To cancel a line on AT&T, call the loyalty team at 800.331.0500 or use live chat when it’s available.1AT&T. Cancel Wireless Service or Remove a Line Before you dial, read the next section. If you want to keep the phone number, cancelling first is how people lose numbers they’ve had for years.
Keep the Number? Port First, Don’t Cancel
If you cancel the line before a new carrier finishes transferring the number, the port request gets denied and the number may be gone for good. The FCC says it directly: do not terminate service with your existing company before initiating new service with another company.2FCC. Porting: Keeping Your Phone Number When You Change Providers
The correct order is to sign up with the new carrier first, then give them your AT&T account number and a Number Transfer PIN. Dial *PORT from the phone on the line you want to move to get that PIN.3AT&T. Get a PIN to Transfer Your Wireless Number When the port completes, AT&T cancels that line automatically. No separate cancellation call needed. Any remaining device installment balance still lands on your final bill, but the line itself closes on its own.1AT&T. Cancel Wireless Service or Remove a Line
What to Settle Before You Cancel
Three charges can turn a routine cancellation into a painful final bill. Check all three before you call.
Device Installment Balance
If the phone on the line is still on an AT&T installment plan, the full remaining balance comes due the moment the line is cancelled. AT&T’s cancellation page says the unpaid installment balance appears on the final bill, and that includes accessory installment plans.1AT&T. Cancel Wireless Service or Remove a Line On a newer flagship a few months into a 36-month plan, that number can easily top $800. You can see the remaining amount in the myAT&T app under your device details. These plans carry 0% interest under federal Truth in Lending disclosures, so there’s no financing penalty built into the payoff.4AT&T. AT&T Device Installment Plan Terms
Early Termination Fee
Most AT&T wireless lines today are month-to-month, no contract. If yours is still under a one- or two-year service commitment, an early termination fee applies. For consumer accounts, the fee ranges from $58 to $325 depending on time remaining.5AT&T. AT&T Mobility Fee Schedule The amount drops each month, so a line near the end of its term owes much less than one cut loose early.
Promotional Credits You’ll Lose
This is the quiet one. If you took a trade-in deal, a buy-one-get-one, or any offer that pays out as monthly bill credits over 36 months, those credits stop the day the line is cancelled. Twelve months into an $800 promotion, you forfeit the roughly $530 you haven’t yet received. There’s no lump-sum payout for the leftover. AT&T structures these promotions to keep the line active for the full 36 months, and cancelling is one of the defined credit-stopping events. The promotion cannot be moved to another line.
Making the Cancellation Call
AT&T offers two routes: live chat when available, or 800.331.0500. If your account is in Illinois, Massachusetts, or New York and you originally ordered service online, you may also be able to cancel through the myAT&T website.1AT&T. Cancel Wireless Service or Remove a Line Everywhere else, the self-service portal won’t show a cancellation option for voice lines.
Only the primary account holder or an authorized user can request the cancellation. Have your AT&T account number ready (printed in the top-right area of your monthly bill) along with your account passcode. The passcode is the numeric code you set when you opened the account, not your phone’s lock screen PIN. You can reset it in the myAT&T app under your profile settings if you’ve forgotten.
The representative will ask why you’re leaving. These calls route through the loyalty team, whose job is to pitch retention offers. Hear them out or decline. Once the cancellation is processed, the line stays active through the end of your current billing cycle.
What Your Final Bill Looks Like
AT&T does not prorate service when you cancel mid-cycle. If your billing period runs the 5th through the 4th and you cancel on the 15th, you pay for the full month and can keep using the service through the end of that cycle.6AT&T. Prorated Credits for Service Cancellation Are Ending Cancelling near the end of a billing period means paying for days you’ll actually use.
The final statement includes the last month’s standard service charge, any accelerated installment balance, and the early termination fee if one applies. AT&T keeps a payment method on file and may charge it if the final bill isn’t paid by the due date. The statement usually arrives within one to two billing cycles after cancellation.
How Removing a Line Changes Your Plan Price
AT&T’s multi-line plans get cheaper per line as you add lines, and the pricing works in reverse too. On the AT&T Value 2.0 plan, four lines run $30 each per month, while a single line is $40.7AT&T. Wireless Plans: Our Most Affordable Cell Phone Plans Dropping from four lines to three can push the cost of every remaining line up. Check your plan’s pricing tiers in the myAT&T app before cancelling so you know what the surviving lines will actually cost.
Alternatives to Cancelling
If the real goal is to stop paying for an unused line rather than cut it off permanently, AT&T lets you suspend wireless service temporarily.8AT&T. Suspend Service A suspended line keeps the number reserved and stops most charges. It also avoids triggering installment acceleration and promotional credit forfeiture. Worth considering if someone in the household is traveling for a while or you’re not sure you’ll need the line again soon.
For a line still earning promotional credits, there’s another play: keep it on the cheapest plan available until the 36-month promo period ends, then cancel. Paying $25 to $30 a month for a line is sometimes cheaper than forfeiting $500 or more in remaining credits.
Military Members on Deployment
Active-duty service members with deployment orders have protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. AT&T waives early termination fees for eligible members and lets you place the wireless number on hold for up to 39 months instead of cancelling outright. Eligibility extends to service members, spouses, and dependents when the service member is transferring for 90 days or more for active-duty deployment, basic training, a base-to-base transfer, or activation from the Reserves or National Guard. You’ll upload or fax deployment orders along with your account number, the phone numbers to cancel, and the requested cancellation date. The account must be in good standing, and the most recent bill still needs to be paid.9AT&T. Cancel or Reactivate AT&T Service for U.S. Military
Returning Equipment
If your cancelled line involved any AT&T-provided equipment beyond the phone itself, like a leased hotspot or accessory, return it promptly to avoid non-return fees. Returns go through FedEx Office Print & Ship Center locations specifically, not FedEx Ship Centers, FedEx Freight, or FedEx OnSite locations inside stores like Walgreens.10FedEx. AT&T Equipment Returns – FedEx Office Locations Bring the equipment listed in your return notification email along with your account number.
Phones bought on an installment plan are yours once the balance is paid, so there’s nothing to return. The accelerated payoff triggered by the cancellation settles the hardware obligation. If you plan to keep using the phone on another carrier, make sure it’s unlocked before you cancel.