Straight Talk, Total Wireless, Tracfone and Simple Mobile are Verizon’s value brands and share one unlocking policy, printed on each brand’s unlock page with an effective date of July 31, 2026. The rule you get depends on the day your phone was activated: phones from before January 20, 2026 on the Verizon network kept the old 60-day automatic unlock; everything activated since waits 365 days of paid, active service and is unlocked on request.
Which rule applies to your phone
| Your phone | The rule |
|---|---|
| Activated on the Verizon network on or before January 19, 2026 | Unlocked remotely and automatically 60 days after paid activation, with 60 days of paid active service |
| Activated on the T-Mobile or AT&T network on or before January 19, 2026 | Unlocked on request after 365 days of paid and active service — the 60-day rule never applied to these |
| Activated on any network on or after January 20, 2026 | Unlocked on request after 365 days of paid and active service |
| Every phone | Working and switched on; activated by buying and redeeming an airtime plan on that phone; not reported lost or stolen; no fraud indicators |
How to check and how to request
- 1Check the statusEach brand’s unlock page has an IMEI “Check unlock status” tool. Dial *#06# for the IMEI; our guide to finding your IMEI covers every phone.
- 2Request itEligible phones that support it are unlocked remotely; phones that can’t be unlocked remotely are sent an unlock code. The pages also give the Unlock Department’s number, 1-888-442-5102.
- 3Deployed militaryA customer with relocation orders outside the coverage area can ask for an early unlock during the lock period by sending the deployment papers to the address on the policy page.
Why the rule changed in 2026
Verizon and, since the 2021 Tracfone purchase, its value brands were bound by a licence condition on the 700 MHz spectrum that forced an unlock 60 days after activation. On January 12, 2026 the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau granted Verizon a waiver of that condition; in return Verizon committed to the industry’s CTIA Consumer Code, under which a postpaid phone unlocks once its financing is done and a prepaid phone within a year of activation. The waiver runs until the FCC settles an industry-wide approach. Our Verizon 2026 rules guide covers the Verizon-branded side.
When an IMEI unlock makes more sense
A year is a long wait, and a used phone bought with a few months of service left on it can’t be unlocked by the new owner. Our Straight Talk, Total Wireless and Tracfone pages list the unlocks we offer, each with its live price and delivery estimate. Check the lock first with what carrier is my phone locked to.
