Which rule applies to your phone

The policy took effect on 20 January 2026 and splits three ways.

• Activated on or after 20 January 2026 — unlocked on request after 365 days of paid and active service.
• Activated on or before 19 January 2026 on the T-Mobile or AT&T network — unlocked remotely on customer request after 365 days of paid and active service.
• Activated on or before 19 January 2026 on the Verizon network — unlocked automatically 60 days after paid activation and 60 days of paid active service.

Note the wording throughout: paid and active service. Time with the line suspended or unpaid does not count toward the total.

The general conditions

Whichever rule applies, the device also has to clear these:

• The phone must be in working condition and turned on.
• It must not have been reported stolen or lost, and there must be no indicators of fraud.
• It must have been activated with Verizon Value service by purchasing and redeeming an airtime plan on that specific phone.

Notably absent: any requirement that the device be paid off. Eligibility here is about time in paid active service, not device financing.

You usually have to ask

Only the pre-January Verizon-network case unlocks automatically. In every other case Verizon Value unlocks on request — remotely for phones that support it, or by supplying an unlock code for phones that do not.

You can check eligibility or submit a request through the form on the Unlocking Policy page, which takes a phone number or serial number and asks you to pick the brand, or by calling 1-888-442-5102.

Total Wireless will unlock early — for a fee

This is unique in the market as far as we can tell. If you have not met the required minimum period of active service, Total Wireless may still unlock the device, but you will incur a charge of up to $300 depending on how long the service was active before the request.

Whether that is worth paying is a straightforward calculation against what the phone is worth and what you would save on a different plan. It is rarely worth $300. It is mentioned here because no other carrier offers the option at any price — everyone else simply makes you wait.

Two related points from Total's own support material: paying full price for the phone does not by itself make it unlockable, and there is no exception for longtime customers. Length of loyalty does not substitute for the waiting period.

Line Lock is a different thing entirely

Total Wireless and Straight Talk both offer a feature called Line Lock, and it is routinely confused with device unlocking. Line Lock prevents your phone number being transferred away without your say-so — it is anti-porting protection for the number, not a restriction on the handset.

You can toggle Line Lock yourself in your account or the app, and the change takes about 30 minutes. Turning it off does not unlock your device, and unlocking your device does not affect Line Lock. If you are switching carriers you may well need to do both.

How to tell whether your phone is actually locked

Worth checking first — a phone bought secondhand or brought from elsewhere may never have been locked at all.

• iPhone — Settings, then General, then About. Scroll to Carrier Lock. "No SIM restrictions" means unlocked; "SIM locked" means locked.
• Samsung released before September 2025 — Settings, About phone, Software information, then Service provider software version.
• Samsung released after September 2025 — Settings, Connections, More connection settings, then Network lock status.
• Any phone — insert a SIM from another carrier. If it connects, the phone is unlocked. This is the only test that cannot be misread.

Military deployment

Verizon Value customers in the military who receive relocation orders outside the coverage area can request an unlock even during the applicable lock period. That is more generous than the standard rule and does not require the waiting period to have elapsed.

What Verizon Value cannot unlock

Any phone not sold under one of its brands. If you brought your own phone to Straight Talk or Total Wireless, Verizon Value cannot unlock it — and it was almost certainly never locked by them in the first place. It may still be locked by whoever originally sold it.

Once it is unlocked

An unlocked phone is worth more secondhand and removes the main reason people stay on a plan they have outgrown. Two things before you move: check the handset supports the bands your new carrier uses, because unlocked does not mean fully compatible, and re-pick the plan rather than porting the old one across.