Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before it will unlock phones

Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by b00ty4breakfast on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @11:34PM (#46701179)

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

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Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by userbinator on Wednesday January 21, 2026 @12:10AM (#46701381)

but also sometimes folks need a phone and can't put off the purchase until they save up the upfront price.

Whatever happened to planning ahead? No wonder things are the way they are.

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Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by autoexec on Wednesday January 21, 2026 @12:22AM (#46701459)

Things being the way they are is exactly the reason Americans can't afford to pay for a cell phone upfront. There's no amount of "planning ahead" that will change that when people are living paycheck to paycheck and having to go into debt to afford basic things like groceries.

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Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by b00ty4breakfast on Wednesday January 21, 2026 @01:28PM (#46709518)

It's easy to forget this place is populated with upper-middleclass skilled professionals that probably haven't lived economically precariously in years, if ever.

For some folks out there, planning ahead is "will I have enough money for groceries next paycheck?". There are cheap phones, and I agree that folks are careless. But there is also a concerted effort to encourage this kind of behavior because the economy is built on this kind of dumb consumer spending and debt.

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Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by bandrami on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @11:37PM (#46701192)

You can buy a no-contract Android phone for like $80

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Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by delfinom on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @11:46PM (#46701237)

If you take a look at marketshare, Americans are animals that spend well beyond their means in bulk. Apple products or Samsung products dominate the smartphone market and it's the expensive ones.

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Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by bandrami on Tuesday January 20, 2026 @11:52PM (#46701277)

And the cars! JFC every time I come back to the States I'm amazed/shocked/appalled at these suburban land tanks everywhere. Just buy a normal car!

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Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by MobiusHorizons on Wednesday January 21, 2026 @01:01AM (#46701690)

To be fair I know a nontrivial number of people who bought their iPhones used. I’m sure that happens in the android market, but it doesn’t seem to be as common in the US. I think the fact that iPhones have offered acceptable support for much longer than android has helps a lot there.

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Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by kevin_thibedeau on Wednesday January 21, 2026 @12:25AM (#46701476)

You can get usable $150 phones to fulfill a need. Nobody needs a $1000 phone they can't afford.

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Re:Verizon starts requiring 365 days of paid service before ... by faust201 on Wednesday January 21, 2026 @01:18AM (#46701801)

People often give bs reasons like

- oh. I like night time camera from 1K pixel or iPhone

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