February 20, 2026
Verizon Tightens Device Unlock Rules Amid Growing Customer Losses
Verizon has introduced sweeping new device unlock restrictions just months after its new CEO publicly admitted the carrier is losing customers due to poor value, price hikes and friction in the customer experience.
Following FCC approval to waive a rule requiring automatic phone unlocking after 60 days, Verizon updated its unlock policy for both prepaid and postpaid customers in January. Prepaid users on Total Wireless, Visible, StraightTalk and Tracfone must now wait 365 days before requesting an unlock. Postpaid customers, meanwhile, will only have their device unlocked once it is fully paid off, and those who settle their balance via the MyVerizon app, or pay using a gift card, paper cheque or magnetic stripe, face an additional 35-day delay.
Verizon says the changes are designed to combat device fraud. The FCC supported the move, citing a documented rise in handset theft following the original unlock mandate, with stolen devices reportedly being resold on dark web markets internationally.
Combating Customer Churn
The policy shift comes as Verizon reported a net loss of 7,000 postpaid phone customers in Q3 2025, with churn rising to 0.91%, compared to a net gain of 18,000 customers in the same period the prior year. It is the latest chapter in what has been an increasingly turbulent period for Verizon’s customer experience.
New CEO Dan Schulman, who replaced Hans Vestberg in October 2025, has been candid about the scale of the problem. Speaking on the Q3 earnings call, he identified price increases, customer experience friction, negative value perception and intensifying competition as the four key drivers of customer losses. “Every year, it gets harder to grow as we lap past price increases and experience higher churn,” he said. “This cannot continue.”
Schulman has pledged to make the company more customer-centric and to eliminate practices that damage the customer experience, commitments that consumer advocates say sit uneasily alongside the new unlock restrictions, which have been labelled “anti-consumer” by advocacy groups.
