Verizon Either Unwilling or Unable to Unlock Fully Paid Phone

[damonnabru]

VZW customer of 14 years. Samsung S20+ purchased from a reseller brand new sealed, clean IMEI. No issues activating, paid in full, account in good standing, no fraud reports, no back payments owed, nothing  - active for 4 solid years. You couldn't ask for a more angelic and quiet customer.

Traveling in a few weeks, need to be able to activate an eSIM or even a physical SIM. Attempting to do so brings up the persistent notification "Change Carrier - Sorry, your device can't be activated on another carrier's network right now. For help, contact Verizon at (800) 922-0204 or (888) 294-6804". Scrolling service status at the top shows "Network Locked | No Service". I take a few breaths and research online - almost every other experience is that this is a carrier issue that only the carrier can resolve, and any deflection amounts to wasting time - since no one else but the carrier can unlock a given phone.

Called twice into phone support, both times a "SIM Lock Appeal" request was submitted, both times denied with the boilerplate response:

Hello ------,

Your request to have your device unlocked has been reviewed. Unfortunately, your device is not eligible to be unlocked at this time. Your device is scheduled to automatically unlock 60 days after your purchase/activation date.

If you purchased your device as a part of a monthly payment agreement, you have the option of paying the remaining balance off from a Verizon Retail Store and resubmitting the unlock request prior to the scheduled unlock date.

For more information about Verizon's Device Locking Policy, please visit the support page on ver​izon​wire​less​.​com.

Keep in mind that your Verizon SIM will work while making calls to or traveling internationally.

For more information about Verizon's international calling plans and TravelPass, visit our International Solutions and Services page.

Thank you Verizon

Contacted over chat, they kept asking where I purchased the device. I tell them it isn't relevant and that Verizon is not permitted to lock devices to their network under any circumstances. They are able to confirm it is locked in their system, but that only manufacturer/reseller/(insert anyone but Verizon) is able to unlock the device.

Filed FCC complaint - executive support called me within 2 hour and tried to feed me the same excuse, probing for proof of purchase, saying they can't unlock it without that and to go back to wherever I got it. No one could confirm that Verizon has locked my device, yet they are all so quick to pose the scenario that some mysterious third party has penetrated their systems and is somehow enforcing a lock within their network on customer devices that they are powerless to control. Odd!

Every support person tells me the same thing with a smile and a pleasant demeanor, it's charmingly dystopian. They want to point to the device proof of purchase, yet nowhere is there published a public statement of device unlock terms that stipulate a device can remain locked on Verizon's network indefinitely due to not being purchased directly from Verizon. 
https://www.verizon.com/support/device-unlocking-policy/

In fact, the only time Verizon is permitted to maintain a device lock is 60 days after purchase or activation, courtesy of their FCC appeal they fought for in order to "combat identity theft and fraud" which somehow occur rampantly with unlocked phones in 2024 (I guess): https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-19-593A1.pdf

I replied to executive support's followup email after they failed to provide me publicly available proof of any such exemption that allows them to keep a device locked indefinitely. No response.

Contacted chat one more time, they ask the same questions and give me the same lack of information. I can't help but think they are trained to deny unsuspecting or unknowledgeable customers their rightful unlock so they can squeeze more profit from their overpriced travel plans.

Not sure where this will end up, but right now it looks like my mobile future is simply not with Verizon if I cannot get this phone unlocked. From now until then, I guess I won't be that same quiet customer.

[Cang_Household]

To unlock the phones, you do need to prove with a preponderance of the evidence of (1) rightful ownership, and (2) the phone was purchased from Verizon and the payment plan is paid off.

[SynthpopAddict]

This looks like some kind of glitch with Verizon's IT as the OP was saying they bought their phone elsewhere and it might not even be a Verizon carrier model phone.  Have seen at least one post from another person who said this locking issue happened with their phone, and it wasn't even a Verizon phone!  (I have no idea how an unlocked phone can suddenly get locked by a carrier when said phone was not lost/stolen.)  Unfortunately a lot of Verizon employees have no idea how to get around this problem, and it's not something that can be solved by calling in, because you get an overseas call center who won't be able to do anything.  The only thing I can think of is to keep wrangling with the SIM lock appeals and provide as much evidence as possible either indicating the phone was not a Verizon model and therefore should not be locked, or else come up with other proof being requested and hopefully the right person will come along and resolve the glitch.

[damonnabru]

Thank you for these anecdotes, it does help to learn about others' experiences.

I can assure you that to the best of my knowledge, I hold in my hand a genuine Samsung S20+ 5G, model SM-G986U, carrier variant SM-G986UZKAVZW with Knox intact and official Samsung firmware and software. The box and contents were factory sealed and complete when I made that purchase from the reseller, and the IMEI came up as a device model match with no blacklist indicators, across multiple sites. I did painstaking research to rule out any signs of a counterfeit device before opening that seal and activating the SIM. It was the second most stressful of my mobile phone experiences to date.

The last Verizon tech I spoke apparently had been employed for about 17 years and had seen nothing like the nature of the lock, yet could not see any remarks or flags on my account indicating an unpaid, stolen, fraudulent, or secondary owner status. They did not have any power to change this beyond consulting internally, and could not provide me any details as to why. I am an IT engineer myself who diagnoses software with a critical lens on a daily basis. It doesn't sit well with me to know there is a way to fix something while being kept in the dark about it.

