Cricket unlocks a phone that was made for its network once it has had enough paid Cricket service: 365 days for a phone bought on or after July 1, 2026, six months for a phone bought before that date. The phone must not have been reported lost or stolen, and the account must not be tied to fraud. That’s the rule on Cricket’s unlock policy page, revised July 1, 2026, and on its device-unlock support page, which keeps the shorter wait for the older phones. The unlock itself is free and done on request. If the wait is longer than you can manage, there is a second route, covered at the end.
What Cricket requires
| Requirement | What Cricket’s policy says |
|---|---|
| Phone bought on or after July 1, 2026 | 365 days of paid Cricket service on that device |
| Phone bought before July 1, 2026 | At least six months of paid service on that device (the older rule, kept on Cricket’s support page for those phones) |
| The phone | Designed for Cricket’s network and locked to it |
| Its record | Not reported lost or stolen |
| The account | Not associated with fraud |
| Deployed military | Cricket unlocks one device for active, deployed military personnel who can’t reach 365 days, with acceptable deployment verification and every other condition met |
Two things people expect to see on the list are not there. Cricket’s policy doesn’t say the phone has to be paid off, and it doesn’t ask for the account to be in good standing: it counts paid service on the device. Keep your receipts and your account history, because the 365 days are counted on the phone, not on the person.
Is your Cricket phone already unlocked?
- 1iPhoneSettings → General → About → Carrier Lock. “No SIM restrictions” means it is unlocked. “SIM locked” means it is still tied to Cricket.
- 2Samsung GalaxyOn recent Galaxy phones look under Settings → Connections → More connection settings for the network lock status. Older ones show it under About phone → Software information.
- 3Any phone with a SIM trayPut in a SIM from another carrier. A message that the SIM isn’t supported means it is still locked. On an eSIM-only phone, use the settings check or an IMEI check instead.
- 4An IMEI checkDial *#06# for the IMEI, then run our IMEI check: it shows the carrier and lock details on record without needing the account, which is the way to check a used phone.
How to request the unlock
Cricket does not unlock phones by itself. Once the phone qualifies, you ask: Cricket’s policy page links to the steps for current customers, and deployed military members can call or chat with Cricket support or visit a Cricket store with their deployment papers. Have the IMEI ready; our guide to finding your IMEI shows every way to read it.
After the unlock is applied, restart the phone with the new SIM or eSIM in place. If it still refuses the new carrier, make sure the phone has been online long enough to pick up the change, then check the lock status again.
Why a request gets turned down
- The phone hasn’t had enough paid Cricket service yet: 365 days for a phone bought on or after July 1, 2026, six months for one bought before.
- The phone has been reported lost or stolen.
- The account is linked to fraud, or Cricket believes the request would abuse the policy.
- The phone wasn’t made for Cricket’s network, so Cricket can’t unlock it; the carrier that sold it can.
Sooner than the wait
Six months, let alone a year, is a long time if you’re moving carriers, travelling, or you bought the phone secondhand and the days of service aren’t yours. For those, our Cricket unlock page lists the Cricket unlocks we offer by phone brand, each with its live price and delivery estimate. Read each service’s notes: some take only phones with a clean record, and none clears a lost or stolen report. Our guide to how carrier unlocking works explains what happens behind the scenes.
