A week after the Federal Communications Commission waived the requirement to unlock Verizon handsets 60 days after being activated on its network, Verizon has begun enforcing a 365-day lock period on phones purchased through its Trafone division.
Verizon previously required phones to automatically unlock after 60 days due to restrictions imposed on its spectrum license and the terms of the merger, which helped Verizon gain approval of the purchase of Tracfone. But an update implemented today to the TracFone unlocking policy says new phones will remain locked for at least a year and each customer will have to request an unlock instead of getting it automatically.
The “new” TracFone policy is basically a return to the year-long locking in place 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 follow through on a commitment to unlock phones for customers enrolled in the Lifeline subsidy program. Tracfone later reduced the locking period from one year to 60 days as a condition of the Verizon merger.
While a locked phone is connected to one carrier’s network, an unlocked phone can be switched to another carrier if the device is compatible with the other carrier’s network. But the new Tracfone unlocking policy is strict, requiring customers to pay for a full year of service before the phone can be unlocked.
“For all cellphones activated on or after January 20, 2026, cellphones will be unlocked upon request after 365 days of payment and active service,” the policy says. A customer who does not maintain an active service plan for the full 12 months will thus have his unlocking eligibility date delayed.
In addition to TracFone, the change applies to prepaid brands Straight Talk, Net10 Wireless, Clearway, Total Wireless, Simply Mobile, SafeLink Wireless and Walmart Family Mobile. Customers who purchased the phone before today are eligible for unlock even after 60 days.
365 days paid service
As DroidLife points out, Verizon-owned prepaid brand Visible also requires one year of paid service. The policy visible in the update today requires “at least 365 days of paid service” for unlocking requests. The policy states, “If you stop paying for the Service, your progress toward the 365-day requirement stops. It will resume after reactivating your account and will continue until you reach a total of 365 paid days of Service.”
<a href