Can You Keep an iPhone After Canceling an AT&T Contract?

30-Day Guarantee

AT&T's service contract includes a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you sign up for new iPhone service and decide within 30 days that you aren't satisfied with the service, you can cancel your account without incurring the usual early termination fees AT&T charges. You must make a choice, however, between giving the iPhone back to AT&T and paying the difference between its retail and promotional price.

The first option you have when you cancel an iPhone service agreement during the first 30 days is to give back the device. If you aren't satisfied with the iPhone, this is perhaps the best course of action, as it absolves you of any financial liability related to AT&T or the phone. Return the iPhone to the store where you purchased it with its original packaging or call AT&T customer service and ask where to mail it in.

If you are pleased with the iPhone but displeased with AT&T service, you can opt to keep the phone; however, you'll be liable for the difference between the iPhone's suggested retail price and the promotional rate you paid in conjunction with your contract. Remember that since no other U.S. carrier besides AT&T supports SIM-enabled iPhones, you will need to unlock it to use it with a different carrier. Unlocking is an unauthorized procedure that voids the iPhone's Apple warranty.

Once you pass the 30-day mark, you are no longer required to give back the iPhone or pay the difference between its retail and promotional price if you cancel your AT&T service. You are, however, liable for the fee associated with the early termination of your contract. The fee varies and decreases with each full month you fulfill the service contract. If you have only recently signed a service agreement, expect to pay several hundred dollars to cancel it.