How to pause ATT prepaid service

[MemoriesByTheMile]

There are months that we don’t need/use some or parts of our mobile internet.
As Neal mentioned in another post, pausing Starlink is easy peasy.
For our ATT prepaid 100GB plan, it seems the only option to pause is to just stop making payments. But if more than 60 days elapse without a payment being made then the account is cancelled (and we don’t want to lose this plan as it is much more expensive for new signups).
Has anyone found a way to pause or suspend the att prepaid accounts?

 

[Neal]

Funny you mention this as in my Pausing Starlink post I started getting into pausing cellular (pre-paid) plans and Dish SAT service. My understanding on the Verizon pre-paid is you can stop payment (suspend) for 90 days. If you don't reactivate the line is dropped. I assumed AT&T was the same but not sure. As I am afraid of losing my Verizon plan I never pause it, as you know it's no longer available. AT&T is sort of the same boat with the 100 GB for 55/mo but I may drop it as I don't need it. It was a 5G test for me, but having the Mobley I never really saw a difference. So with all that said, yes, stop paying is how to suspend, how long must depend on the carrier and best to verify with them via live chat etc.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Finally found a phone number for ATT prepaid and confirmed that the way to pause ATT is to turnoff autopay and not pay. But that only works for one month. After 60 days the account will be cancelled and I would lose access to the 100GB $55/mtg plan.

Working to determine if we still need the ATT plan. Between our Starlink service and Verizon hotspot from our phones as backup, it is looking like we could drop ATT. Just have jitters about dropping ATT after it was my lifeline for more than a year.

 

[Neal]

Kinda sorta curious too about "selling" a plan like this, i.e. give it to someone else so they can have the older 55/100GB plan as long as they pay the bills. Worse case the line drops.

 

[MemoriesByTheMile]

Hadn’t thought about “selling” the account. Interesting idea.

For now we are considering keeping it until we have a few more trips under our belt. Worst case is that we skip every other month making a payment, effectively cutting the cost in half when not actively using it. At some point I fully expect we will drop the plan but right now I NEED internet for my work, so the backup for the backup reduces the stress a bit.