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Early Termination Fees: A Guide to Ending Your Phone Contract Early

By Jon Stone · Published July 28, 2017 · Updated April 15, 2026

Dumping your current cell phone service provider isn’t always as simple as calling up and cancelling.

If you’re still under contract or owe on a phone financing plan, you might find a nasty surprise on your final bill called the Early Termination Fee.

Early Termination Fees (ETF’s for short) add up…and they can add up fast.

Especially if you have an expensive smartphone or multiple lines.

So What Is an Early Termination Fee Exactly?

When a carrier gives you a discount on a phone or allows you to make payments, they often require a contract in exchange.

In most cases, these contracts are two years long. Carriers use this to ensure that they make back the money they gave you for signing up.

According to Wikipedia:
An early termination fee is a charge levied when a party wants to break the term of an agreement or long-term contract. They are stipulated in the contract or agreement itself, and provide an incentive for the party subject to them to abide by the agreement.

Just because the carrier gave you a shiny new smartphone for $10 doesn’t mean it costs $10. The carrier paid the remaining balance.

If you cancel service before you contract is up, early termination fees reclaim the money they contributed toward the cost of the phone or other discounts offered to you when signing up.

Fees vary depending on your carrier, account features and other factors. However, most carriers have support pages on the topic or spell out the exact steps for calculating your ETF in their terms of service.

Looking to avoid the number crunching? Call customer support. They must provide you with a total should you want to weigh the cost of leaving your carrier early.

When Do I Need to Pay ETF Fees?

ETF fees most often apply in one of two scenarios:

You cancel service with your existing provider before you contract is complete.
You don’t pay your bill long enough that the carrier ends service and your contract.

It’s hard to accidentally incur an early termination fee. But there are rare occurrences (such as an error porting your number between carriers) that might cause an unexpected termination of your service.

In these instances, you might call customer support and work things out.

However, in most cases, once they issue an early termination fee, you’re stuck paying it.

If you don’t, it might impact your credit.

Worse still, they can also blacklist your phone. Then you’re stuck finding a new phone on top of a new provider.

How Much Is The Early Termination Fee?

Your early termination fee depends on the number of lines you have on your account, the phones on your account and sometimes even your monthly service plan.

The government regulates early termination fees in most regions. But despite these regulations, they can still pile up fast.

This is because termination fees apply to each line on your account.

If you have a family plan with 4 lines, you could end up owing hundreds of dollars should you cancel service early.

Current ETF fees for US Carriers include:

Carrier	Fee	Special Considerations
AT&T	$150 for basic phones$350 for smartphones	Basic phone ETFs reduce by $4 for each month of serviceSmartphone ETFs reduce by $10 for each month of service
Boost Mobile	No ETFs
Consumer Cellular	No ETFs	Remaining amount of device financing is billed to the credit or debit card on file automatically at the time you cancel
CREDO Mobile	$175 for tablets and basic devices$375 for smartphones valued up to $598.99$650 for smartphones valued $599 and greater	Tablet and basic device ETFs reduce by $5 for each month of serviceSmartphone ETFs reduce by $10 for each month of service.Smartphone ETFs reduce by $20 for each month of service.
Cricket	No ETFs
FreedomPop	No ETFs
GreatCall	No ETFs
Metro by T-Mobile	No ETFs
MintSIM	No ETFs	Prepaid time is non-refundable
Net10 Wireless	No ETFs	Device financing through third-party might result in additional fees upon cancellation.
PagePlus	No ETFs	Device financing through third-party might result in additional fees upon cancellation.
Project Fi	No ETFs	Any remaining device payment fees are due upon cancellation of service.
Republic Wireless	No ETFs	Device financing is subject to terms through Affirm.
Simple Mobile	No ETFs	Device financing through third-party might result in additional fees upon cancellation.
Straight Talk	No ETFs	Device financing through third-party might result in additional fees upon cancellation.
T-Mobile	No ETFs	Device financing and lease fees due at time of cancellation.
Tello	No ETFs
TextNow	No ETFs
Ting	No ETFs	Device financing is subject to terms through Affirm.
Total Wireless	No ETFs
Tracfone Wireless	No ETFs
Twigby	No ETFs
U.S. Cellular	$150 for feature phones, modems and hotspots$350 for smartphones and tablets	ETFs for feature phones, modems and hotspots reduce by $3.13 per month of serviceETF for smartphones and tablets reduce by $8.33 per month of service
Ultra Mobile	No ETFs
US Mobile	No ETFs
Virgin Mobile	No ETFs
Verizon Wireless	$175 for basic devices$350 for advanced devices	ETFs for basic devices reduce by $5 per month for months 7 through 17, $10 per month for months 18 through 22 and $30 for month 23.ETFs for advanced devices reduce by $10 per month for months 7 through 17, $20 per month for months 18 through 22 and $60 for month 23.
Xfinity Mobile	No ETFs	Remaining device financing balance due upon service cancellation

