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Having lived in a lot of countries over the past couple of decades, I can say this is absolutely something Americans do completely wrong. Just buy your phone at full price. The "free" phones cost significantly more than a full price phone.
It was also much easier to import cheap unlocked phones from abroad when the whole world used at most 4 frequency bands. Now there's several dozen and I don't think even the most expensive flagship phones support all of them.

To paraphrase a common phrase I've seen around here: The "G" in "LTE" stands for "global".

In Norway several of the mobile phone telecom operators sell phones on down payment plans that cost nothing extra compared to buying it cash up front.

It has been like this for several years and it’s great!

You can pay a pretty low monthly down payment over a period of 36 month.

As far as I’ve been able to tell, I don’t even have to enter into any binding contract for any phone plan to buy the phone this way. And even if I did have to do that the most they are allowed to bind me to is 12 months, by law.

Consumer protection laws in my country are fabulous :)

That’s what I thought and did this for years. However, the major carriers do offer promotions and incentives that make the phones cheaper, sometimes significantly. e.g. of recent deal from major US carriers: iPhone 16 deal for $16/month for 36 months ($576 total) versus Apple store $699.
Another label I fell for in the US was "lite" cooking oil. The fine print said "light in colour."

The "free" is just advertising and for people habituated to credit, it's a no-brainer. Pun intended.

I wouldn’t be surprised if they rip people off on cheaper phones, but for higher end phones the “free” phones are typically exactly the normal price of the phone split over 24 payments. Every time I buy a new phone I compare buying it directly versus via a carrier and it always comes down to which option currently has a promotion or sale I can take advantage of.
> The "free" phones cost significantly more than a full price phone

I buy phones at full price, but in general the free/subsidized versions don't cost more. You just pay over time. For many people, it would even be worth it to pay somewhat more if they don't have the money to pay up front.

One downside though is that you're more likely to upgrade to features you don't need because "it's only an extra $5/6/10 per month". Gotta always consider the total cost.

Is this an option that's available all the time? Back when the Nexus 5 was still new, I tried doing exactly this and took one I just bought to my local Verizon outlet to have it activated on their network. The tech there told me that while the phone DID have the hardware needed to be compatible on Verizon's network, he was "not allowed" to activate it for me unless I bought it directly through them. I've since switched to T-Mobile and never looked back.
it's a lot easier to pay smaller amounts over time than it is to pay a large lump sum, even if it is technically less after x number of years. Delayed gratification etc, but also sometimes folks need a phone and can't put off the purchase until they save up the upfront price. T
My monthly plan payment would not go down if I brought my own phone.
I suspect that many Americans would struggle to afford to pay for a phone outright. The vast majority live paycheck to paycheck and are already in record amounts of household debt.
Huh? My Pixel 9 was free (late 2024) with a 20€/month 2 year contract that includes unlimited calls, SMS, and 5 gigs of 5G data. 480€ when the cheapest full price was over 500 (and then wouldn’t include the data or calls). Certainly not an American thing, and certainly not "significantly more".
"Verizon was previously required to unlock phones automatically after 60 days due to restrictions imposed on its spectrum licenses and merger conditions that helped Verizon obtain approval of its purchase of TracFone. But an update applied today to the TracFone unlocking policy said new phones will be locked for at least a year and that each customer will have to request an unlock instead of getting it automatically."

merger conditions.

I mean, it was really difficult to get it unlocked after 60 days: you had to know the special password "for travel."
Why is anyone even tolerating a carrier selling them a phone locked for a single day (unless it is free with plan or something in which case there's nothing wrong)?

If you're using an iPhone, buy it from the Apple Store, full stop. No reason not to. If you need financing they have that (ACMI). They also sell older models refurb (like new condition) to save even more.

For a cheap Android (Revvl 60 or whatever), they'll just give you another cheap one next time you switch carriers, right? They are basically e-waste after a year or two and don't get updates.

