Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before it will unlock phones

"Verizon has started enforcing a 365-day lock period on phones purchased through its TracFone division, one week after the Federal Communications Commission waived a requirement that Verizon unlock handsets 60 days after they are activated on its network. Verizon was previously required to unlock phones automatically after 60 days due to restrictions imposed on its spectrum licenses and merger conditions that helped Verizon obtain approval of its purchase of TracFone."

"The "new" TracFone policy is basically a return to the yearlong locking it imposed before Verizon bought the company in 2021. TracFone first agreed to provide unlocking in a 2015 settlement with the Obama-era FCC, which alleged that TracFone failed to comply with a commitment to unlock phones for customers enrolled in the Lifeline subsidy program. TracFone later shortened the locking period from a year to 60 days as a condition of the Verizon merger."

"But the new TracFone unlocking policy is stringent, requiring customers to pay for a full year of service before they can get a phone unlocked. "For all cellphones Activated on or after January 20, 2026, the cellphone will be unlocked upon request after 365 days of paid and active service," the policy says. A customer who doesn't maintain an active service plan for the whole 12 months will thus have their unlocking eligibility date delayed."

Verizon now enforces a 365-day locking period for phones purchased through TracFone and associated prepaid brands, replacing a 60-day automatic unlock requirement that the FCC waived. The change returns TracFone to its pre-2021 yearlong locking policy; TracFone had agreed to unlocking in a 2015 FCC settlement and shortened the period to 60 days as a condition of the Verizon merger. Customers must request an unlock after maintaining continuous paid, active service for a full year, and any service lapses delay eligibility. The policy affects Straight Talk, Net10 Wireless, Clearway, Total Wireless, Simple Mobile, SafeLink, and Walmart Family Mobile; prior purchases remain eligible under earlier rules.

Read at Ars Technica