How Can I Avoid ETFs?

The simplest way to avoid ETFs is to avoid contracts.

Instead, buy your phone upfront and choose a SIM-only plan.

It might cost more at first, but by avoiding fees like these, you’ll likely save money over the long term.

If you recently signed up for a new contract, Carriers must give you a full refund within 14 days of starting service should you want to cancel for any reason. However, you must return any equipment in like new condition if you received a subsidy or lease agreement.

This means you might still have an easy option to get from ETFs before it’s too late.

However, for most readers, you’re probably already on a contract.

If you don’t want to pay it, you can try lowering your plan to reduce your monthly bill and letting your contract finish.

Be sure to check the terms of your contract. If you lower your bill too much, it might not count toward lowering your ETF anymore.

Related Guide:
Getting Out of Your Mobile Phone Contract

While most options won’t work overnight, with a little time, you could find yourself free of your contract and fees.

What About Contract Buyouts?

Some carriers will pay your ETF and device financing balances if you switch to their service. This is known as a contract buyout.

However, buyouts often part of a promotional deal. So options might vary or only be available at certain times.

Even then, some will only pay up to a certain amount in fees. If you’re early in your contract—or have multiple lines—you might find out-of-pocket fees still add up.

You’ll also need to sign a new contract. This means you could find yourself in the same situation should you want to switch again in a few months.

Most contract buyout options, such as the current Verizon Contract Buyout promotion, reimburse you with a prepaid card. This means you’ll either need to let your ETF bill sit until the card arrives or pay the fee out-of-pocket and use the prepaid card elsewhere.

Current options include:

	Carrier	Terms
	AT&T	Up to $650 toward ETF fees with trade-in of old device, purchase of new device and new line activation. Benefits max out at $350 without a device trade-in.
	CREDO Mobile	Up to $350 per line and $300 per trade-in as account credit when switching to CREDO Mobile with new two-year commitment.
	T-Mobile	Up to $650 toward ETF and device payment plan fees across 10 lines with trade-in of old device, purchase of new device and new line activation.
	Ting	25% of your ETF refunded, up to $75 per line, with activating Ting service and porting in your number.
	U.S. Cellular	Up to $650 toward ETFs per line with trade-in of old device, purchase of a new device, activation of select plans, addition of phone protection and porting of your old number.
	Verizon	Up to $650 toward ETF fees with trade-in of old device, purchase of new device and new line activation. Benefits max out at $350 without a device trade-in.

Final Thoughts

Early termination fees might be a hassle, but as long as you fulfill the terms of your legal contract, you won’t need to worry about them.

If you’re looking to avoid ETFs, skip the next upgrade your carrier offers and buy a unlocked phone outright. You can find unlocked options on sites such as Amazon that fit the needs of most users for around $100 to $200.

Should your budget allow, we think the upfront expense is well worth the freedom and lack of fees down the road.

