AT&T Expands National Guarantee to 5G customers

AT&T is promising to give refunds for outages that last longer than 20 minutes to any customer in the U.S., whether they use AT&T for fiber or 5G home internet.

The guarantee for both fiber and fixed wireless is the first of its kind, AT&T said in a media release, and it means 50 million more customers are now covered.

AT&T recently announced that it has started offering its 5G home internet service, AT&T Air, nationwide. The service was originally sold only to customers who were losing DSL service from AT&T.

“Customers have been clear about what they want from home internet: performance they can trust—and peace of mind when something unexpected happens,” said Jenifer Robertson, Executive Vice President and General Manager, AT&T Mass Markets. “Expanding the AT&T Guarantee to include Internet Air, plus guaranteeing Internet Backup at no extra cost are both meaningful steps to deliver this peace of mind. It’s a direct response to what customers asked for, and it reflects how we’re building a better experience—powered by a network designed for speed and reliability.”

How will AT&T’s guarantee work?

Residential AT&T customers will automatically be refunded for a day’s worth of service if they are part of an outage that lasts more than 20 minutes.

AT&T will determine whether an outage qualifies, but plans to exclude anything beyond its control, including “natural disasters, weather-related events, and power outages at customer premises.”

If a qualifying outage occurs, the customer will receive a notice of eligibility, and a credit will be applied to a future bill. The amount of the credit will depend on how much the customer pays for service.

Here’s a look at minimum refund amounts based on different AT&T internet plans:

AT&T’s daily outage payouts per plan

AT&T also offers refunds for mobile network outages, but only if they last an hour or more and impact at least 10 towers. Like with the internet refunds, customers get back only a buck or two per day.

How other 5G internet providers handle refunds

Verizon offers credits to 5G home internet customers if they lose coverage in their area for 24 consecutive hours or more, but they have to contact the company to request the credit, the company told us in February of 2025. Verizon offers a similar guarantee to its Fios fiber customers, but with some regional variation.

T-Mobile, the other big player in the 5G home internet space, does not have a refund policy for outages, but if you’ve experienced one, you should call customer service to see if you can get a credit.

AT&T’s free internet backup service

It’s not new, but AT&T is also highlighting its free backup internet service for customers who bundle home internet and mobile phone services. If you have both and your fiber internet goes down, your router will automatically switch over to a 5G signal until the fiber internet connection is restored.

Many internet providers offer backup internet service with similar 5G failover systems, but AT&T stands out by making the service free for bundle customers.

Visit AT&T for more info about its guarantee and internet backup offerings.

Learn more about backup internet options

• How To Get Backup Internet for Your Cable or Fiber Connection
• How To Get the Best Backup Internet for Your Budget
• Five Reasons You Need Backup Internet

My Take: Thanks, I guess?

I love seeing a big company like AT&T stepping up and guaranteeing refunds in case of outages. We all rely on connectivity these days, and we need uptime as close to 100% as possible. Not having to call in for the refund makes the promise even better.

I hesitate to applaud too loudly for two reasons, though. First, the amount of these refunds pales in comparison to what customers could lose in an internet outage. What is a lost day of work worth, or a homework assignment missed? What if an outage prevents someone from calling 911?

Second, qualifying outages seem unlikely. AT&T gets to choose when to offer the refunds, and it excludes the most likely causes like storms and power outages.

Fortunately, internet outages are increasingly rare these days. Fiber internet is rock solid, and recent upgrades to 5G make it more reliable than ever.