Can I Still Switch Phone Carriers if I Owe Money?

Moe Long Senior Writer

Updated 29 August 2024

Can you switch carriers when you still owe money?

Contents

In this guide:

Switching carriers when you owe money
Paying off your outstanding debt
Avoiding early termination fees
How to switch carriers
FAQs

Even if you still owe money on your phone, you can switch over to a new carrier—but you'll need to consider several factors, including how much money you owe, whether you’ll have to pay an early termination fee (ETF), and if you can use your phone with a new carrier.

Luckily, many carriers big and small, like Verizon and Visible, offer incentives for changing carriers. Depending on your circumstances, this procedure varies. Thankfully, we’re here to help demystify hopping phone companies. Learn all about switching carriers if you still owe money and what that process looks like.

Switching carriers when you owe money

If you’ve got an outstanding balance with your current carrier, there’s good news: you can absolutely still switch phone companies. However, you'll need to settle your balance before you do so. Typically, that means paying a final bill.

Most likely, you’re paying off a device in addition to your recurring service charges. You may also have taken advantage of a phone deal that heavily discounted your phone—but that shiny new iPhone you received “for free” when you signed up wasn’t actually free. Instead, you've been receiving a monthly bill credit that would eventually pay off the entirety of your phone cost over a period of time—usually two to three years. But if you're switching carriers before that period ends, you'll owe for the remainder of the phone.

Thankfully, you can essentially get out of any contract—it just might cost you. How much it will set you back hinges largely on your remaining balance. If you’re nearing the end of your contract, you’ve probably paid off the bulk of your device. But if you’re halfway through a two-year commitment, your unpaid charges may be higher.

Often, competing carriers feature deals for jumping ship to lighten the financial blow and pay you to switch. These special deals let your new carrier pay off the balance on your phone so you can join their network.Your new carrier might also offer to cover early termination fees, give credit towards monthly service, or hook you up with a new handset. Ultimately, you can switch carriers at pretty much any time, even if you still owe money.

Paying off your outstanding debt

The easiest way to figure out what you owe is to give your current carrier a call or log into your account dashboard. If you plan to keep your number, DO NOT pay off any fees or close your current carrier account until you have ported your number to a new carrier. Otherwise, you will lose your number. Losing your number means you’ll have to update family and friends, edit your credit card information, and generally make sure everyone’s got your new digits.

What happens to your bill

Upon activating service with a new provider, your account with your old carrier should close automatically. However, we recommend double-checking this. After all, you don't want to get saddled with a bill for service that you're not using.

Once your old account is canceled, you'll then receive a final bill. Be sure to pay that promptly. Unlike your standard monthly charges, there may be a cancellation fee or an early termination fee.

Switching after missing payments

You can switch providers even if you've missed payments. However, that doesn't mean you can avoid shelling out that money—you'll still need to pony up.

Typically, if you have any missed payments, your old carrier will send you a final bill with them included in the total. Alternatively, your new company might offer to settle that for you as an incentive for switching carriers.

Cell phone debt collection

We highly recommend paying your phone bill. But what happens if you don't? Let's say that in the bustle of changing carriers, paying any final costs slips your mind. First, your former provider will attempt to contact you. If that fails, your carrier may send your cell phone bill to debt collectors. The collection agency will then try to get the money from you.

There's a two-year statute of limitations on phone carrier debt. However, a collection agency may still seek settlement of that unpaid charge even after two years. If you make just a single payment on a phone bill that's over two years old, this resets the statute of limitations, bringing that debt back from the grave.

Avoiding early termination fees

Although not every carrier includes a cancellation charge or early termination fee, it's fairly commonplace. Nevertheless, there are ways to avoid additional costs.

Many carriers offer to cover early termination fees for you as an incentive for switching providers. Some will even negotiate with your old carrier to get you out of a contract or settle outstanding payment installments in the form of a direct payment. And as mentioned, there are sundry other incentives that carriers will provide directly to you, including reward cards, a discount on your first bill, credit towards a new phone, or some other compensation.

