Verizon to stop automatic unlocking of phones as FCC ends 60-day unlock rule
FCC waives rule that forced Verizon to unlock phones 60 days after activation.
Credit:
Aurich Lawson | Getty Images
The Federal Communications Commission is letting Verizon lock phones to its network for longer periods, eliminating a requirement to unlock handsets 60 days after they are activated on its network. The change will make it harder for people to switch from Verizon to other carriers.
The FCC today granted Verizon’s petition for a waiver of the 60-day unlocking requirement. While the waiver is in effect, Verizon only has to comply with the CTIA trade group’s voluntary unlocking policy. The CTIA policy calls for unlocking prepaid mobile devices one year after activation, while devices on postpaid plans can be unlocked after a contract, device financing plan, or early termination fee is paid.
Unlocking a phone allows it to be used on another carrier’s network. While Verizon was previously required to unlock phones automatically after 60 days, the CTIA code says carriers only have to unlock phones “upon request” from consumers. The FCC said the Verizon waiver will remain in effect until the agency “decides on an appropriate industry-wide approach for the unlocking of handsets.”
The FCC rejected a request to at least limit the locking period to 180 days. The agency’s order said the CTIA code provides “an adequate threshold of ensuring Verizon consumers have competitive options and that granting this waiver will not impede those competitive options. We thus decline to limit today’s waiver to a period of 180 days.”
Until today’s waiver order, Verizon faced strict unlocking requirements that didn’t apply to other carriers. But that was by choice, as Verizon gained significant benefits in exchange for agreeing to unlocking requirements in 2008 when it purchased licenses to use 700 MHz spectrum, and again in 2021 when it agreed to merger conditions to obtain approval for its purchase of TracFone.
Goodbye, automatic unlocking
Verizon used to sell phones that were already unlocked, but in 2019 it obtained a waiver that allowed it to lock phones for 60 days in order to deter fraud. In March 2025, Verizon said the 60-day locking period wasn’t long enough to stop fraud and asked the FCC to waive the requirement.
In a press release today, the FCC said the Verizon rule “required one wireless carrier to unlock their handsets well earlier than standard industry practice, thus creating an incentive for bad actors to steal those handsets for purposes of carrying out fraud and other illegal acts.”
A statement from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said, “Sophisticated criminal networks have exploited the FCC’s handset unlocking policies to carry out criminal acts—including transnational handset trafficking schemes and facilitating broader criminal enterprises like drug running and human smuggling. By waiving a regulation that incentivized bad actors to target one particular carrier’s handsets for theft, we now have a uniform industry standard that can help stem the flow of handsets into the black market.”
Verizon’s current policy is for phones to be “remotely unlocked automatically 60 days after paid activation and 60 days of paid active service.” Phones already activated on the Verizon network won’t be affected by the waiver, according to the FCC.
“The terms of this waiver apply to all handsets that become active on Verizon’s network beginning the day after the release date of this Order,” the FCC ruling said. “The prospective application of this waiver will minimize customer confusion and interference with existing contractual arrangements and service agreements. Upon the release of this waiver, Verizon has stated that it will change its unlocking policies to follow those set out in the CTIA Consumer Code.”
Man sued Verizon to get phone unlocked
We recently wrote about a Kansas resident, Patrick Roach, who sued Verizon and complained to the FCC after the carrier refused to unlock an iPhone he purchased. Although the FCC took no action on Roach’s complaint, a small claims court ruled in his favor because Verizon tried to retroactively enforce a locking policy implemented in April 2025 on a phone Roach had bought before the policy change.
Verizon’s April 2025 policy change required “60 days of paid active service” before Verizon would unlock a customer’s phone. Roach alleged that this violated the FCC condition, which required Verizon to unlock phones 60 days after activation and did not say that Verizon may refuse to unlock a phone when a customer has not maintained paid service for 60 days. Going forward, today’s FCC ruling will render that distinction moot and make it easier for Verizon to avoid unlocking phones.
The Verizon petition was opposed in a filing by Public Knowledge, the Benton Foundation, Consumer Reports, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, iFixit, and other groups. The automatic unlocking enforced through the FCC condition was good for consumers and competition, the groups said.
“Automatic unlocking reduces switching costs, enhances competition, and promotes a more efficient and sustainable device marketplace,” the groups said. “It facilitates the resale and reuse of mobile devices, reduces e-waste, and enables low-cost carriers and MVNOs to compete on a more level playing field. The opposite, which Verizon seeks through its waiver request, merely serves as a way to keep customers locked in one provider.”
FCC cites law enforcement arguments
The consumer groups’ filing argued that “Verizon offers no specific evidence that a longer lock period would have prevented the fraudulent acquisition of the devices it identifies,” and said the carrier is capable of detecting and responding to fraud during the 60-day locking period.
“It can flag suspicious purchases, deny unlocking to devices that show signs of trafficking, and pursue legal or contractual remedies against fraudulent actors,” the groups said. “The Commission has previously found that 60 days is a reasonable and sufficient period to allow providers to identify and act upon fraudulent behavior. Verizon has not shown that these prior determinations were in error or that its current loss mitigation measures are being overwhelmed solely because of the unlocking rule.”
The FCC rejected these arguments, saying it found that the 60-day period has been insufficient to deter fraud. “Verizon explains that the globalization of 4G LTE and 5G technologies in recent years has created a ready overseas market for fraudulently obtained handsets, and stolen handsets are frequently sold or distributed to a secondary black market in countries that do not participate in GSMA blocking,” the FCC said.
The agency said the waiver will address concerns of law enforcement associations that supported Verizon’s petition. “Law enforcement commenters have convincingly linked our handset unlocking policies and public safety matters on the basis that the current 60-day policy has impacted law enforcement lives and requires that law enforcement entities dedicate significant resources to investigating stolen handsets rather than focus on other public safety matters,” the FCC said.
Verizon issued a statement thanking the FCC for the waiver. “The FCC’s action will end bad actors’ ability to exploit the FCC’s unlocking rules to profit from easier access to expensive, heavily subsidized devices in the US that they traffic and sell to other parts of the world,” Verizon said. “Before today’s decision, the FCC’s rules have benefitted these international criminal gangs at the expense of legitimate American consumers.”
Cable lobby group NCTA was not pleased by the FCC decision. Cable companies have increasingly been competing against large mobile carriers by offering wireless service in recent years.
“Mobile phone unlocking delivers clear pro-consumer benefits, saving billions of dollars across the mobile marketplace by expanding choice, competition, and affordability,” the NCTA said. “Today’s decision delays these benefits, underscoring the need for a clear, uniform framework so all wireless providers operate under the same rules.” The NCTA has urged the FCC to implement a 180-day unlocking requirement.
Jon is a Senior IT Reporter for Ars Technica. He covers the telecom industry, Federal Communications Commission rulemakings, broadband consumer affairs, court cases, and government regulation of the tech industry.
