A significant but quietly passed regulatory decision by the Federal Communications Commission has fundamentally reshaped the terms of wireless service for millions of customers, effectively ending a long-held consumer advantage unique to Verizon. In a move aimed at combating rampant device theft and leveling the competitive landscape, the FCC granted Verizon a waiver, releasing it from the obligation to unlock new phones just 60 days after purchase and ushering in a new era of longer device lock-in periods that mirror its industry rivals. This change directly addresses the carrier’s claims of staggering financial losses and escalating customer churn, but it also alters the timeline for when a consumer can freely take their device to another network.
Your New Verizon Phone is Locked for Longer—Here’s the Unexpected Reason Why
The immediate consequence of this regulatory shift is straightforward for anyone purchasing a new phone from Verizon: the 60-day countdown to device freedom is a thing of the past. For years, customers knew that two months after activating a new device, it would be automatically unlocked, allowing them to switch to a competitor if they found a better deal or service. This pivotal FCC waiver dismantles that expectation, directly impacting a customer’s ability to port their device to another carrier on their own terms and timeline.
This change brings Verizon’s policy into alignment with other major carriers but represents a significant departure from its established practice. The end of this unique mandate means Verizon now has the discretion to keep devices locked for much longer, potentially until a phone is fully paid off. For the millions who chose or stayed with the carrier partly due to this flexible policy, the new reality requires a careful re-evaluation of long-term service agreements and the true cost of a subsidized device.
The Root of the Rule: Why Verizon Played by Different Unlocking Standards
Verizon’s 60-day unlocking mandate was never a voluntary consumer-friendly perk but rather a regulatory condition baked into its network infrastructure. The rule’s origin dates back to 2007, when Verizon successfully bid on a valuable slice of the 700MHz “C-Block” wireless spectrum. As a condition of that auction, the FCC required Verizon to allow any compatible device to run on that portion of its network, which over time was interpreted as a requirement to unlock devices shortly after purchase, eventually settling at the 60-day mark.
The pressure to change this unique standard intensified significantly following Verizon’s 2021 acquisition of TracFone, America’s largest prepaid wireless provider. As part of the merger’s approval, Verizon was compelled to apply its 60-day unlocking policy to TracFone’s vast customer base, which had previously operated under a much longer one-year lock-in period. This forced change dramatically exposed the policy’s vulnerabilities on a massive scale, providing Verizon with the critical evidence it needed to argue that the outdated rule had become an untenable financial and security risk.
Building the Case: Verizon’s Fight Against Fraud and a Competitive Disadvantage
In its petition to the FCC, Verizon built its case on two primary pillars: crippling financial losses from sophisticated fraud and a growing competitive disadvantage. The carrier claimed it was losing “hundreds of millions of dollars” annually due to device trafficking schemes. Criminals would exploit the short 60-day window by using stolen identities and credit card information to acquire expensive smartphones, wait for them to be automatically unlocked, and then resell them on the black market before the fraud could be detected and traced.
As powerful proof of this vulnerability, Verizon pointed to the immediate aftermath of the TracFone integration. Once TracFone was forced to shorten its device lock policy from one year to just 60 days, the subsidiary experienced a staggering 55% spike in device-related fraud. This dramatic increase provided concrete data to support the argument that the short unlocking period was actively encouraging criminal activity by creating a predictable and highly profitable loophole.
Beyond the surge in fraud, Verizon argued that the mandate created an uneven playing field that harmed its ability to retain customers. With the shortest mandatory lock-in period in the industry, its customers faced the least friction when switching providers, contributing directly to rising churn rates. Analysis from New Street Research underscored this trend, revealing that Verizon had transitioned from the carrier with the lowest churn to the one with the highest among major operators. This competitive imbalance made it far easier for customers to leave Verizon with a newly acquired, subsidized device compared to subscribers at AT&T and T-Mobile, who were bound by longer, voluntary industry standards.
The FCC’s Verdict: A Push for Uniformity and Security
Ultimately, the Federal Communications Commission was persuaded by Verizon’s arguments, granting the waiver with the official rationale of eliminating a security vulnerability and promoting a more consistent industry standard. The commission acknowledged in its decision that the 60-day rule had created a loophole that was being systematically exploited by criminals, making Verizon a disproportionate target for device-related theft and fraud.
This viewpoint was publicly reinforced by FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, who noted that the previous regulation “incentivized bad actors to target one particular carrier’s handsets for theft.” By removing the Verizon-specific mandate, the commission aimed to close this glaring security gap. The agency’s stated goal in approving the waiver was to “stem the flow of handsets into the black market” by allowing Verizon to adopt the same, more secure unlocking practices used by its competitors, thereby creating a more uniform defense against organized retail crime across the entire wireless sector.
The New Unlocking Landscape: What Happens Next for Consumers and Carriers
With the waiver approved, Verizon moved swiftly to adopt the CTIA’s voluntary “Consumer Code for Wireless Service,” an industry-wide set of guidelines. Under this new policy, postpaid phones will now remain locked until they are fully paid off, a significant extension from the previous 60-day rule. For its massive prepaid customer base, including those under the TracFone brand, devices can now be locked for up to one year after activation, restoring the longer security window that was in place before the 2021 merger.
However, the FCC’s decision was not universally praised and left the broader debate on phone unlocking unsettled. The NCTA, a trade group representing the cable industry, voiced its dissent, arguing that the carrier-specific waiver delayed the implementation of more pro-consumer benefits. The group had previously proposed a universal, mandated 180-day lock-in period for all carriers as a balanced compromise. The FCC’s broader rulemaking on a universal unlocking policy, initiated in 2024, remains unresolved. The decision that granted Verizon relief was seen as a major step toward standardizing industry practices, but it also left the final rules for the entire mobile marketplace hanging in the balance, creating a landscape that was simultaneously more uniform and more uncertain.
