Every holiday deal that comes with a payment plan comes with a lock. A phone financed through a carrier, whether at the carrier’s store or at Apple’s checkout, is locked to that carrier until it’s paid in full, and the carriers’ own unlock rules decide when it can leave. That doesn’t make the deals bad: it means you should know, before you sign, how long the phone will be tied to one network and what happens if you want to switch, travel or sell it before the plan ends. Here is the 2026 picture, carrier by carrier.
Three kinds of holiday deal
| The deal | What it means for the lock |
|---|---|
| A discounted or “free” phone on a carrier payment plan | Locked until the plan is paid off. Leaving early usually means paying the rest of the plan first |
| A phone bought outright from the maker (Apple, Samsung, Google) or an unlocked model | Unlocked from day one, as long as it wasn’t financed through a carrier at checkout |
| A prepaid phone with a plan bundle | Locked until the prepaid wait is over: a year on most networks |
What each carrier requires in 2026
- AT&T: the phone bought more than 60 days ago, paid in full with the installment balance at zero, not reported lost or stolen, and the bill not past due. AT&T Prepaid: 12 months of paid service.
- T-Mobile: 40 days of use on the line and the phone paid off.
- Verizon: unlocks once the phone is paid off; its prepaid phones need 365 days of paid, active service.
- Metro by T-Mobile, Cricket and Boost prepaid: a year. Metro and Cricket count 365 days of service; Boost counts a year from activation with the balance paid.
Questions to ask before you take the deal
- 1How long is the plan?The lock lasts as long as the balance does. A deal spread over a long plan keeps the phone on that carrier for the whole term unless you pay it off early.
- 2What happens if I leave early?Carriers unlock a paid-off phone. Leaving early means paying the remaining balance, and then meeting the carrier’s minimum wait, such as AT&T’s 60 days or T-Mobile’s 40 days of use.
- 3Is there an unlocked version at the same price?Makers sell unlocked models, and a phone bought outright has no lock to wait out. Compare the real total before the “free” wins.
- 4Will I travel while it’s locked?A locked phone can’t take a local SIM or travel eSIM abroad. Apple’s page puts it plainly: a travel eSIM works on an unlocked iPhone.
Already took the deal and need to switch?
If the plan still has months to run, the free route is paying the balance and asking the carrier. If that isn’t possible, or the phone was a gift and the account isn’t yours, an IMEI unlock is the other way. Our carriers page lists the unlocks we offer by carrier and brand, each with its live price and delivery estimate, and each service’s notes say whether it takes phones still owed on an account. Our guide to carrier-locked vs unlocked phones explains the difference in plain words, and is my phone eligible for unlock sets out each carrier’s conditions.
