Verizon has struggled to retain loyal customers in the wake of recent price increases and increased competition in the wireless industry. Amid these pressures, the company made a major policy change that makes it harder for customers to cut ties and move to another carrier.
Last month, Verizon won approval from the Federal Communications Commission to drop a rule requiring it to automatically unlock a phone it sells to a customer after 60 days, despite backlash from consumers and advocacy groups that labeled Verizon’s request “anti-consumer behavior.”
Verizon was forced to comply with the rule in 2008 after acquiring licenses to use the 700 MHz spectrum. The requirement was reaffirmed when Verizon acquired TracFone in 2021. Verizon argued that the phone unlocking rule contributed to “device fraud” and made phones less affordable for low-income consumers.
The FCC confirmed that Verizon saw an increase in fraud after the rule took effect, and its stolen phones were even resold on the dark web at premium prices in several countries.
“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 a press release.
Shortly after receiving approval to waive the rule, Verizon updated its device unlock policy for its prepaid brands on January 20. Devices purchased from Total Wireless, Visible, StraightTalk and Tracfone are now unlocked only upon request, after 365 days of paid, active service and if several conditions are met.
More recently, Verizon also changed its device unlocking policy for postpaid phone customers, a change the company says it implemented on January 27, according to a recent report from Ars Technica.
Postpaid phones purchased from Verizon will be automatically unlocked once paid in full, meaning customers won’t be able to switch to another carrier if they have a balance left.
However, if a customer pays for the device online or in the My Verizon app, the unlocking process will be delayed by 35 days.
This delay also applies if a customer uses an unsecured payment method such as a Verizon gift card, paper check, or magnetic stripe swipe to purchase or pay for the device. For business customers, invoice credits are also considered insecure payment methods. Verizon claims the move will help prevent fraud.
Related: Major Verizon Network Outage Triggers New Fallout After Backlash
Previously, the 35-day waiting period only applied to customers who used a Verizon gift card as their payment method.
To avoid this waiting period, customers must pay the balance of the device with a secure payment such as a credit card with an EMV chip, cash or contactless payment, but it must be at a Verizon store.
It’s also important to note that customers should not experience a waiting period to unlock their phone if they pay for it through automatic monthly payments on a device plan.
Even though Verizon claims it updated its policy on January 27, the change didn’t go live on its website until February 11, according to Ars Technica. This means that Verizon will apply the new rules to transactions that occurred before the policy change was posted on its website.
The report also states that the 35-day waiting period applies regardless of when the device was purchased.
The move from Verizon comes after it saw an influx of new wireless customers. During the fourth quarter of 2025, Verizon added 616,000 new postpaid phone customers, according to its latest earnings report.
Despite this success, the company saw its postpaid churn, the number of postpaid customers who canceled their service, reach 0.95%, which is higher than the 0.88% churn rate reported for the same quarter in 2024. The company’s operating income also fell 32.6% year over year.
During an earnings call last month, Verizon CEO Dan Schulman attributed the increased loss mainly to “prior pricing actions as well as competition” and said there were four reasons customers were leaving the company.
More Telecom news:
“It’s price gouging without corresponding value,” Schulman said. “This irritates some customers, and we’ve seen the result increase churn, and we’ve stopped doing that and we’re going to start adding value.”
“The second is friction in the process, whether it’s integration, billing,” he continued. “When they call our customer service, that has to be seamless and we have to reduce complexity and we have to solve that. We already have initiatives underway to address each of those things. And then there’s price perception and the intensity of competition.”
While many consumers switched to other incumbents like T-Mobile and AT&T for lower-priced phone plans, they also joined smaller wireless carriers like mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs).
Cable companies such as Comcast and Spectrum also won new phone customers through their phone, TV and Internet offerings.
Jeff Kagan, an industry analyst, said the telecommunications industry is changing rapidly because of “renewed focus and energy” at these companies.
“New competitors, new technologies and new marketing approaches will continue to reshape this industry,” Kagan said. “The question is what will leadership in this sector look like five or ten years from now.”
As more consumers explore non-traditional phone service options, a Market Force Information survey last year found Verizon falling short of smaller wireless carriers in terms of consumer satisfaction.
-
About 65% of U.S. consumers are enrolled in phone plans from Verizon, T-Mobile, or AT&T and pay, on average, over $100 per month for service.
-
Verizon customers spend on average $157 per month on phone service, the largest of its top competitors.
-
Verizon has one 40% overall brand performance score for key customer experience metrics.
-
Smaller wireless carriers OVER the largest, with Consumer Cellular at 73% Mint Mobile rating and score 65.8%.
-
In the consumer loyalty rankings, Verizon fell lower 25th percentile, ranking next to the lower level of suppliers. In contrast, smaller carriers, including Consumer Cellular, Mint Mobile and Google Fi, ranked higher 75th percentile.
Source: Market Force Information
In a press release, David Murray, senior director of customer strategy at Market Force Information, said “superior customer experiences” are what more consumers across the country are looking for from their wireless service providers.
“While cost and coverage are always key factors, today’s consumers place more importance on ease of service and overall satisfaction with their provider,” Murray said. “Top performers set the bar for both customer experience and loyalty.”
Related: T-Mobile ditches 2 new phone plans to keep customers from fleeing
This story was originally published by TheStreet on February 19, 2026, where it first appeared in the Retail section. Add TheStreet as a favorite source by clicking here.