Verizon’s move to slow down fleeing customers raises alarm bells | Official Website of Louis Velazquez, entrepreneur, finance guy and tech innovator

Verizon (VZ) is facing pushback over its efforts to make it harder for customers to switch phone providers.

In May, Verizon sent a request to the Federal Communications Commission to waive its requirement to automatically unlock a phone it sells to a customer after 60 days, giving that customer the freedom to use that device on another phone carrier’s network.

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Verizon was first required to adhere to the unlocking requirement when it purchased licenses to use 700MHz spectrum in 2008 and acquired TracFone in 2021. Last year, then-FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel even proposed that all phone providers follow the same requirement.

In the waiver request sent to the FCC, Verizon claims that the requirement has had “unintended consequences” that have contributed to fraud.

“Recent industry experience shows that even a lock of 60 days does not deter device fraud – a huge and growing problem in the United States — and instead enables trafficking in devices that are illicitly sent to foreign marketplaces,” said Verizon in the request. “This is why the industry standard for providers not subject to the Unlocking Rule is a minimum of 6 months or longer.”

Verizon also said that unlocking phones after 60 days “benefits bad actors and fraudsters,” shifts costs and denies benefits to low-income consumers, while “punishing” phone providers.

“Waiving this rule will benefit consumers because it will allow Verizon to continue offering subsidies and other mechanisms to make phones more affordable, lower upfront costs, and enable customers to obtain the latest and most innovative devices,” said Verizon.

Customers are not happy about Verizon’s efforts to keep phones locked longer than 60 days.

Image source&colon; Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Consumers fight back against Verizon’s efforts

Recently, consumers have been fighting back against Verizon’s push to keep phones locked beyond 60 days.

In a filing submitted to the FCC on July 8, one former Verizon customer claims that waiving the phone unlocking requirement is “anti-consumer behavior.”

“Verizon’s argument that unlocked phones are against the public interest is just wrong,” wrote the former Verizon customer. “It stifles competition by making it harder to vote with your wallet and switch carriers. I recently left Verizon because of a record amount of price hikes within a single year. It certainly would have been much harder to switch carriers if I had to buy a new phone each time. I bought my phone. I get to decide what carrier I want with that phone.”

Another consumer wrote in a separate FCC filing on July 7 that removing the requirement would limit a customer’s access to emerging services such as SpaceX’s Starlink.

“Permanent Phone Locks Harm Consumers and Competition Unfair Market Advantage: Verizon originally agreed not to lock phones as a condition of receiving discounted 700 MHz spectrum,” wrote the consumer. “Removing this condition now would unfairly tilt the market in their favor and undermine the spirit of that agreement. Stifling Innovation: Permanent locks would make it harder for consumers to switch carriers, use dual-SIM features, or take advantage of emerging services like SpaceX’s Starlink Cellular.”

A coalition of advocacy groups on July 7 even called on the FCC to reject Verizon’s efforts to waive its phone unlocking requirement.

“Maintaining and enforcing the 60-day unlocking framework will promote consumer welfare, strengthen competition, and reduce regulatory confusion,” said the groups in an FCC filing. “Any modifications to unlocking policy should be addressed through rulemaking, not via individualized waivers that would only exacerbate existing inequities and market distortions.”

Verizon recently suffered from startling customer behavior

The controversy comes after Verizon recently saw a mass exodus of customers during the first few months of this year.

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In Verizon’s first-quarter earnings report for 2025, it revealed that it faced a net loss of 289,000 total postpaid phone customers. According to analysts at New Street Research, this loss is Verizon’s “worst result on record.”

During an earnings call in April, Verizon CEO Hans Vestberg admitted that recent price increases may have scared away some customers during the quarter.

“We did have a slow start on postpaid phone net adds, largely driven by elevated churn due to recent price ups and pressure from federal government accounts,” said Vestberg.