About two weeks ago, Verizon scored a significant victory in its battle to keep its customers longer.
The Federal Communications Commission has approved the phone carrier’s request to waive a rule requiring it to automatically unlock a phone it sells to a customer after 60 days.
Verizon was first required to comply with this rule in 2008 after it acquired licenses to use the 700 MHz spectrum. The requirement was reaffirmed when Verizon acquired TracFone in 2021.
In its filing, Verizon argued that the phone unlocking rule contributed to “device fraud” and made phones less affordable for low-income customers.
Despite Verizon facing pushback from consumers and advocacy groups who flagged the move as “anti-consumer behavior,” the FCC approved the carrier’s request, citing Verizon’s 55 percent increase in fraud after its 2021 purchase of TracFone required it to adhere to a 60-day lockout policy.
The FCC said stolen Verizon phones have even been resold on the dark web at premium prices, “especially in countries like Russia, China and Cuba,” according to a news release.
“By dropping a regulation that encouraged bad actors to target a particular carrier’s phones for theft, we now have a uniform industry standard that can help stem the flow of phones to the black market,” FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said in the press release.
Shortly after Verizon received the green light from the FCC to set its own phone unlocking rules like its competitors, the carrier informed customers of the updated policy.
Devices purchased on or after January 20 from Verizon’s prepaid brands, including Total Wireless, Visible, StraightTalk and Tracfone, will only be unlocked on demand after 365 days (previously 60 days) and only if several conditions are met, according to a recent report from Droid Life.
This includes the requirement that the phone has reached 365 days of paid and active service. It’s important to note that stopping payments will break progress toward that 365-day requirement.
Customers must have an active plan on that device. And if the device has been reported stolen or lost, or shows signs of fraud, it won’t be eligible for unlocking.
In addition, the use of the smartphone must comply with the company’s Terms and Conditions.
Related: Verizon gets approval to make it harder for customers to leave
So far, the device unlock policy for postpaid phones has not changed, which means that for now those devices will continue to unlock after 60 days.
Verizon’s updated policy sparked backlash from consumers, who took to the social media platform Reddit to express their frustration with the change.
“It’s really a shame that one of the few affordable ways for low-income people to get a decent unlocked cell phone has been shut down,” wrote one Reddit user.
“Just disgusting. The whole 60 day unlock period was designed to add fairness, to improve their already ridiculous merger with TracFone, which should never have been approved in the first place. And now you have the most anti-consumer FCC ever and I get this ridiculous waiver. It’s so depressing. This was the last decent unlock policy in the entire United States.
“Well what sucks if you were to buy a phone in installments, pay it off and not be able to have it unlocked for a year,” another user wrote.
Verizon’s move to expand its device unlock policy from 60 days to 365 days for its prepaid brands comes as more consumers across the country are considering switching carriers. Customers faced higher monthly bills, according to a Market Force Information survey last year.
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Approximate 65% of consumers use phone service from the “Big 3” carriers: Verizon, T-Mobile and AT&T, spending more than $100 per month on their wireless services.
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On average, Verizon customers pay more than $150 for service.
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About 23% of Verizon customers are considering switching to another carrier over the next year or two, citing better prices, promotions and coverage as the main reasons.
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Verizon scored 40% in overall brand performance within customer experience values.
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Smaller wireless carriers like Consumer Cellular and Mint Mobile scored 73% and 65.8%respectively.
Source: Market Force Information
“There is a clear shift in the market toward smaller, more nimble wireless carriers that deliver superior customer experiences,” said David Murray, senior director of customer strategy at Market Force Information, in a press release.
“While cost and coverage are always key factors, today’s consumers place more importance on ease of service and overall satisfaction with their provider,” he continued.
Amid this upward trend, Verizon lost 7,000 postpaid customers during the third quarter of 2025, according to the company’s latest earnings report.
The loss comes after Verizon rolled out price increases earlier in the year, a move the company’s new CEO said was one of the main reasons customers left.
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“Over the past few years, our financial growth has been too much based on price growth, a strategic approach that is too much based on price without subscriber growth is not a sustainable strategy,” Verizon CEO Dan Schulman said during an October earnings call. “Each year it becomes harder and harder to grow as we pass through price increases and experience greater loss. This cannot continue and there is no doubt that significant change is needed.”
He also promised to transform the company by eliminating customer pain points and increasing value. Schulman also said that Verizon’s transformation will not be “about promotional activities that can be imitated quickly.”
“This is true innovation that is not easily replicated by our competitors,” he said.
It’s vital for Verizon to double down on customer retention, especially after the company suffered a major service outage last week that lasted about 10 hours, affecting about 1.5 million customers in several states.
A recent JD Power survey also found the company trailing T-Mobile in terms of consumer satisfaction for postpaid and prepaid plans.
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The average consumer satisfaction score for postpaid plans across incumbents is 593 (on a 1,000 point scale). For prepaid plans, the average score is 601.
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Specifically, it ranks T-Mobile the tallest in postpaid and prepaid, with satisfaction scores of 636 and 617respectively.
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Verizon takes it second place in both segments, with a 583 score for postpaid plans and 595 for prepaid plans.
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AT&T falls behind Verizon with a satisfaction score of 573 for postpaid and 597 for prepaid.
Source: JD Power
“Findings show that value is the most important driver of overall experience, followed closely by service quality,” Carl Lepper, senior director of technology, media and telecommunications at JD Power, said in a press release.
“These two dimensions are central to our new model – and for good reason,” he added. “As the market expands with a wide variety of brands designed to meet diverse customer needs, expectations are rising – not just for strong network performance, but also for service plans that reflect individual preferences.”
Related: Verizon takes action against internet customers who violate key rule
This story was originally published by TheStreet on January 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.