Verizon no longer unlocks phones 60 days after activation. Since January 2026, a Verizon postpaid phone is unlocked once it has been bought outright or fully paid off, and a prepaid phone stays locked until it has had 365 days of paid, active service. Here is what changed, how the new rules work, and what to do if your phone is still locked.
What changed in January 2026
For years Verizon was the quickest US carrier to leave with your phone. Under a rule the FCC set in 2007 for wireless spectrum Verizon later bought, it had to unlock phones far sooner than the other big carriers: about 60 days after activation, while they could wait until a phone was paid off.
On January 12, 2026, the FCC granted Verizon a waiver from that 60-day requirement (order DA 26-43). The reason given was fraud: phones bought on credit or with stolen identities were being unlocked quickly and resold, often abroad. Verizon then rewrote its unlocking policy. The version we read for this guide was last updated on February 18, 2026.
Verizon now works to the same voluntary industry standard the other big carriers follow. In short, prepaid phones can be unlocked within a year of activation, and postpaid phones once the contract or device payment plan is finished. Our guide is my phone eligible for unlock explains those general rules.
Verizon’s rules now, at a glance
| Your situation | When Verizon unlocks the phone |
|---|---|
| Postpaid, phone bought at full retail price | Automatically, once the purchase is complete |
| Postpaid, phone on a device payment agreement | Automatically, once the balance is paid in full |
| A Verizon gift card was used to buy the phone or pay it off | The unlock is delayed by 35 days |
| Prepaid | Automatically, after 365 days of paid and active service |
| Reported lost or stolen, or bought fraudulently | Not until that status is cleared |
Postpaid: paid off means unlocked
If you buy a phone from Verizon at full retail price, or finish paying off a device payment agreement, Verizon removes the lock itself. You don’t have to file a request. The one delay written into the policy concerns Verizon gift cards: if one was used to buy the phone or pay off what was left, the unlock waits an extra 35 days while the payment is checked.
Being paid off isn’t the only condition. A phone that has been reported lost or stolen stays locked until that report is cleared, and Verizon can hold back an unlock where it suspects fraud. If your phone is paid off, has no report against it and is still locked, contact Verizon first. The free route should always be your first stop.
Prepaid: a full year of service
Prepaid Verizon phones now stay locked until they have completed 365 days of paid and active service. Once a phone reaches that point, Verizon removes the lock automatically, unless the phone is flagged as stolen or as bought fraudulently. Gaps matter: the count is days of paid, active service, not simply a year since the phone was bought.
Verizon’s prepaid brands, such as Straight Talk, Total Wireless and TracFone, publish their own unlocking policies, each with its own minimum period of service, so read the policy page of the brand that sold your phone rather than assuming Verizon’s wording applies to it.
Deployed military members
Verizon keeps a separate route for service members deployed outside its coverage area. The line can be suspended during the deployment, and the policy says the phone is then unlocked once the account is confirmed to be in good standing after 60 days of active service. Contact Verizon with your deployment papers to start it.
How to check whether your Verizon phone is locked
- 1iPhoneOpen Settings → General → About and find Carrier Lock. “No SIM restrictions” means the phone is unlocked; any other message means it is still locked.
- 2AndroidPut in a SIM from another carrier. A prompt for a network unlock code, or a message that the SIM isn’t supported, means the phone is locked.
- 3Not sure?An IMEI check reports the lock status and, for most phones, the carrier on record. See the checks on our IMEI checks page.
When a paid unlock can still help
A paid IMEI unlock is for phones the free route can’t reach in reasonable time: a prepaid phone months short of its 365 days, a phone bought secondhand whose original account you can’t contact, or a phone on an account you no longer control. You order it with the phone’s IMEI, and there is nothing to install.
Our Verizon unlock page lists the Verizon unlocks we offer today, with the live price and delivery estimate on each one and what each accepts. Some unlocks only work for phones that are paid off or have no report against them, so read the service notes before you order.
