If you bought a phone through a carrier on contract, there’s a good chance the phone’s SIM could be locked to the network. This is normal. However, you can request to have it unlocked. Unfortunately for Verizon , it denied a man’s request to unlock his iPhone, following which the customer sued Verizon and won .
Verizon sued over customer request to unlock his iPhone
Earlier this year, Kansas resident Patrick Roach bought a discounted iPhone 16e from Verizon’s Straight Talk brand. It was a gift for his wife’s birthday. Roach intended to pay for one month of service, cancel, and switch to US Mobile, which is the carrier the couple uses.
According to Roach, “The best deals tend to be buying it from one of these MVNOs [Mobile Virtual Network Operators] and then activating it until it unlocks and then switching it to whatever you are planning to use it with. It usually saves you about half the value of the phone.”
By right, Verizon should have honored his request to unlock his device, but the carrier refused . So what did Roach do? The customer sued Verizon for refusing to unlock his device, and the best part is that he won. According to Verizon, it had initially refused Roach’s request because of a recent policy change . This change meant that Verizon would only unlock devices after “60 days of paid active service,” meaning two months. Roach only paid for one month.
However, Verizon’s policy was implemented on April 1st, 2025, a little over a month after Roach made his purchase. This meant that Verizon was trying to retroactively apply its new policy. Ultimately, Roach won his case against Verizon. The carrier initially tried to settle for $600 plus court fees, but Roach turned it down because he did not want to give up on his right to speak about the case. In the end, the judge ordered Verizon to pay back $410.40 Roach paid for the device, along with court costs and service fees.
What you need to know about the unlocking policy
Getting your phone unlocked from your carrier might differ from carrier to carrier and country to country. However, in the US, carriers are legally required to unlock your phone upon request. Customers need to meet certain requirements, such as not having unpaid bills or an outstanding contract. The FCC also has rules that require carriers to unlock phones 60 days after activation.
So, the next time you want to unlock your phone, maybe because you want to switch carriers to use a local SIM card when traveling overseas, it’s best to call your carrier ahead of time and find out what you need.
