T-Mobile and AT&T say U.S. regulators should abandon a plan to require phones to be unlocked within 60 days of activation, arguing that locking phones on a carrier’s network allows them to deliver cheaper phones to consumers. “If the Commission imposes a uniform unlocking policy, consumers, not providers, will lose the most,” T-Mobile wrote in a statement Reported on October 17 with the Federal Communications Commission.
The proposed rule has the support of consumer groups, which say it will give users more choice and lower their costs. T-Mobile has been criticized for blocking phones for up to a year, which prevents you from using your phone on a competitor’s network. T-Mobile says the 60-day unlock rule “consumers risk losing access to the benefits of free or heavily subsidized phones because the proposal would force providers to limit the offerings of their most attractive phones.”
If the proposed rule is implemented, “T-Mobile estimates that its prepaid customers, for example, will see subsidies reduced by 40-70% for both low-end and high-end devices such as the Moto G, Samsung A15 and iPhone 12,” the carrier said. “A phone unlock mandate would also leave providers with little choice but to limit their phone offerings to cheaper and often less powerful phones.”
T-Mobile and other carriers are responding to a call for public comment that began after the FCC approved a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) by a 5–0 majority. The FCC proposes to “require all wireless mobile service providers to unlock phones 60 days after a consumer’s phone is activated with the provider, unless the service provider determines within 60 days that the phone was fraudulently purchased.”
When the FCC proposed the 60-day unlock rule in July 2024, the agency criticized T-Mobile for blocking pre-paid phones for a year. The NPRM indicated that “T-Mobile recently extended the lock-up period for one of its brands, Metro by T-Mobile, from 180 days to 365 days.”
T-Mobile policy claims that the operator will unlock mobile devices under a prepaid subscription only if “at least 365 days have passed since the activation of the device on the T-Mobile network.”
“You buy a phone, you should be able to take it to any provider,” FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said when the FCC proposed the rule. “Some suppliers already do this. Others don’t. In fact, some have recently increased the time customers wait until they can unlock their device by up to 100 percent.”
T-Mobile’s blocking policy is more burdensome
T-Mobile executives, who also say the FCC lacks the authority to impose the proposed rule, met with FCC officials last week to express their concerns.
“T-Mobile is passionate about winning customers for life and has explained how its phone unlocking policies bring tremendous benefits to our customers,” the carrier said in its motion after the meeting. “Our policies enable us to provide access to high-speed mobile broadband on the nationwide 5G network via phones that are free or heavily discounted from the manufacturer’s suggested retail price. T-Mobile’s unblocking policies are see-through and there is absolutely no evidence of consumer harm resulting from these policies. T-Mobile’s current phone unlocking policies also lend a hand T-Mobile fight phone theft and fraud committed by sophisticated, international criminal organizations.