To cancel T-Mobile service, you have to call customer care at 1-800-937-8997 or visit a T-Mobile store; the company does not accept cancellations through its website or app.1T-Mobile. Cancel Service If you’re switching carriers and want to keep your phone number, skip calling T-Mobile entirely and start the transfer with your new provider instead — the port itself closes the line. Expect to pay any remaining device balance in full on your last bill, and return any leased equipment to avoid non-return fees.
What To Have Ready Before You Call
Only the Billing Responsible Party, meaning the person who signed the service agreement, can close a line or the account. Authorized users can see account details but cannot cancel.2T-Mobile Support. Billing Responsible Party and Authorized Users – Consumer If someone else opened the account, they’ll need to make the call.
Have your account PIN or passcode ready. T-Mobile uses it to verify identity on every call and store visit, and you can reset it through the T-Life app or your online account if you’ve forgotten it.3T-Mobile Support. Set Up and Manage Your T-Mobile ID Pull up your latest bill too. You’ll want to know your account number and, more importantly, whether you still owe money on any financed phones, because those balances come due immediately when you cancel.
Calling Customer Care or Visiting a Store
Call 1-800-937-8997, or dial 611 from your T-Mobile phone. Representatives are available daily from 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific Time.4T-Mobile. Contact Us Tell the representative you want to cancel service, verify your identity with the account PIN, and confirm which lines you’re closing if you have more than one.
To cancel in person, walk into any T-Mobile store with a government-issued photo ID. Store staff can begin the process, though they may hand you off to a phone-based specialist to finalize it. Either way, ask for a confirmation number or email before you leave. That paper trail matters if a billing dispute comes up later.
Cancellations are future-dated to the end of your current billing cycle, so your service keeps working until that date.1T-Mobile. Cancel Service You will not get a partial refund for the unused portion of the month.
If You Want To Keep Your Phone Number
Don’t cancel first. Start the port with your new carrier and let it trigger the closure. Canceling with T-Mobile before the port finishes can lose the number permanently, so keep the T-Mobile line active until the new SIM or eSIM is fully working.
Your new carrier will ask for your T-Mobile account number and a Temporary Port Out PIN, which is different from your account passcode. Only the Billing Responsible Party can generate one, and you must be connected to the T-Mobile cellular network — Wi-Fi turned off — when you request it. If you’ve enabled Port Out Protection on the line, turn it off first, and disable any VPN or Apple iCloud Private Relay, which can block the request.5T-Mobile Support. Transfer Your Phone Number
Once the port completes, T-Mobile closes the associated line automatically. FCC rules require carriers to complete a simple wireless port within one business day, and wireless-to-wireless transfers often finish in a few hours.6Federal Communications Commission. Porting: Keeping Your Phone Number When You Change Providers
What Your Final Bill Will Include
Because cancellations are future-dated, your last bill covers the full remaining cycle with no proration. Any remaining balance on a financed device under an Equipment Installment Plan is charged in full on that same bill.1T-Mobile. Cancel Service If you owe $400 on a phone, the entire $400 lands on your closing statement rather than continuing as monthly payments.
Lost Promotional Credits
This is where cancellations get expensive in ways people don’t expect. If you got a phone through a device promotion — say, a “free” phone paid off by monthly bill credits over 24 or 36 months — canceling the line forfeits every remaining credit. You owe the full unpaid device price without the promotional discount. A phone covered by $1,000 in credits spread over three years, canceled halfway through, leaves you owing roughly $500 you thought was already handled. Check how many months of credits remain before you commit.
Turn Off AutoPay Separately
Canceling the account does not automatically cancel AutoPay. If you don’t disable it as a separate step, T-Mobile may keep charging your payment method.7T-Mobile Support. AutoPay Log in and turn it off once your final bill is settled.
Returning Leased Equipment
Leased devices such as home internet gateways and coverage devices have to go back to T-Mobile or you’ll be billed non-return fees. Contact customer care to request a prepaid return shipping label, which typically arrives by email within 24 hours. Print it, attach it to the box, and put the Return Authorization Slip inside before sealing.8T-Mobile Support. Return a T-Mobile Coverage Device or Internet Gateway
You can also drop equipment off at any T-Mobile store. If you do, get a receipt and keep it. People run into trouble months later when the return doesn’t register in T-Mobile’s system, and without a receipt there’s no way to prove the device was handed over.
If You Just Signed Up
If you’re canceling because the service isn’t what you expected and you’re still within the return window, T-Mobile’s return policy runs 14 days for devices bought in-store and 20 days for devices ordered online or shipped to you. A restocking fee applies based on the device’s full retail price:9T-Mobile Support. How To Return a New Device
- $600 or more: $75 restocking fee
- $300 to $599: $50 restocking fee
- Under $300: $25 restocking fee
Returning inside this window avoids the full Equipment Installment Plan payoff and is a much cleaner exit than canceling after the return period closes.10T-Mobile. Return Policy
Canceling a Prepaid Account
Prepaid works differently. If you stop refilling and turn off AutoRefill, the account enters “Not Paid” status and cancels automatically after 120 days. Your phone number is lost at that point, so if you want to port it, do so before the account cancels — a canceled prepaid number can’t be recovered.11T-Mobile Support. Prepaid Account Suspend and Cancellations
A credit balance from overpayment may be refundable, but only after 30 days with no payment or charge activity on the account, and some prepaid balances are not refundable at all.12T-Mobile Support. Adjustments and Refunds Call customer care to check what applies to you.
Special Cases
A Deceased Account Holder
T-Mobile has a separate process for closing or transferring the account of someone who has passed away, and you do not need a death certificate to start it. Call 1-877-746-0909 (or 611 from a T-Mobile phone) with the account holder’s name, phone number, date of birth, and last four digits of their Social Security number. Back up any voicemails or saved greetings first, because T-Mobile permanently deletes voicemails once the account closes.13T-Mobile Support. Cancel an Account of a Deceased Family Member For business accounts, call 1-866-335-1467 instead.
Active-Duty Military Orders
The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act lets active-duty military personnel cancel a wireless contract without an early termination fee if they receive orders to relocate for 90 days or more to a location that doesn’t support the contract. The contract must have been signed before the orders came through.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3956 – Termination of Certain Consumer Contracts
Give T-Mobile written or electronic notice, a copy of the orders, and the date you want service to end. T-Mobile can still bill for unpaid taxes and fees already owed, but has to refund amounts paid in advance within 60 days. If you’re on a family plan, the cancellation covers family members relocating with you. For relocations of three years or less, the carrier must let you reclaim your original phone number if you re-subscribe within 90 days of returning.15Federal Communications Commission. Military Service Members and Wireless Phone Service