Can You Switch Phone Carriers If You Owe Money

Yes, it is possible to switch a phone to a new carrier even if you still owe money on the old phone. However, before switching to a new phone carrier, you need to consider, how much you still owe, the early contract termination fees and, the possibilities of using your phone with the new carrier. More often than not, if you owe money to your old carrier, you will still have to settle the debt with them in the long run.

The first thing you will need to find out is how much you still owe the old carrier, and there are several relevant methods that you can use to derive the information. The first one would be to either call your previous carrier or log into your account dashboard. Once you have established how much you owe, it’s time to settle on which carrier you would wish to switch to. This aspect is very important as some carriers will pay for you the early termination fees owed to your old carrier.

Service Termination and device compatibility

Before switching to a new carrier, users are required to terminate the contract that they have with their old carrier, so that the phone is unlocked therefore making it compatible with another carrier. At the time of termination, some carriers might want the users to pay early contract termination fees. And while termination might not be immediate it should be gradual once the users has fulfilled all the terms and conditions and have the relevant phone or sim card to use to cross over.

The switching process is pretty simple, users must however, ensure that their phones are compatible with the network that you wish to switch to. The above can be determined through the compatibility test, which is also the first of the three switching processes.  And, while older phones will work with only one network, most new smart phones can be used across all networks because they come out of the box unlocked.

Important to note is that as you transition from one carrier to another, the outstanding fees should not be paid neither should the existing carrier account be closed, at least until the migration to the new number is complete. Most of the big phone carriers such as T-mobile, Sprint, Verizon and, AT & T, offers various incentives if a user transfers to their service, regardless of whether they owe money to their previous carrier or not.

Now, with the Bring Your Own Device program that was implemented back in 2009, users can now easily trade in their old phones with the new carrier, and this applies across all the big four mobile network carriers. Important to note is that the user  will eventually have to pay, the money that they owed to their previous phones, a move that will then enable smoother transitioning.

Conclusion

In most cases, the big four carriers will more often than not pay your early termination fees and you are bound to get the remaining value of the trade-in as a trade-in of your old phone. Whether you can keep your old phone at your new carrier is entirely dependent on the network and its regulations. Most carriers, have adopted the bring your own device program to remain relevant and also increase their customer base and market share. Transitioning between service providers should therefore, not burst your brain cells.

FAQ’s

1. Do I have to pay off my phone before switching carriers?

Yes. You have to pay any outstanding balance to your old carrier before switching carriers so that your phone can be unlocked unless you purchased your phone directly from the manufacturer or you have had it for a few years.

2. Which Carriers pay’s you to switch?

The big four phone carriers, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T, and Sprint have now various incentives that that they offer the cell phone users, such as paying early termination fees when transitioning to the new networks or they pay part of the remaining phone lease.