Verizon gets FCC permission to end 60-day phone unlock rule

Following this decision, Verizon must follow a more flexible set of guidelines set by the wireless trade group CTIA, which states that carriers must unlock a customer’s postpaid phone only after the contract expires, when they finish paying off the device, or after they pay an early termination fee. Meanwhile, the CTIA code states that carriers must unlock prepaid phones “no later than one year after initial activation.”

“Today, criminal networks specifically target Verizon phones because of the company’s unique unlock policies,” the FCC filing says. “In total, the Commission’s current rules cost Verizon hundreds of millions of dollars each year in lost caps — money that could have been invested in network upgrades or consumer-friendly deals.”

Now that the FCC has lifted the unlocking requirements, you may have to wait longer to switch to another carrier after activating your phone with Verizon. The FCC filing says the changes will take effect at Verizon one day after it issues its order, adding that they will remain in place until the FCC decides on an appropriate industry-wide approach to unlocking cell phones.