The Moto Z Is Now Unlocked!

[Mustang02]

Wow I'm old...

Not sure of the relevance to this topic. When verizon bought block C 700mhz they were required to not lock phones to their network.

 

[kinfolk248]

Not sure of the relevance to this topic. When verizon bought block C 700mhz they were required to not lock phones to their network.

So no phone locks anymore... Hmmm cool. Learn something new!

 

[FoxKat]

I thought the 700 spectrum agreement forbid carrier locking a phone.

And you are right. What I said was they "were" and "have been", implying in the past. I know that recently that may have changed. I appreciate your clarifying.

According to the FCC, the new rules were adopted 2014, and went into effect in February 2015;

"In 2014, CTIA-The Wireless Association adopted six standards on unlocking into the CTIA's Consumer Code for Wireless Service (www.ctia.org/policy-initiatives/voluntary-guidelines/consumer-code-for-wireless-service). The new standards, which are fully in effect among all nationwide mobile service providers as of Feb. 11, 2015, give consumers greater freedom and flexibility while increasing incentives for service providers to innovate."

Cell Phone Unlocking FAQs

So prior to 2014, and possibly as recent as 2015, Verizon was not required and may not have allowed any to be unlocked.

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[JKZ]

As others have already stated, all Verizon 4G phones are already unlocked. However, all Verizon phones come with whatever extra software modifications Verizon wants to put on the phone. Sometimes they remove features that the manufacturer originally included, and they always add Verizon oriented apps and bloatware to the device. Some of which cannot be removed by the user.

Now some manufactures such as Samsung are starting to release unlocked phones that can be purchased directly through the manufacturer or other retail stores which also happen to work on Verizon's network. This means they include the CDMA radios necessary for Verizon. In the past most of these unlocked phones were GSM only and would not work on Verizon. The big advantage to these phones is that they include no modifications from Verizon and no extra crap on the phone wasting valuable space.

 

[pwrdbykyank]

Ive sold many verizon phones in the past 4 years to over 15 countries and never had any issues, always come factory unlocked. Especially motorola phones, they have always had the best antennas and radios, worked on most networks and bands.

 

[FoxKat]

Well I stand corrected, and yet as is very often the case, the most accurate answer is..."it depends" regarding many of the Verizon phones. The total answer is that 4G phones which were SIM based and which had GSM radios (Global Ready), were unlocked. IPhones that were Global Ready 3G, some earlier Motorola phones such as the Droid 2 Global and Droid 3 as well as any prepaid phones sold by Verizon were carrier locked. If the phones were not prepaid but were carrier locked you could request an unlock code. For those phones which were prepaid, they were locked to Verizon for the first 12 months after activation (except for military), after which they could be unlocked.


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