The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the United States has officially ended a long-standing rule that forced Verizon to unlock phones after 60 days.
The rule was originally enacted in 2007 as part of a special agreement when the carrier acquired valuable wireless spectrum. It was supposed to make it easier for customers to switch carriers by ensuring phones weren’t permanently locked.
Verizon is finally free
Normally, when you buy a phone from Verizon, it's locked and it will only work with their network. You can’t switch to another carrier just by inserting a different SIM card.
Before now, the carrier was required by law to unlock your phone automatically after two months. It didn’t matter if you were fully paid off or still on a plan.
In case you don't know, an unlocked phone can work on any compatible carrier, and you can swap SIM cards freely, especially when you switch prices or travel.
Back in 2007, Verizon was bound to the rule as they were using the Upper 700 MHz C Block spectrum. It's a section of radio frequencies that the US government auctioned off to wireless carriers so they could use it for mobile networks like 4G LTE and 5G.
Years later, in 2013, the wireless industry voluntarily created standard unlocking rules through CTIA, which AT&T, T-Mobile, and most carriers follow. Under these standards, postpaid phones must be unlocked after they’re fully paid off, and prepaid phones must be unlocked within a year.
Verizon, however, was still stuck under the old FCC rule. In 2019, the FCC agreed that the 2007 rule was causing fraud, so they softened it and gave the carrier partial permission to lock phones for 60 days. In 2021, the company bought TracFone and gained control of around twenty million prepaid customers.
The FCC required TracFone devices also follow Verizon’s unlocking rule. But it created a massive vulnerability as TracFone’s prepaid market is full of subsidized phones sold very cheaply.
By 2024, the FCC opened a new proceeding to rethink unlocking rules for the whole industry. But that process will take time. Meanwhile, Verizon was still drowning. Last year, they told the FCC that they were losing almost 800,000 devices a year to fraud because the rule did not give them enough time to detect fake identities or stolen credit usage.
Related: T-Mobile Announces Premium Better Value Plan
Get a new phone or pay off your current one
The FCC has now removed the old rule, and announced it in a press release. Verizon will follow the same unlocking rules as the rest of the industry.
According to them, phones that unlock early become extremely valuable on the black market, especially in places like Russia, China, and Cuba where American iPhones and Samsungs fetch huge profits.
Verizon itself admitted that theft and fraud spiked to 55% after acquiring TracFone in 2021. The FCC’s waiver will last until they finish its broader nationwide rulemaking that will set unlocking rules for all carriers equally.
During that time, your phone will stay locked until you finish paying it off, complete your service contract, or in the case of prepaid phones, wait up to one year after activation. If you want it done sooner, either buy a device that comes unlocked upfront or pay off the balance on your phone at once.
