How To Unlock A Verizon Phone Without The Code

Verizon often gets a bad rap before being more expensive than most, but that comes with a handful of different perks. Aside from having one of the best networks in the US, they also make it extremely easy to unlock their devices — no request form or stringent customer requirements necessary. The only “requirement” per-say is that you have a Verizon phone.

So if you’re not quite sure how to unlock a Verizon phone, be sure to follow along below. We’ll show you step-by-step on how you can unlock your phone, and in just a couple of seconds, too. Here we go!

Unlock a Verizon Phone

Verizon for years has made it extremely easy to unlock one of their phones with the unlock code at all. Verizon doesn’t have any request portal or step-by-step guidelines to unlock their phones; in fact, they don’t even have a list of requirements that you have to follow in order to unlock it. That’s because Verizon keeps all of their phones, well, unlocked from the get-go.

Any SIM-equipped 4G LTE smartphones are already unlocked. You can take your phone at any point in time to another carrier — even if you just bought the phone a few minutes ago! Here’s the official statement from Verizon:

“We do not lock most phones or tablets that are activated with our postpay service either during or after the term of your service contract or Device Payment Plan installment sales agreement. We do not lock our 4G LTE devices, and no code is needed to program them for use with another carrier.”

See? No unlock code necessary. Of course, there are a couple of things to remember when taking your. Most Verizon phones launched recently will work flawlessly on GSM networks like AT&T and T-Mobile — even as far as texting, calling, and LTE features go; however, Verizon has been a CDMA carrier for years, which means that’s the primary network that many of its phones have operated on. So, naturally, some of the older phones might not have the GSM radios necessary to call and text within the US, not to even mention being able to operate on LTE. Once again though, you should be fine as far as any recent Verizon phone goes, but you’ll need to do your research on some of the older ones (or even just take one for a test run).

If you’re running into trouble with using your SIM-equipped Verizon phone on another network, you can call 888-294-6804 for assistance.

Many postpaid 3G devices can sort of be unlocked without a code. There are two preset codes that you can use to unlock them — either “000000” or “123456”. However, there is a brand of 3G devices that do require a special code. That brand is Verizon’s World Devices, and you have to talk to a Verizon tech to get that unlocked, or use a third-party service, which we’ll touch on momentarily.

Prepaid devices are a little different. Like postpaid 3G devices, many can be unlocked with the preset codes “000000” or “123456″; however, many prepaid devices bought off the shelf have to be activated for 12 months before you can unlock. Luckily, there’s a way around that with third-party unlock companies.

Use a third-party service

As you can see, it’s pretty easy to unlock a 4G LTE SIM-equipped smartphone, but it gets a little more difficult when it comes to 3G devices and prepaid devices. After all, the carrier certainly wants to keep you on their network and not on a competitor’s network. That said, you can skip the Verizon red tape by simply using a third-party service to unlock your phone. You’ll just buy a code from an unlock company — which can cost as much as $60 — but it’ll get your phone operating on another network in no time, and without all of the barriers that Verizon puts in front of you, such as a prepaid device needing to be activated for 12 months.

You’ll want to search around and research good companies for this, though. Make sure they’re reputable, otherwise you might end up handing your money to one in return for, well, nothing. Most reputable companies out there will have a customer service team on standby to assist you with unlocking your phone with their supplied code.

Verdict

Here we’ve shown you how you can unlock a Verizon phone without the code; however, some phones on Verizon just require a code — there’s not much way to get around it without one. The good news is that you don’t have to meet Verizon’s requirements to get that code — an unlock service can get one of those phones operating on another network in a jiffy.

Do you have an unlocked Verizon phone? How easy was it for you to use it on another carrier’s network?