Depending on the circumstances, you might be able to get that termination fee waived. For example, if you're moving out of the country or somewhere your old company doesn't have service, a carrier may nix the cancellation charge.

How to switch carriers

Regardless of which carrier you're switching to or from:

Make sure your phone is compatible with the network you're switching to
Make sure your cell phone is unlocked
Pay any switching fees (e.g., early termination fees)

Learn more about bringing your own phone and switching carriers in our complete guide to BYOD carrier switching, or hop over to a specific carrier guide for details.

Carrier	Network	Switching guide
Verizon	Verizon	Switching to Verizon
AT&T	AT&T	Switching to AT&T
T-Mobile	T-Mobile	Switching to T-Mobile
Cricket Wireless	AT&T	Switching to Cricket
Boost Mobile	T-Mobile	Switching to Boost
Metro by T-Mobile	T-Mobile	Switching to Metro
Google Fi	T-Mobile, US Cellular	Switching to Google Fi
Straight Talk	Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile	Switching to Straight Talk
Total Wireless (formerly Total by Verizon)	Verizon	Switching to Total

Which carrier to switch to

Good news: some carriers offer to pay for your early termination fees when you switch to them.

However, the fine print is that they will only pay up to a certain amount. This means that whatever you actually pay your old carrier (early termination fees, the cost of balance due on your smartphone), you can get at least some of that money back in your pocket. Doing this ends up being worth it if you're saving money in the long run on your new carrier plan.

Here's what the big carriers offer when you switch to them:

Switching to a Major Carrier

Carrier	Deal	More Details
T-Mobile (GSM, CDMA)	Get a new phone: Up to $650/line or $350 in ETF via trade-in credit and prepaid card BYOD: Get up to $650 towards paying off eligible devices	Switch to T-Mobile
Verizon (CDMA)	BYOD: Get up to $540 in credits when you switch to Verizon and bring your own phone	Switch to Verizon
AT&T (GSM)	Get a new phone: Up to $800 off an eligible smartphone BYOD: Up to $500 when you switch ($250/line)	Switch to AT&T (GSM)

As you can see, there are a lot of deals and incentives for switching, regardless of whether you owe money on your phone or not.

The big three carriers will often pay your ETF and the remaining value of the device as a trade-in. The real question is whether or not you can keep your phone at your new carrier. This depends completely on their regulations and the network. Bottom line, though: if you want to switch, don't let the fact that you owe money stop you from making a move to a carrier that is a better fit for you.

In the meantime, check out the best unlimited data plans to see which carrier suits you best.

	Visible Plan $25/month Unlimited data at 4G LTE/5G speeds	View at Visible
	Mint Mobile Unlimited $30/month Unlimited data at 4G LTE/5G speeds	View at Mint Mobile
	US Mobile Unlimited Premium Plan $39/month Unlimited data at 4G LTE/5G speeds	View at US Mobile
	Verizon Unlimited Plus $80/month Unlimited 5G Ultra Wideband	View at Verizon
	AT&T Unlimited Extra $75.99/month Unlimited data at 4G LTE/5G speeds	View at AT&T

Switching carriers: FAQs

How can you keep your number when switching to a new carrier?

Keeping the same number when you switch phone companies is simple. Before canceling your service with your current carrier:

Contact your new carrier.
Request a number port.
Wait for your new phone company to contact your old provider and get your number transferred over.

Can you transfer your number even if you owe money to your old carrier?

Yes, you absolutely can bring your number over regardless of whether you have outstanding charges with your previous carrier. When a number port request goes through, your former provider must comply. Sometimes, there's a transfer fee. But you can request that your old company waive that fee, or your new carrier may pay for that.

Moe Long

Senior Writer

Moe is a Senior Staff Writer with a passion for all things tech. As a writer and editor for over a decade, he specializes in researching and testing smartphones, gaming devices, and connected smart home systems. He’s been featured in publications including MakeUseOf, SmartHomeBeginner, TechBeacon, and more.

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