And basically the only flagship Android widely sold in America is Samsung which is also sold DTC, albeit only online, and sometimes has promos for direct purchase? Maybe not as much financing tho. The other OEMs either don't sell in the US, or have some DTC presence too (ex. OnePlus).

> Why is anyone even tolerating a carrier selling them a phone locked for a single day (unless it is free with plan or something in which case there's nothing wrong)?

I sometimes buy carrier locked phones when the unlock period is reasonable and the locked phone + the required service is a good deal compared to buying unlocked.

I don't think a 1 year locked period is reasonable though, unless it was locked to the carrier I actually intend to use.

> Why is anyone even tolerating a carrier selling them a phone locked for a single day

When I graduated from college, a large majority of the recent graduates at my first job had new cars.

I still see this trend - young people with the latest iphone and/or new cars, and not worrying about being tied to payments.

I think this will happen... forever.

I would find it so deeply enjoyable to see the homes of Verizon management equipped with paddlocks on their bathroom doors, refrigerators, garages, etc.

It would be my pleasure to announce to them that the terms of service dictate that the padlocks would never be removed, but the new subscription fees would be announced shortly.

It would be delicious to see such a delightful revenge sink deep into their lives.

Until such time, enjoy our esteem, you scoundrels!

> AT&T’s policy allows unlocking of phones on postpaid plans after 60 days if the device has been paid in full, or after six months for phones on prepaid plans. T-Mobile’s policy allows unlocking of phones on postpaid plans after 40 days if the device has been paid in full, or after 365 days for phones on prepaid plans.

If the phone is paid in full, what is the justification for not unlocking it?

Playing devils advocate…

In cases of fraud, it creates buffer time for the consumer who’s identity was stolen to notice and notify before the device disappears.

Can a carrier ever surreptitiously lock an unlocked phone, or is it only on phones financed or purchased through the carrier? For example, if I bought an unlocked phone and attached it to my Verizon plan, could Verizon lock it?
Historically phone locking was done at the modem level via an NCK code - if a phone is supplied by a carrier the modem will come pre-locked and will only be unlocked upon entry of an NCK code which the carrier has the secret key to generate (hash(secret+imei)). With this system if the phone is not locked to begin with I am not aware of any way to toggle this mechanism remotely.

With smartphones however, the game has changed. Apple for example no longer locks their modems at all and instead rely on a software-level check as part of the "activation" process (at first boot where it also gets its client certificates/etc to talk to Apple services) - said activation policy can be changed remotely, and Apple are very cagey about their full capabilities. I have read of some vendors selling iPhones that would be unlocked at first but lock themselves to the first carrier they see.

It's unlikely Apple would ever enforce or change an activation policy on a phone purchased directly from them, so you should be safe. But technically, it's up to the phone manufacturer. I am not sure what the Android situation is in comparison.

Technically possible
Interesting coincidence. I just ordered a new Tracfone for 50 bucks. I had assumed the unlock policy was 1 year. The same phone, unlocked, was much more expensive. Strategically, I figured that after being a Tracfone customer for well over a decade, I probably wouldn't get around to switching for yet another year, so I'm OK.
Well, I don't know if people ever look at old threads, but I had an inspiration, and decided to unlock my old phone before switching to the new one. Tracfone made it utterly painless. Now I have an unlocked phone should I ever travel to a faraway place and need to get a local SIM card.
I'm glad I stumbled across this: life circumstances have allowed me go abroad for a trip the past two years. One thing I had forgotten about since the last trip were some of my group being unable to get one of the cheap prepaid data eSIMs because their phone was still locked to the carrier. I've been tempted to replace my aging iPhone SE 2022 (^1) with a trade-in deal and get a new phone, but it never occurred to me that would mean being forced to use AT&T's $10/day (capped at $100 in one billing cycle) "International Day Pass" during future trips until it had been paid off for long enough.

(^1) I wish I wasn't so tempted after ~4 years, but the battery health has dropped to 75% and the performance has suffered dramatically. A new battery is on the table I suppose, but I am split between just putting that money towards a new phone.

