AT&T policy says that postpaid phones purchased at least 60 days in advance can be unlocked once the device is paid for in full. T-Mobile policy says that postpaid phones that have been active on the T-Mobile network for at least 40 days can be unlocked after full payment has been made. AT&T has a six-month waiting period to unlock prepaid phones, while T-Mobile has a 365-day waiting period for prepaid phones.
A week after the FCC’s decision, Verizon began enforcing a 365-day lock period on phones purchased through its Tracfone division. Customers of TracFone and other “Verizon Value” brands must request an unlock after the year ends because Verizon does not promise to automatically unlock phones for those supporting brands.
“Most people pay their bills online”
Verizon’s flagship brand policy promises automatic unlocking, though with the new restrictions and wait described earlier in this article. John Bergmeyer, legal director of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge, told Ars today that he doesn’t understand why Verizon isn’t offering instant unlocks to people who pay their bills online.
“Gift cards, of course, are a very high fraud area. But most people pay their bills online with normal credit cards. It’s hard to see why the most common way people pay Verizon is somehow high risk,” he said.
Verizon also shouldn’t implement the change retroactively, he said. “People should be able to benefit from the policy that was in effect on the day they purchased the phone,” Bergmeyer told Ars.
Public Knowledge and other consumer advocacy groups last year urged the FCC to reject Verizon’s petition to eliminate the 60-day unlocking requirement, but the FCC sided with Verizon. Although federal rules have changed, Verizon may be forced to maintain its previous terms in cases where the company tries to change them retroactively.
In December, we wrote about a man who sued Verizon and won because the company tried to retroactively enforce a new policy and refused to unlock phones he purchased before the policy change. In that case, Verizon decided that it would only unlock the phone after “60 days of paid active service”, even though FCC rules at the time required unlocking after 60 days of activation even if paid service was maintained.
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