TracFone Will Unlock Cell Phones Following FCC Settlement

TracFone has reached a settlement with the FCC that is expected to affect millions of consumers who purchased prepaid cell phones locked to the TracFone network.

The allegations against TracFone said that it violated rules set forth by the Federal Communications Commission when it falsely stated it would unlock cell phones for customers who participated in the FCC’s Lifeline phone subsidy program.

The FCC’s Enforcement Bureau said that TracFone’s agreement to transition to making all its cell phones “unlockable” serves as a resolution to the FCC investigation that determined the company violated agency rules.

A cell phone that has been locked contains software that prevents it from functioning on other cellular networks.

According to the Enforcement Bureau, TracFone repeatedly certified that it would abide by industry standard in following a code of conduct that required handsets for Lifeline customers to be unlocked.

This code of conduct for the wireless industry was instituted in February 2015, however TracFone did not abide by the established code, according to allegations. Rather, it claimed that for “security reasons” it contracted with cell phone manufacturers that do not have the technical capability of being unlocked, according to the consent decree.

To resolve the allegations in the FCC investigation, TracFone has not only agreed to make its phones unlockable for Lifeline customers, but will also make its phones unlockable for non-Lifeline customers as well.

Under the terms of the settlement, TracFone consumers who used a prepaid cellphone for at least one year should be able to receive one of the following benefits, in exchange for their locked handset:

• A new unlocked handset for Lifeline customers
• Credit toward a handset upgrade
• A partial cash refund

It is estimated that at least 8 million customers will benefit from the terms of this settlement.

The average benefit to consumers is approximately $10 per handset, thereby estimating that the total TracFone settlement will be approximately $80 million.

TracFone has already been providing some unlockable handsets as of the last few months, and is required to ensure that all its phones are unlockable before the end of 2016.

Under the CTIA Consumer Code for Wireless Service, the CTIA Wireless Association included a total of six standards that governed unlocking cellular phones. Based on this Consumer Code, both Verizon and AT&T have agreed to unlock post-paid phones after consumer contracts were up at consumer request and would unlock prepaid phones one year after activation.

Both companies have agreed to disclose the terms of their specific unlocking policies on their respective websites.

To find out if you are eligible for compensation under the terms of this TracFone settlement, customers can visit www.TFWUnlockPolicy.com or call TracFone at 1-888-442-5102.