Just weeks after the FCC granted Verizon's request to eliminate its unique 60-day automatic phone unlocking requirement, the carrier has quietly implemented another restriction that makes device freedom even harder to achieve. This time, it's hitting postpaid customers who thought paying off their phones early would mean immediate unlocking.

According to updated support documentation and multiple industry reports, Verizon now imposes a 35-day waiting period on postpaid customers who pay off their device installment plans through the Verizon app, the company's website, over the phone, or at authorized retailers. The only way to avoid this delay? Visit a Verizon corporate store in person and pay with what the company calls "secure payment methods"—cash, EMV chip credit cards, or contactless payments like Apple Pay.

This follows our previous coverage of Verizon's successful petition to end the automatic 60-day unlock that made it unique among major carriers. Now, the picture is becoming clearer: Verizon isn't just aligning with industry standards—it's creating friction at every unlock opportunity.

Understanding the New Restriction

Here's how the updated policy works:

Postpaid devices (monthly plans with installment agreements):

  • If you complete your installment plan on schedule (making monthly payments until the final one): Your device unlocks automatically after the final payment, as before.
  • If you pay off your device early through the Verizon app, website, phone, or authorized retailers: You must wait 35 days after payment before Verizon unlocks your device.
  • If you pay off your device early in person at a Verizon corporate store using "secure" payment methods: Unlock typically processes within 24 hours.

The 35-day delay also applies to any purchases made with Verizon gift cards, regardless of where the transaction occurs.

Important note: According to Verizon's support page, this policy change took effect on January 27, 2026, but the documentation wasn't updated until approximately February 11. This retroactive application means some customers who paid off devices in late January are only now discovering they're subject to a waiting period they didn't agree to when signing their contracts.

Why This Is Egregiously Anti-Consumer

Let's be clear about what Verizon is doing here: penalizing customers for paying off debt early.

In virtually every other financial context—mortgages, car loans, student loans—paying off your obligation ahead of schedule is celebrated, not punished. You own the asset, you've fulfilled your commitment, and you're free to do with it as you please. Verizon is inverting this principle entirely.

The Fraud Justification Doesn't Hold Up

Verizon claims the 35-day window is necessary for "fraud prevention," citing concerns about verifying that gift card funds weren't obtained fraudulently. But this explanation crumbles under scrutiny:

  1. The delay now applies to credit card payments made online—transactions that are verified instantly through standard fraud detection systems that have been industry-standard for decades.
  2. The delay applies to payments at authorized retailers—locations already bound by Verizon's security protocols and partnership agreements.
  3. The fraud concern supposedly justifying this policy didn't prevent Verizon from operating for years with a 60-day automatic unlock on all devices—including postpaid phones paid off early.

If fraud were truly the concern, why does paying with the exact same credit card in a corporate store result in a 24-hour unlock, but using that same card online triggers a 35-day hold? The payment is processed through the same financial networks, subject to the same fraud detection systems.

The Real Motivation: Customer Lock-In

The answer becomes obvious when you examine what this policy actually accomplishes:

Scenario 1: International Travel
You're planning a two-week trip to Europe in March. Your phone has $300 remaining on its installment plan, so you pay it off in early February through the Verizon app to use local SIM cards abroad. Under the new policy, your phone won't unlock until mid-March—potentially after your trip ends. You're forced to either pay expensive international roaming fees to Verizon or scramble to find a corporate store.

Scenario 2: Carrier Switching
You find a better deal on T-Mobile or AT&T and decide to switch. You pay off your remaining balance to port your number and bring your device. Except now you can't—not for 35 days. That competing carrier's promotional offer might expire. You might miss the billing cycle window you planned for. Verizon gets 35 more days of subscription revenue from you.

Scenario 3: Device Resale
You want to sell your paid-off phone to offset the cost of upgrading. Unlocked phones command significantly higher resale prices than locked ones. But paying online means a 35-day wait, during which the device depreciates and market demand shifts. By the time your phone unlocks, you've lost value.

Scenario 4: Geographic Accessibility
You live in a rural area or smaller city without a Verizon corporate store nearby. The nearest one might be an hour away or more. To avoid the 35-day penalty for paying off your own device that you own, you need to take time off work, burn gas, and make a special trip. Authorized retailers—which Verizon benefits from maintaining partnerships with—don't count.

