offer it as well.
This is the strategy. Only obtain credit at places that offer no-interest financing for the things you usually buy. Utilize this financing responsibly for those large purchase and you never pay interest. You can also pay your purchase off early with no penalty and not lose any discount you may have received.
18 years ago VZ bought band 13 with the provision that their devices going forward must be always sold unlocked, so even the 60-day period was a stretch.
Shows the state of affairs in wireless, where tier 1 carriers can't "compete" without these tactics.
Wireless phones should be as open and ubiquitous as old landline tech eventually was. Although it also seems that carriers should just not be allowed to sell them if they're going to play these games.
BTW even if there WAS some fraud, it was a drop in the bucket. Verizon made a net income (profit) of approximately $19.84 billion last year. It was never about fraud.
Brendan Carr is a dummy
And this is why I don't use Verizon, and never will
Voting has consequences. At least you can still vote with your wallet. F Verizon.
MAGA is so broke they can only afford to own the Libs.
Hmmm. So far two people have downvoted your comment. I bet they're seeing red! ????
Hey hey, don't f with J.B.!
I think one of the scummiest moves here is to make it by request. Verizon prepaid/visible already have horrendous CS – now we're expected to contact them after mathing out whether we paid for 365 days of service? And if service has already been canceled I'm sure it will be even harder to get a hold of anyone.
What an amazing way to create unnecessary e-waste.
Also sidenote, part of the reason Verizon was forced into the 60-day rule before was because the FCC made them do it in exchange for getting a bunch of wireless spectrum at a discount.
I have visible. I have had visible 3+ years now. I have called or messaged customer service exactly 0 times. I buy my phones unlocked. I recommend everyone do the same. Of course it's a lot of $$ upfront, but it's a lot less hassle and overall less expensive phone plans. I bought the pro plan and it comes to $37/month and that includes my watch as well.
If you don't want your device locked to a network then don't buy it from the carrier, it's that simple. And stop acting like Verizon is the only major carrier to do this. T-Mobile and AT&T lock your device until it's paid off, so that could be up to 3 years if you are on a device payment plan.
If you don't want your device locked to a network then don't buy it from the carrier, it's that simple. And stop acting like Verizon is the only major carrier to do this. T-Mobile and AT&T lock your device until it's paid off, so that could be up to 3 years if you are on a device payment plan.
90 days…and that's all they should be able to lock a phone. TOPS! They get 3 months of payments. PERIOD! A 180 days to whole year is far too long and anti-consumer. They act as if they're not getting not getting any money for operation of those phones on their networks by MVNO's etc…
Just give us all unlocked phones and go back to ETF's. They do this with phones to lock you into the carrier. And because America lives off of debt, they choose to do this rather than save and just buy the phone unlocked. It's a broke mentality.
Hmm, where are those commenters that said Verizon won't do anything drastic and the FCC decision doesn't change anything? LOL
People will twist themselves into knots to not say anything bad about the decisions this administration makes that are just stupid and unhelpful for the consumer
But but but it's all about the common person, not corporate
greedhappiness!Verizon's contribution of $1 million to Trump definitely played a role in this decision. Billionaire companies and elites are corrupt and don't give a dam about their consumers. smh
And they're getting a pretty return on that investment
It doesn't benefit consumers. They're trying to lie, warp and twist reality on this one… It benefits Verizon…and that's about it.
Well yeah, I was hoping someone had an idea to help the FCC out here, lol.
I wonder if someone is going to file a class action lawsuit and challenge Verizon's policy in court.
Should but if the courts are lined up with federal judges that he appointed, then the outcome would likely not be favorable to the consumer. Sad!