Following our report last week that Verizon is forcing people to wait 35 days for phone unlocks after paying off device installment plans, Verizon is apparently trying to eliminate the inconvenient delay. But Verizon hasn’t confirmed the plan to Ars, and a statement to another news outlet did not provide any timeline for implementing the change.
As a refresher, the latest version of Verizon’s device unlocking policy for postpaid customers imposes a 35-day waiting period when a customer pays off the remaining balance of a device installment plan online, in the Verizon app, or with a Verizon gift card. There’s also a 35-day waiting period after paying off an installment plan over the phone or at a Verizon Authorized Retailer.
Saying restrictions are needed to counter fraud, Verizon will only unlock a phone immediately when someone pays off their device-plan balance at a Verizon corporate store or when someone pays off an installment plan on schedule via automatic payments. If you’re partway into one of Verizon’s 36-month device installment plans and pay off the remaining balance early, but without making a trip to a Verizon corporate store, you’d have to wait 35 days for an unlock that would allow you to switch the phone to a different carrier’s network.
Verizon reportedly said it is trying to change that “really soon,” but provided no specific or even estimated rollout date. Android Authority reported yesterday that it received a statement from Verizon saying, “we’ve already rolled out immediate unlocking for customers who pay at our corporate stores or use automated payment methods, since those systems can validate transactions in real-time. For other channels such as our app or authorized retailers, the 35-day window is strictly focused on fraud prevention, ensuring payments are fully cleared. That said, we recognize this is a pain point for our customers and our goal is to provide an immediate device unlock for all payment methods really soon. Our teams are diligently working to bridge that gap and we’ll update the website/policy when this is possible.”