>I wish I wasn't so tempted after ~4 years, but the battery health has dropped to 75% and the performance has suffered dramatically.

Won't help with performance, but I've found that keeping bluetooth and location turned off lets me use the phone for the whole day without needing a recharge. Only thing that eats battery is video calls.

Pocket-sized devices with more computing power than we could have dreamed of as children, and society has somehow allowed it to become a completely miserable experience.

I'm part of the problem. But I won't be (as much) after I get a used one and put Graphene OS on it.

Be careful about used Pixels. The Verizon and probably other carrier branded versions do not allow bootloader unlock at all, even after the modem is no longer locked.
I still remember at the beginning of the mobile era, when there were tons of small "repair shops" that would unlock phones for a small fee. They are likely still around.
One of my oldest MSN friends (I think I have him on WhatsApp now) would unlock iPhones and later Androids for ages, his status on MSN was literally "I will unlock your phone" or something like that. Guy was from Belize, cool dude.
Buy your own phone like everyone’s saying, but also use an MVNO instead of setting money on fire paying the major carriers. The better MVNOs even have multiple carriers and allow you to switch at any time.
Honestly everyone should just use T-Mobile Connect. They make it very hard to find on their site, but it's their true prepaid service, cheapest plan is 5GB of data and unlimited calls/texts, and it won't a lesser priority like MVNOs are.

The fact that people pay over $100/month for a phone bill is truly a uniquely mind-boggling American thing.

TracFone / Straight Talk was my MVNO of choice, then Verizon bought them. >sigh<

(I wonder if this unlocking policy will retroactively apply to the locked Striaght Talk phone I bought back in October.)

Thanks FCC for looking out for the little guys!
Slightly off-topic but if you want to buy Pixels for GrapheneOS or similar: never buy the Verizon version. They do not allow bootloader unlock even after the modem is unlocked.
What irks me about this is that consumers are already financially on the hook in terms of subscription periods and cancellation policies and conditional deals etc. The only legitimate reason to "lock" the phone hardware is to ensure the person doesn't pay with a stolen credit card and vanish... which doesn't take a whole dang year!

The long locking-period is just a way to impose a stealthy and anti-competitive switching-cost onto consumers, denying them the right to use the things they own.

It's also an example of how just because one doesn't care about politics... doesn't mean it won't "care" about you.

> While the Biden-era FCC’s leadership criticized yearlong locking periods and proposed a 60-day unlocking requirement for all carriers, the Trump FCC appears likely to write a new industry-wide standard that would be welcomed by large mobile carriers.

On Slickdeals, the 60 day unlock after paying for one month of service was often used for locked phones like the $49 iPhone SE. This prevents that.
Legislation is sorely needed to protect consumers against such awful practices.
Just buy your own phone. A midrange Samsung is like 350 eurodollars these days.
Why is anyone using Verizon?
Unpopular opinion. SIM locking is actually good.

If a carrier cannot trust you (especially due to bad credit history), they can't sell you the phone you want if you don't pay outright, and many people aren't able to do that. SIM locks are basically "repossessions but for phones." Nobody argues in good faith that banks shouldn't be allowed to evict you if you don't pay your mortgage, and that's effectively what a "no SIM locks" policy does for phones.

To make things even worse, it's far too easy for fraudsters to buy a phone using a stolen identity, never pay a single installment, and instantly sell it on the second-hand market. For SIM-locked phones, the carrier can brick the phone until it is fully paid of, so that kind of fraud is not possible.

Sim locks do enable some abuse, particularly around roaming fees, as you're not allowed to swap your SIM when leaving the country. However, They're a blunt tool unsuited to the 21st century internet-enabled smartphones. One could imagine a mechanism where the carrier is still allowed to brick the phone in case of fraud, but there's no actual SIM lock.

This is why we buy phones directly from Apple. They come unlocked.
I’m switching to T-Mobile.
Oh Murica
Another thing this administration reverted. It never ends.