This isn't fraud prevention. This is deliberately manufactured friction designed to discourage early payoffs and carrier switching.

The Broader Pattern: Verizon's Unlocking Rollback

This 35-day postpaid restriction is part of a larger pattern of Verizon systematically eliminating customer flexibility:

January 12, 2026: The FCC eliminates Verizon's 60-day automatic unlock requirement, allowing the carrier to lock devices until they're paid off (potentially 24-36 months for postpaid customers) and requiring customers to manually request unlocking.

January 20, 2026: Verizon's prepaid brands (Visible, Total Wireless, Straight Talk, Simple Mobile, and all "Verizon Value" carriers) implement a 365-day lock period—up from 60 days—for all phones activated after that date. This full-year lock requires continuous active service and unlocking by request only.

January 27, 2026: Verizon implements the 35-day delay for postpaid customers paying off devices early through online or authorized retailer channels.

In the span of less than six weeks, Verizon has systematically dismantled every unlocking advantage it once offered—and then went further by creating new restrictions that don't exist at competing carriers.

How This Compares to Competitors

The irony is that Verizon argued to the FCC that it needed to eliminate the 60-day rule to achieve "competitive fairness" with AT&T and T-Mobile. But now:

AT&T's postpaid unlocking policy:

  • Device must be paid off
  • Must request unlocking (not automatic)
  • Unlock typically processes within 24-48 hours after approval
  • No artificial delay for paying off devices early

T-Mobile's postpaid unlocking policy:

  • Device must be paid off or service contract fulfilled
  • Must request unlocking (not automatic)
  • Unlock processes "as soon as possible" (typically within 2 business days)
  • No artificial delay for paying off devices early

Verizon is now more restrictive than the competitors it claimed to be seeking parity with. Neither AT&T nor T-Mobile penalize customers for early payoff with mandatory waiting periods based on payment method.

The Corporate Store Workaround Isn't a Solution

Verizon's "solution"—visit a corporate store in person with "secure" payment methods—is deliberately designed to be inconvenient for most customers:

  1. Geographic barriers: Verizon corporate stores are concentrated in urban and suburban areas. Rural customers may face drives of an hour or more each way. This is particularly problematic in regions where Verizon has strong coverage precisely because rural customers need that coverage.
  2. Time constraints: Corporate stores operate on business hours that conflict with most people's work schedules. Taking time off work to pay off a phone in person is absurd.
  3. COVID-era expectations: We've spent years developing robust online payment systems specifically to reduce the need for in-person transactions. Forcing people into stores in 2026 for something that can be accomplished securely online is a step backward.
  4. Payment method restrictions: Not everyone carries cash. Some people prefer to keep physical credit cards at home and use digital wallets for most transactions. The "EMV chip" requirement excludes virtual card numbers commonly used for enhanced security.

This isn't offering customers a choice—it's engineering a deliberately difficult path that most people will avoid, ensuring the 35-day lock-in affects the maximum number of customers.

What Customers Should Do

If you're a Verizon postpaid customer, here's how to navigate this policy:

If You're Planning to Pay Off Your Device Early

For immediate unlock (within 24 hours):

  1. Locate your nearest Verizon corporate store (not an authorized retailer—use Verizon's store locator and filter for "Verizon Stores" specifically)
  2. Bring a physical credit/debit card with an EMV chip, cash, or ensure your phone supports contactless payment (Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay)
  3. Visit in person and pay off your remaining balance
  4. Request device unlocking while there
  5. Unlock typically processes within 24 hours

If you pay through any other method:

  • Understand you'll wait 35 days from payment date
  • Mark your calendar and request unlocking after 35 days (it won't happen automatically)
  • Plan any international travel, carrier switches, or device sales accordingly

If You've Already Paid Off Your Device Online

If you paid off your device between January 27 and now through the app, website, or authorized retailer:

