For most people, having a Verizon iPhone means having a high-end smartphone that relies on a top-rated coverage network. When using Verizon services, you can trust that you will be able to enjoy 4G LTE and 5G networks all the time. Therefore, you can make calls, text, and even surf the internet the way you please. However, all these advantages come at a cost, which might make you reconsider your choices as far as carrier services are concerned.
Once you unlock your Verizon iPhone, you will be able to utilize the services of other carriers out there. This article will outline the various requirements that you need to meet in order to unlock your Verizon iPhone. Besides this, you will know the steps that you should follow, among other details.
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General Requirements to Unlock A Verizon iPhone
Unlocking a Verizon iPhone needs you to meet several requirements. To start with, your device needs to be legitimate. By being legitimate, it means that the device should not have been reported as lost or even stolen.
Besides this, it should not be associated with any sort of illegal activity. This is because Verizon does not unlock devices that have either been stolen or used to conduct any fraudulent activities out there.
In addition, your account should be free of any financial obligations. Therefore, if you have any arrears with the carrier, you should clear them first before your iPhone is actually unlocked. If you accepted a contract in exchange for a subsidized up-front cost, you would have to either wait until your contract is up. In this case, it might take about 24 months. Better still, if you bought your phone on a payment plan, there is a need for you to pay the balance first.
If you check keenly, most carriers normally require users to be active for a certain number of days before allowing devices to be unlocked. For instance, T-Mobile requires the user to be active for about 40 days. However, Verizon is different as it does not have a minimum period of time that the user must be active while using the services of this carrier. Finally, should you factory reset your phone before a new network is recognized? Therefore, ensure that you back up all your iPhone’s content so that you do not lose essential data.
How I Request My iPhone To Be Unlocked From Verizon?
If you just bought a Verizon iPhone and you would want to unlock it, you should not be limited to waiting too many days for you to switch carriers. All you need to do is to contact the customer care team to unlock it for you. Here, you will need to dial *611, and then you will be able to reach Verizon’s customer support.
Once you reach the customer support representative, you will be asked several questions such as your login information, your iPhone’s IMEI number, and so on. All these details are to ascertain that you are the legitimate owner of the phone.
This information has to be verified so that your iPhone can be unlocked. If everything is okay, you will receive a confirmation email or text within 7 business days. After that, you will be at liberty to use SIM cards from other carriers on your device.
Verizon iPhone Unlocking Policies
As you plan to unlock your Verizon iPhone, it is important that you know some of the unlocking policies that apply. These include:
- Devices bought from Verizon are normally locked for 60 days after purchase.
- The devices that you bought from Verizon’s retail partners are normally locked for 60 days after activation. However, after the 60 days are over, Verizon normally removes the lock.
- Once the 60 day lock period is over, Verizon does not lock their phone any time, after that.
The above-mentioned policies usually apply for postpaid phones. However, if you have a prepaid phone, here are the policies that apply:
- Devices that are purchased from Verizon are normally locked for 60 days after activation. The same applies for those devices purchased from their retail partners. However, once the 60 days are over, the lock is automatically removed.
- Once the 60 days lock is over, the carrier does not lock their devices at any time.
- If by any chance, you bought a 4G Phone-in-a-Box from Verizon’s retail partners, there is need for you to check the back of the box in order to determine the lock applicable to that device.
Steps for Unlock a Verizon iPhone
If you want to unlock your Verizon iPhone, there are a series of steps that you should follow. Once you finish this process successfully, you will be at liberty to use a different carrier’s services as long as the carrier in question has a SIM card that works well with your iPhone’s hardware. Here are the steps that you should follow to get started:
1. Check and see if your iPhone is already unlocked
This might surprise you, but Verizon does not carrier-lock all their iPhones. Therefore, you should first check and see if your device is locked or unlocked. If you paid your device in full at the point of purchase, it should not be locked. The same applies if your iPhone is on a payment plan that you have already completed.
2. Ensure that your account does not have arrears
However, if the phone is locked, it can still be unlocked for you so that you can be free to utilize the service of other carriers you please. If the device is locked, you can have it unlocked by ensuring that you do not have any overdue payments or flags on your account. If you already have such issues, you should ensure that you resolve them before unlocking your iPhone.
Besides this, you should ensure that you are the legitimate owner of the handset. This is because Verizon hardly unlocks devices that have been stolen or used for fraudulent activities. Only the real account owners can authorize the process of unlocking a locked Verizon phone. The real owner has therefore to be found so that the device can be unlocked successfully.
3. Ensure that you have the right details regarding the phone
Like we mentioned above, there are some information that you should ensure that you have at your fingertips. These include the:
- Verizon login details where you will need to know your email address or phone number, PIN and so on.
- The iPhone model
- The iPhone IMEI number.
4. Contact the customer support team
Once you have this information handy, you can now reach out to Verizon’s customer care team. Here, you can trust that you will get a representative who will help you unlock your iPhone. All you need to do is to open your iPhone’s phone app and then dial *611.
By dialing *611, you will reach Verizon’s customer support team on the other end. Here, you will be asked a number of questions regarding your device. These include your Verizon’s login details, iPhone model, and its IMEI as well.
As mentioned above, you should have this information at your fingertips. You can even write this information somewhere so that you will only be making references when asked by Verizon’s customer support representative.
It is important that you ensure that your iPhone has enough charge to last you several minutes on the call as you might be put on hold for several minutes to several hours. All this depends on when you make the call and so on.
5. Wait for the unlock confirmation
Once you have provided the right details to Verizon’s customer support representative, you will have to wait for the unlock confirmation. In most cases, it takes a maximum period of 7 business days for you to receive this information. Here, you can expect that you will either receive an email or a text.
6. Insert another carrier’s card
The moment your iPhone has been unlocked, you can go ahead and start using the services of other carriers out there. It all depends on the carrier that pleases you. After all, you should be rational when choosing carrier services to use.
You can go ahead and place a SIM card from the said carrier in your iPhone and then start enjoying its services. It is important that you ensure that the SIM card will work well with your iPhone’s internal hardware. This is because some carriers cannot support carrier-specific models of other carrier’s phones.
Final Recap
By unlocking your phone, you can be sure that you will enjoy a lot of freedom regarding carrier services. It also helps you to enjoy the freedom of mobility. In fact, you are likely to save more on cost and enjoy huge network coverage, especially if you are fond of traveling from time to time. The steps mentioned above can help you unlock your Verizon iPhone successfully. Consider the steps today, and you will be able to do more with your iPhone.