P.S. Unless you’re looking for the latest high-end model available, you can save even more buying a used phone.

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Comments

This has been helpful. Thanks!

Mark · 3 years ago ·

This article forgot the most easiest way to do it. Most providers will price match other providers. Most providers will have a sign up for 2 years now and get "x" amount of dollars off. These credits can be several hundred easily, so all you have to do is find a current offer by any major provider, then call your existing provider and ask for a price match. You should the get the other companies discount and it will hopefully offset the e.t.f.

I used to use this tool to sign people up, for a cell phone provider locking a person into 2 years if worth thousands, so hundreds is worth it to take your business!

Kenny · 4 years ago ·

It Can Cost $700 to Return a Phone

The following is based on a true story. Names and locations have been changed to protect the identity of the parties involved.

Jane was one of the hundreds of people who lined up in front of the XYZ store on the launch date of the iPhone 4. She had waited months for this phone, and had been on the waiting list weeks before it was released in Canada. She was also very determined, and stood in the scorching summer heat before finally getting in the store. Fifteen minutes later, she was out of the store with a brand new iPhone.

Two weeks after she got the phone, she started having problems. The phone would frequently power off on its own, even while plugged into a charger. So she visited XYZ store again.

There was a different sales representative in the store that day. After hearing her problem, he went to the back room for a few minutes, and came out with a brand new iPhone 4.

“This is the only iPhone we have left,” the sales representative said. “Because this is a brand new iPhone, my system won’t let me just exchange the phones. But I can activate it on the new number, and give you the same plan you had before. Don’t worry, you’re still within the return policy, and once you return the phone, your previous contract will be canceled, and you won't have to pay anything.”

Jane was hesitant, but reluctantly accepted.

About a month later, Jane came home to find two bills from her cell phone provider. One was for her current phone, and the other for the phone that she had returned. Confused, she called customer service. After some investigation, the customer service representative told her that there is over an hour of usage on the original phone, and therefore the phone was not returnable.

Panicking, Jane quickly visited XYZ store again. This time, she had the store manager look into the matter, and discovered that the employee that had activated the new line no longer worked for the company. Worse, the phone Jane returned is nowhere to be found.

Now frustrated, Jane calls the customer service line again, demanding that the company stop billing her for the phone she returned or she will cancel all her services with the company. She was then told that it would cost her around $700 to cancel each cell phone line. After battling with the representative on the phone for half an hour, the representative finally relented, and reduced the charges on the non-existent cell phone line to $20 per month to ride out the contract.

wheelbarrow-money

To this day, Jane is still paying $20 per month for a cell phone that she doesn't own.

So what's the moral of the story?

1. Try the technical help line first – Many times, device issues can be solved from the comfort of your own phone. All major cell phone companies have their own technical help line to help you troubleshoot the phone and determine if the device requires repair. Jane’s problem could have possibly been solved by simply performing a software update on the phone.

2. Know your warranty – Almost all phones have a one year warranty in which you can send the phone back for repair as long as the phone is not physically damaged or endured liquid damage. iPhone clients can even visit the Apple Store for repair. So Jane’s problem could have been avoided by simply visiting an Apple Store.

3. Know your company’s return policy – Most cell phone companies have a “buyer’s remorse” policy, a period in which they can back out of a contract commitment. For mobile phones in Canada, this is usually around 15 days from the original time of purchase, and if the phone has less than 30 minutes of usage (Check your provider’s terms of service before signing the contract.)

A store agent would usually let you know if your phone is within the buyer’s remorse policy. Jane, unfortunately, had a run in with a shady dealer who decided to activate a new line for her so he could earn a higher commission, but he wouldn’t have been able to pull it off if Jane knew about the buyer’s remorse terms.

4. Why do I need a new number? – If you can’t answer this question, then you probably don’t. Sales agents earn a commission for each new cell phone line they activate, so some would go out of their way in securing these activations, even by acting against your best interest.

Wiley · 8 years ago ·

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