Is verizon now locking their phones?

[jerrykur]

Hi,

I currently have an S8 on verizon and travel internationally, using sim cards from local providers. Unfortunately my s8s battery is swelling a lot and it cracked the case open. So I need a new phone.

I am planing on getting and S10+, but I heard that Verizon recently started locking their phones. Is that correct? I need to head out the country in 20 days and the phone must be unlocked so I can us my non Verizon sim card.

Am I going to have an issue? If so, should I just by an unlocked S10+ from Amazon or elsewhere?

 

[Rukbat]

This is the latest Verizon word on SIM locking. And the answer is "most likely not". Just bring an AT&T, TMobile or Sprint SIM with you when you buy it and, if the phone asks for an unlock card when you put that card in, and the sales associate told you that the phone is unlocked, say, "What now?" They'll have to call their tech support to find out how to unlock it for you.

 

[jerrykur]

Well. I got the S10+ and it appears locked. I took the SIM that worked(Lebara/T-Mobile) yesterday in my S8 I took to Europe, and tried it today in the my new S10+. Verified Settings | Network mode were GLOBAL. And also tried Settings | General Management | Reset |Reset Network as suggest by Verizon techs. No dice.

Looks like I need to call them back or take the S10+ back.

 

[Simon_y7]

Verizon claims that all their phones now sold are unlocked.

 

[Ry]

Verizon has asked for permission to lock their devices for 60 days to combat fraud. The FCC has granted this request.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/26/18759602/verizon-60-day-phone-lock-fcc-approves

By giving Verizon the thumbs-up for its limited waiver from the C block rules, the FCC is mandating that Verizon automatically unlock phones after 60 days — even for devices that are still on payment plans and even if a customer doesn’t specifically request it. The one exception here is fraud: if Verizon determines a phone was purchased fraudulently, it can keep the device lock in place.

“We find that the limited 60-day waiver that we are granting herein is a reasonable and balanced approach that will help Verizon combat device theft and fraud and will have only a minor impact on consumers,” Stockdale wrote. Verizon didn’t get everything it wanted, though: the FCC denied its request to declare that the handset unlocking rule already permits temporary locking policies such as this.

 

[Casey Cheung]

Verizon has asked for permission to lock their devices for 60 days to combat fraud. The FCC has granted this request.

https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/26/18759602/verizon-60-day-phone-lock-fcc-approves

Wow, geez. I'm glad I'm buying unlocked phones through Best Buy and Microsoft store, even though I use Verizon as my carrier.