Overview
- Effective January 20, 2026, devices activated on Visible, TracFone, Straight Talk, Total Wireless and other Verizon-owned prepaid brands require 365 days of paid, active service before they can be unlocked.
- Unlocks no longer occur automatically, and customers must request them, with progress toward eligibility pausing during nonpayment or inactivity and requests denied for lost, stolen or fraudulent devices.
- Phones activated before January 20 remain covered by the prior rule that automatically unlocks devices after 60 days.
- Verizon told regulators it loses roughly 800,000 devices a year to fraud and reported a spike after acquiring TracFone, citing theft and black‑market demand to justify longer locks.
- The FCC granted a waiver letting Verizon follow CTIA guidelines while it develops uniform nationwide unlocking rules.