Anyway, today, I backed up and then factory reset the phone to try to rule out the software. No dice.

[SynthpopAddict]

Wouldn't the factory reset have reset the device back to "original" status as if it hadn't ever been used before, and thus reset the 60 day locking period?  Because I've always thought factory resetting erases everything which was installed on the device after it was activated except for carrier software which can't be erased and your phone is a Verizon model.  So then it would have erased all usage history, etc. and now the phone thinks it's never been used, so won't unlock for another 60 days?

Sorry to hear the tech you spoke with didn't know how to get around the locked problem either.  I agree with you, there is no reason for your phone to have remained locked for so long as you clearly were using it for over the required 60 days per the unlocking policy.  If Verizon is hassling you for proof of purchase, might the reseller have it in their records somewhere such that you could ask them to reprint you a receipt or some other proof of purchase from them?

[damonnabru]

As far as I understand, the IMEI is the universal unique identifier used to track a phone. I can already imagine how much frustration and noise there would be among customers whenever they contact tech support for an issue and have to factory reset their phone (which is an overly common first troubleshooting step) only to then find out their carrier lock had been refreshed another 60 days. I sincerely hope that is never a reality.

As far as contacting the reseller, they are long gone, having deleted their account. No way to get in touch. But this also begs the question - if they were able to be contacted, what if they hadn't gotten the phone from Verizon either? If the idea behind eligibility of unlocking a phone is to prohibit any and all unlocking unless  purchased directly from Verizon, then I would have liked to see that published in big bold font somewhere. Then I would have made a different purchase decision, or at least ate my loss before coming here to be annoying.

I've already learned a lot from this experience and I'm willing to admit my mistakes, but for there to be a double standard contradicting FCC, in my opinion is unfair. And for a 4 year old, discontinued phone no less!

[SynthpopAddict]

I still think it's a glitch in the system as the phone should have unlocked itself a long time ago.  But the sticking point here is Verizon has no record of you buying the phone from the original owner and the original owner can't be found to verify they legitimately sold you the phone.  Wouldn't be surprised if the IMEI is still showing up under the other person's name in some computer.  It's a safeguard to prevent lost/stolen phones from being unlocked, which would otherwise increase the market for fencing stolen devices, but also causes problems when honestly buying a phone secondhand.

If it's any consolation, a discontinued phone is either not getting software updates/support from a manufacturer any more, or will be losing such support sooner than later.  And the lifespan of today's smartphones is but a few years; they are nothing like the 2G phones of decades ago, which would probably still be working if any carriers still had 2G.  So it's pretty likely with the phone in question that you'd have to get a new one in the near future anyway.

[damonnabru]

I can agree it's a glitch, however Verizon have themselves confirmed that I am the only and original owner. It's definitely not flagged stolen either, also per Verizon and every IMEI checking site so far. Basically there is no financial or fraudulent burden anyone can see and yet Verizon keeps it locked.

Despite the phone being out of production, I particularly love it because it is the last major Android flagship model that supports expandable storage. You're absolutely right that in the near future I will be buying a new one - it will be this same model, but factory unlocked 🙂

[SynthpopAddict]

Why is it Verizon will not unlock your phone then, if they can confirm you legitimately are the owner, and the IMEI is clean?  It's truly bizarre.  😲 That's as if a human cannot override whatever it is in the system keeping the phone locked, or else something somehow got corrupted in the phone's firmware or software which can't be undone.

As for buying an identical, but unlocked model: a note of caution in that a phone's shelf life begins when it is made, not when you purchase it.  So there is no telling how long a "new", but discontinued, phone will last if you were to buy it now since it's been around a few years.  If storage is a concern, you can buy some unlocked phones with rather huge amounts of storage space - someone else here mentioned they'd bought a newer model unlocked Samsung with 1 TB of storage space on it (however, this unlocked version did not support Verizon's video calling because it had not been built in) - or you can move items from your phone to a PC via a USB cable.

[vzw_customer_support]

We want to provide the correct information to help you with your concern. You stated on your first post that this device was purchased through a reseller. We are not able to unlock devices that were not purchased directly from Verizon. Please reach out to the seller for assistance. ~Peter

[damonnabru]

If I were Verizon, I would have published this statement in my publicly available unlock policy in  an instant so that this is all nipped in the bud and so I don't have to deal with endless customer whining.

Years of complaints, identical to mine, and this obvious, oh-so-simple explanation is nowhere to be found? Your statement is patently false and is just another reason not to trust Verizon, a company which unlawfully maintains device locks inside their network while claiming some magical third party is responsible for keeping their hands tied.

[damonnabru]

Interesting!

Every time I've heard a variation of a purchase requirement from Verizon, I've wondered to myself, "if Verizon is allowed to lock devices without a verifiable proof of purchase, why is it not defined in their device unlock policy? Wouldn't it cut down on the amount of customer complaints to simply advertise this up front?"

Does Verizon enjoy creating friction with customers with unclear policies, or do they perhaps see this as an opportunity to extract elevated international plan fees from people who are otherwise eligible to use other carriers but just don't know any better?

FCC along with CTIA maintains device unlocking standards, of which Verizon is a signatory. Based on the policy laid out, one year is the maximum amount of time ANY device can be locked (again, no stipulations for purchase origin).
https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/cell-phone-unlocking-faqs

https://www.ctia.org/about-ctia/our-members

https://www.ctia.org/the-wireless-industry/industry-commitments/consumer-code-for-wireless-service