From this article -- <i>&quot;They&#x27;re locked to Tracfone&#x27;s network, and Tracfone has a very punitive unlocking policy: you have to use this cheap, pretty lousy Android phone for a year on Tracfone&#x27;s network before you can unlock it.&quot;</i><p>As opposed to the original iPhone which had a non-existent unlocking policy :-)