Home › News ›

FCC Waives 60-Day Phone Unlocking Rule for Verizon

Article Comments

Today, 3:55 PM by Rich Brome @rbrome.bsky.social

The FCC today waived a long-standing rule that required Verizon — and only Verizon — to unlock its phones 60 days after purchase. The rule was a condition attached to the unique nationwide license for the C block of the 700 MHz band. Verizon paid nearly $5 billion for this license in 2008, and these frequencies (band 13) became the cornerstone of its 4G network. The FCC re-affirmed this rule as a condition of Verizon buying TracFone in 2021. Verizon claims that TracFone saw fraud increase 55% after adopting Verizon's 60-day policy. Verizon will now adopt unlocking policies in line with other carriers. Specifically, as a member of the CTIA industry group, Verizon will follow unlocking policies outlined in the CTIA's Consumer Code for Wireless Service. This generally means when a postpaid device is fully paid off, or after one year for a prepaid device. The FCC will no longer enforce a phone-unlocking policy.

Related

Samsung S24 Series Adds More AI, Updates the Hardware

Jan 17, 2024
Samsung has unveiled its lineup of flagship phones for 2024, the Galaxy S24 series. The phones sport multiple upgrades in both hardware and software compared to last year's models.

Motorola Refreshes moto g power for 2026

Dec 16, 2025
Motorola has revealed a new version of its moto g power, the company's $300 Android phone for the US. The new 2026 model is very similar to last year's model, with just a handful of changes.

Motorola Brings More Affordable 5G Phones to its 2024 Lineup

Mar 12, 2024
Motorola has announced the 2024 editions of the moto g 5G and moto g power 5G, priced at $200 and $300, respectively (MSRP, unlocked). Both phones offer 5G, a vegan leather finish on the back, 120 Hz display refresh, 50 megapixel main camera, 5,000 mAh battery, 128 GB storage (expandable), NFC, fingerprint reader (on the side), and a headset jack.

Metro Launches new REVVL Phones with Unique Perks Attached

May 14, 2024
T-Mobile today announced the REVVL 7 series of T-Mobile-branded phones exclusively for T-Mobile and Metro by T-Mobile. T-Mobile also announced some slightly unusual perks exclusive to the REVVL series on Metro.

Boost Merges Brands

Jul 18, 2024
Boost Mobile has consolidated its Boost Mobile (pre-paid) and Boost Infinite (post-paid) offerings into one unified brand and website, now known as simply "Boost Mobile". The change comes with updated, unified service plans, most of which are no-contract and available on either a pre-paid or post-paid basis.

more news about: