Let’s be honest: AT&T’s landline service is quite costly and packs various limitations, including the internet requirement. Also, many users complain about poor and inconsistent call quality as high-speed internet is often unavailable in many areas.
How can you cancel AT&T's landline service and find a better landline provider to power your home phone? This guide will dive deep into the five steps you need to disconnect from AT&T’s landline. Plus, we’ll explore a more effective alternative to AT&T that requires neither internet nor copper wire connection.
If you want to cancel your AT&T service and find a reliable alternative, look no further.
Community Phone is the best alternative to AT&T's service and does not require an internet or copper connection to operate. Its superior wireless technology connects to cellular networks in your area, ensuring a reliable connection and excellent call quality even in rural areas and locations with poor reception.
Download our brochure below to learn how to upgrade your landline for cheaper with Community Phone.
How to Cancel AT&T Landline
Follow the steps below to disconnect from the AT&T landline:
1. Start By Calling 800-288-2020
First of all, place a call at AT&T’s support service contact number, which is 800-288-2020. Their customer care is available from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m CST, Monday through Friday.
2. Follow the Prompts From the Automated System
The auto attendant will ask you to enter your home phone contact number. Once you’ve entered your contact, the automated system will ask for the reason for calling. As you give them the reason, you’ll be connected to a live support agent if available.
3. State Your Reason for Disconnection of AT&T Landline
You will need to verify your AT&T account. Once connected to a support agent, you must validate your account information to ensure you’re an AT&T customer.
4. Get Your Account Information Ready for Customer Service
Next, tell the support agent you want to disconnect your AT&T landline. After that, the agent will transfer your call to the disconnection staff. They will ask you for a reason for cancellation. They’ll try their best to convince you to keep using their services by offering a small discount. However, if you insist, they’ll agree to cancel your landline.
5. Find Out Your Disconnection Date
The disconnection department will let you know when the cancellation will occur, and you will need to pay any outstanding fees until that date. That’s it, they will cancel your landline, and you’ll be free to try a more effective landline service provider. Below is our recommendation.
Learn More here: What Do You Need to Switch Carrier?
Community Phone - The Best AT&T Alternative
If you are one of the thousands frustrated with AT&T’s unhelpful support, patchy service, unscrupulous price hikes, and empty promises, switch to Community Phone, the best AT&T alternative.
Community Phone, the best home phone service in the US, is fighting to keep the landline alive. Through its revolutionary wireless technology, the company’s landline base connects your home phone to local cell towers, eliminating the need for internet or copper connections.
The unique design of the landline base and partnership with carriers nationwide ensure you get solid coverage with Community Phone across 99% of the US, including rural areas.
Enjoy great voice quality, the reliability of a landline, and wireless access at affordable prices. With features like call waiting, 3-way calling, spam call blocking, caller ID, call history, and landline texting, Community Phone is the best landline service for you.
How It Works
The Community Phone landline base connects your phone to local cell towers for a dial tone. This unique non-dependence on the internet or copper connection ensures your phones will work during the copper wire shutdown and network, power, or internet outages.
The built-in antennas on the landline base amplify signals from the mobile towers to ensure you have excellent voice quality and connectivity in low-reception areas. The 12-hour backup battery in the base keeps you connected to emergency services and with loved ones during power outages or blackouts.
Outstanding Telephonic Experience through Great Features
3-way Calling
Speak with 2 or more of your loved ones on a 3-way call and share precious moments. If you are an employee working from home, use this feature to collaborate with team members and colleagues without worrying about patchy video calls or internet bandwidth.
Enhance customer satisfaction by patching the most appropriate person to help an irate customer with the 3-way calling feature. The possibilities are endless!
Call History
Enable the call history feature and access information on incoming and outgoing calls to and from your Community Phone landline.
You can use this feature to
1. Return missed calls from known contacts
2. Store legitimate contacts
3. Check caller information against known contacts
4. Send a message or
5. Block spam calls.
Spam Blocker Services
Most landline providers do not offer spam-blocking services, leaving you with no option but to manually block spam on your phone. Manual blocking cannot protect you effectively and efficiently from the relentless attack waged by scammers. Statistics reveal that an average American lost $577 in 2022 to phone scams, an increase from $507 in 2021.
Get rid of unwanted calls, and protect yourself, your loved ones, or your business from scams with Community Phone’s spam blocker services. Choose from two services now or get your name added to get first access to upcoming robust additions.
Available Spam Blocking
The Community Phone robocall blocker blocks robocalls before your phone rings. When you enable the built-in spam blocker, it challenges callers to complete an action before connecting the call to your phone. Since robocalls cannot complete the action, they are flagged and blocked before your phone rings.
The Safelist feature allows you to accept calls only from numbers you want and blocks all others without ringing your phone. This feature is ideal for people who are vulnerable to phone scams. You can update this list anytime to add or delete numbers from your allowed list.
Upcoming Additions
Since several people miss legitimate calls fearing spam, Community Phone is working on an iteration to help you block spam and not miss important calls. The Safelist -2 will allow calls from numbers on your allowed list and route all other calls to voicemail. You can respond to the voice messages only if those calls are legitimate.
The Blocklist is a more robust spam blocker that blocks spam numbers based on an ever-growing spam database and the number’s spam score. You can contribute actively to the blocklist to ensure you protect yourself and other Community Phone members.
Caller ID
Opt for the caller ID feature to show your name or number when you make an outbound call. By default, the recipient of your call will see your number, but you can have Community Phone enable your caller ID to show your name when you call.
This feature helps loved ones recognize and engage with you without blocking or ignoring your calls as spam.
If you are a business owner, this feature is of paramount importance to your business, with neighbor spoofing being one of the scam trends. Get Community Phone to enable the caller ID to show your business name and number to build trust in your customers and encourage them to engage with your business.
Landline Texting
Engage with your loved ones or colleagues and employees with the landline texting feature from Community Phone. You can send unlimited texts from your Community Phone landline to any number of your choice. 2-way messaging lets you see the recipient’s message and continue the conversation with them.
If you are a business, you can use this feature to send personalized greetings and wishes to customers on special occasions, collect feedback, remind them of appointments or meetings, and share information on offers and discounts. Opt for landline texting over bulk messaging to build rapport with your customers, create a connection, and build customer loyalty.
Keep Your Existing Number With Community Phone
Community Phone allows you to keep your phone number and cancel your Ooma service through three options:
1. Port your number to Community Phone
2. Forward calls from your landline to your existing cell, cancel service with Ooma and ditch your landline.
3. Transfer your landline number to a cell, cancel service with Ooma and ditch your landline.
Read on to learn more!
Port Number Away from AT&T to Community Phone
If you wish to port the number from AT&T to Community Phone, you can follow these steps:
1. Contact Community Phone at 866-926-4171 and speak with their specialist.
2. Check your area for coverage.
3. Choose a plan once the rep confirms coverage
4. Complete the signup process
5. Share details like account number, PIN, billing name and address, and a letter of authorization with Community Phone.
6. Contact AT&T and request them to port your number to Community Phone.
7. Wait for porting to complete. It normally takes 3-5 business days, and there will be no disruption to your service.
8. Install your Community Phone landline base and check if the landline is working as intended.
9. Cancel service with AT&T once you confirm your landline is working fine.
Learn More here: How Long Does Number Porting Take?
Other Options to Cancel AT&T and Ditch the Landline
1. Cut the Cord with AT&T and Forward All Calls to an Existing Cell Phone
AT&T does not offer call forwarding without a phone. If you want to ditch your landline but use the number you have had for years, Community Phone provides a wonderful option - call forwarding without a phone.
Here's how it works:
1. Call Community Phone customer care at 866-937-2711 and speak to a landline specialist.
2. Check your area for coverage.
3. Sign up with Community Phone and choose a plan once the rep confirms coverage.
4. Request to have the call forwarding feature without a phone
5. Community Phone will port your landline number
6. You can now receive calls from your landline on your cell phone.
7. Once Community Phone sets up call forwarding successfully, you can cancel your AT&T connection and ditch your landline.
2. Transfer Your Landline Number to a Cell Phone
Transferring your landline to a cell phone allows you to move your current landline number to a cell phone. If you want to transfer your AT&T landline number to a new cell phone and cancel their service, here's how Community Phone can help you:
1. Talk to Community Phone landline specialists at 866-271-4268.
2. Check your area for coverage.
3. Sign up with Community Phone and choose a cell plan once the rep confirms coverage.
4. Request to transfer your landline number to a cell phone
5. Community Phone will port your number from AT&T
6. You will receive a new SIM from Community Phone, allowing you to use your landline number on your cell.
7. Cancel your AT&T service and ditch the landline once you confirm that your new number is working fine.
With this option, you can retain your phone contacts, reduce your monthly phone bill, and keep the number you have had for years.
Benefits of Switching to Community Phone
Here are some benefits you can enjoy when you join the Community Phone family:
Unlimited nationwide calling and text: Stay in touch with loved ones, business associates, employees, and customers across the US with Community Phone's unlimited talk and text.
No internet needed: The Community Phone landline base works off cell towers without tying your phone to the internet. Since your phones are not dependent on the internet, they will continue working during an internet outage or maintenance.
No hidden charges: At Community Phone, you pay what you signed up for. The company does not surprise its customers with hidden charges or exorbitant equipment fees. Talk to a specialist to learn more!
Number choice: You can get a new local number FREE when you sign up with Community Phone. You can also transfer your existing number through their unique hand-held porting process. You can also get toll-free numbers to encourage customers to call you or vanity phone numbers to boost marketing campaigns.
Talk to a Community Phone specialist to learn more about the different numbers and to get one!
Quick 30-second setup: The landline base does not require a technician to install it. You or anyone in your business or household can install your Community Phone landline in under 30 seconds and be ready to make calls in 5 mins.
24/7 reliable customer support: Contact Community Phone customer support via phone, email, and live chat 24/7 to experience world-class support from live agents. Glowing customer reviews on BBB and Trustpilot are testimonials of their commitment to their customers.
Works during power outages: Save money you would invest on installing costly inverters or backup power, as the 12-hour backup battery in the landline base ensures your phones continue working during power outages and blackouts.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is AT&T getting rid of landlines?
AT&T and all other primary telecommunication services have terminated their copper wire landlines as FCC asked them to do so. However, AT&T continues its home phone service by switching its infrastructure to a VoIP protocol, which uses the internet for calling. Though it’s a modern-day infrastructure, it comes with significant compromises like high costs, low reliability, and poor call quality.
How long does it take to cancel AT&T?
Generally speaking, canceling AT&T’s landline takes 2-4 hours. It requires talking to a customer support agent over the phone, who will try their best to keep you as their customer. You can contact their support service by placing a call at 800-288-2020. But note it’s only accessible between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m CST, Monday through Friday.
Can AT&T waive the early termination fee?
You can avoid the early termination fee at AT&T by canceling your contract within 14 days of the signup. If you choose to cancel your subscription after that, there’s no way you can avoid the early termination fee. It will be needed to disconnect from the AT&T landline.
The Bottom Line
Every telecommunication service has its downsides, and AT&T is no different. Its copper landlines are no longer operational, and you must choose the VoIP landline service, which is quite expensive. In this guide, we’ve learned how to cancel your AT&T landline subscription.
If you’re seeking a new landline provider, try Community Phone. Our modern-day landlines are much more reliable, easier to maintain, and cost-effective than VoIP and copper wire landlines.
P.S: We also offer a 14-day money-back guarantee to get you peace of mind!