  1. Mark your calendar: Note the date 35 days from when you made the payment
  2. Don't assume automatic unlocking: After 35 days, you must actively contact Verizon to request the unlock
  3. Get documentation: Keep records of your payment confirmation and unlock request
  4. Be prepared to escalate: If Verizon attempts to extend the waiting period further, you may need to file an FCC complaint or contact your state attorney general

For Future Phone Purchases

Consider these alternatives:

  1. Buy unlocked from manufacturers: Purchase phones directly from Apple, Samsung, Google, or other manufacturers. You'll pay full retail price upfront, but you own the device immediately with no carrier restrictions.
  2. Evaluate total cost of ownership: Factor in the value of carrier flexibility when comparing carrier-financed phones versus unlocked purchases. A $200 discount on a carrier-locked phone might not be worth it if you're stuck with that carrier for three years.
  3. Read contracts carefully: If financing through Verizon, understand you're committing to limited flexibility for 24-36 months, plus potential additional waiting periods.

The Bigger Picture: When "Fraud Prevention" Means Customer Punishment

Verizon's pattern of policy changes reveals a troubling trend in how carriers use "security" and "fraud prevention" as justification for anti-consumer restrictions.

Fraud is a real problem in the wireless industry. Device theft and payment fraud cost carriers hundreds of millions annually. But legitimate fraud prevention measures are:

  • Targeted: They focus on high-risk transactions and suspicious patterns
  • Proportional: The restriction matches the actual risk level
  • Transparent: Customers understand the reason and duration of holds
  • Technology-appropriate: Modern fraud detection happens in milliseconds, not 35 days

A 35-day hold on a credit card payment made through Verizon's own app—to a customer with an established payment history, using a financial instrument verified by banking systems in real-time—doesn't meet any of those criteria.

This is security theater designed to serve business interests, not protect consumers.

What Needs to Change

The FCC's decision to grant Verizon's unlocking waiver was controversial, with consumer advocacy groups like Public Knowledge and the Open Technology Institute strongly opposing it. The commission's current leadership, under Chairman Brendan Carr's "Delete, Delete, Delete" deregulation initiative, seems unlikely to intervene.

But that doesn't mean this situation is acceptable or inevitable. Several remedies could address these anti-consumer practices:

1. Federal regulation: The FCC's pending rulemaking on universal unlocking standards could impose a 60-day maximum lock period across all carriers, preventing the current race to the bottom.

2. State consumer protection laws: State attorneys general could investigate whether retroactively applying policy changes to existing contracts violates consumer protection statutes.

3. Class action litigation: Customers who paid off devices early under the reasonable expectation of timely unlocking may have grounds for legal action, particularly if they suffered damages (missed trip, lost promotional opportunity, device depreciation).

4. Market pressure: Competitors could differentiate themselves by offering more consumer-friendly unlocking policies. If T-Mobile or AT&T advertised "no penalties for early payoff," it could force Verizon to reconsider.

5. Congressional oversight: This pattern of behavior—eliminating automatic unlocking, then adding friction to manual unlocking—warrants scrutiny from congressional committees overseeing consumer protection and telecommunications.

The Bottom Line

Verizon has transformed from the carrier with the most consumer-friendly unlocking policy (automatic after 60 days) to one with some of the most restrictive and user-hostile practices in the industry:

  • Prepaid devices: 365-day lock period
  • Postpaid devices activated after January 12: No automatic unlocking, must request after full payoff
  • Postpaid devices paid off early: 35-day additional delay unless you visit a corporate store in person

Each of these changes was justified by Verizon as necessary for "fraud prevention" or "competitive fairness." But the real impact is unmistakable: customers who fully own their devices face deliberate barriers to exercising that ownership.

You paid for your phone. You fulfilled your contract. The device is legally yours. Yet Verizon insists on maintaining control for more than a month after you've satisfied every financial obligation—unless you jump through hoops specifically designed to be inconvenient.

This isn't about fraud. It's about forcing customers to think twice before paying off devices early, switching carriers, or using their phones internationally. It's about extracting every possible day of lock-in from every customer relationship.

And unless regulators, lawmakers, or market forces push back, this is the new normal Verizon customers should expect: a carrier that views device unlocking not as a customer right after payment, but as a privilege to be delayed, restricted, and grudgingly granted.