To cancel an AT&T plan, you call AT&T — 800.331.0500 for wireless, 800.288.2020 for internet or TV — and only the primary account holder can authorize it. There is no universal online cancellation. Before you dial, though, two things decide whether this costs you nothing extra or several hundred dollars: whether you’re keeping your phone number, and what promotional credits are currently subsidizing your device payments.
Port Your Number Before You Cancel
If you’re moving your phone number to a new carrier, start the transfer first. Canceling AT&T first will kill the number transfer and the wireless order you placed with the new carrier. Your new provider initiates the port on their end, but they need three things from you: your AT&T account number, the name on the account, and a Number Transfer PIN.
To get the PIN, dial *PORT (*7678) from your AT&T phone, verify your four-digit account passcode, and press 1. AT&T texts a temporary six-digit transfer PIN. You can also generate one in the myAT&T app or on att.com under your profile’s “People & permissions” settings. The PIN expires after four days, so don’t request it until your new carrier is ready to process the switch.
Once your new carrier submits the port request, AT&T cannot refuse it, even if you owe money. FCC rules require simple ports to be processed within one business day. When the port completes, AT&T automatically cancels the transferred line. You don’t need a separate disconnect call for that line.
What to Check Before You Call
Pull up your AT&T account number from the app, att.com, or a paper bill, and make sure you know your account passcode. If you’ve forgotten it, reset it through your profile before calling.
Then look at three things on your account:
- Remaining device installment balances on any phone, tablet, or wearable. The balance becomes due on your next bill after cancellation.
- Promotional bill credits from trade-ins or new-line deals. These stop the moment you cancel the associated line.
- Any legacy term contract. Most current plans don’t have one, but if yours does, an early termination fee may apply.
The promotional-credit trap is what catches people. Say you traded in a phone for $800 in credits spread over 36 months and cancel at month 12. You lose the remaining 24 months of credits and owe the full remaining installment balance with no offset. There is no prepayment penalty on the installment plan itself, but the subsidy vanishes the instant the line goes inactive.
One narrow reprieve: if you cancel a line within 90 days of activating it for a promotion, AT&T sends a notification text, and you have 30 days from that text to reinstate the line and restore the credits. After that window, the credits are gone for good.
Canceling Wireless Service
Call 800.331.0500 during business hours, or use AT&T’s chat feature when it’s available. Only the primary account holder can authorize cancellation. Expect a retention pitch — the agent will likely offer discounts or plan changes. If you’ve decided, be direct.
Online cancellation is extremely limited. It’s available only to customers in Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York who originally ordered their service online. Everyone else uses chat or the phone.
Before you hang up, ask for a cancellation confirmation number and write it down. If a billing dispute comes up later, that number is your proof that cancellation was requested on a specific date.
Wireless cancellations are not prorated. If you cancel mid-cycle, you pay for the full billing period, and your service stays active through the end of that period. There is no reason to cancel on day one of a new cycle.
Canceling Internet or TV Service
Internet and U-verse TV go through a different number: 800.288.2020. The account owner has to be the one on the line. Requests that come in outside business hours or on holidays are processed the next regular business day; weekend requests are handled during weekend hours, which vary by region.
AT&T internet comes with a 14-day cancellation window. Cancel within 14 days of activation and no early termination fee applies. After that, customers on a term commitment see a prorated ETF that decreases for each month of active service. The ETF appears on your bill within three billing periods of disconnection.
Online cancellation for internet is narrower still — only AT&T Internet Air accounts in Illinois and Massachusetts that were originally ordered online. For everything else, call.
Returning Your Equipment
After canceling internet or TV, you have 21 days from the disconnect date to return AT&T’s equipment. Miss the deadline and non-return fees hit:
- AT&T Fiber or AT&T Internet gateway: $150
- AT&T Internet Air gateway: $200
- AT&T Fixed Wireless gateway: $150
- Wi-Fi extender: $65 per device
Return the gateway, any Wi-Fi extenders, and their power supplies. You don’t need to return cables or remote controls.
The simplest route is walking into a company-owned FedEx Office or The UPS Store with your equipment and account number. A store employee scans your devices, packs them, and ships them at no cost. Get a tracking receipt before you leave; it’s your proof of return if AT&T later claims the equipment wasn’t received. Do not use a FedEx or UPS drop box. The equipment has to be scanned at the counter.
Early Termination Fees and Device Balances
Most current AT&T plans have no term contract, so ETFs are less common than they used to be. On older one- or two-year wireless contracts, the ETF ranges from $58 to $325 depending on how far in you are. Business accounts can go as high as $750.
Device installment plans are separate from service contracts and carry no prepayment penalty. The remaining balance simply shows up on your next statement after cancellation. The expensive part, as above, is losing the promotional credits that were subsidizing those monthly payments.
Your Final Bill
AT&T generates the final bill during the next standard billing cycle after cancellation. It will include the current month’s charges (not prorated for wireless), any remaining device installment balances, and any applicable early termination fee.
Review it carefully. Errors on final bills are common and get harder to catch once your online access shifts to a limited view-only mode.
Pay it promptly. AT&T doesn’t report normal account activity to credit bureaus, but unpaid final bills eventually go to collections, and the collection account will show on your credit report. Most carriers hand off delinquent accounts to collectors after roughly 60 to 90 days of nonpayment.
If You’re Active-Duty Military
Active-duty service members who receive orders to relocate for 90 days or more to a location that doesn’t support their AT&T contract can cancel without an early termination fee. The protection comes from the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act and covers wireless, internet, and TV contracts entered into before you received the relocation orders.
To use it, deliver written or electronic notice of termination along with a copy of your orders to AT&T, specifying the end date. AT&T must refund any fees paid in advance within 60 days, minus the remainder of the billing period in which termination happens. Service you already used is still owed.
If the relocation lasts three years or less and you re-subscribe within 90 days of returning, AT&T must let you keep your original phone number. Family plans can also terminate lines for family members relocating with you.
If Your Final Bill Looks Wrong
Charges for equipment you returned, a full billing period you were told would be prorated, installment charges that don’t match your records — start by calling customer service for the relevant line of service. Many billing errors get fixed in one call if you have your cancellation confirmation number and return tracking receipt in front of you.
If the call doesn’t resolve it, AT&T has a formal dispute process that starts with a Notice of Dispute form sent by certified mail; unresolved disputes can proceed to arbitration with the American Arbitration Association.
Keep everything: the cancellation confirmation number, equipment return tracking receipts, screenshots of the final bill, and any chat transcripts or call notes. These are your leverage if the dispute drags out or an old balance surfaces on your credit report months later.