Most internet providers make it relatively easy to transfer your internet service—all you have to do is tell them where you’re going and schedule a date for activation and installation.

But in order for you to move your service, you’ll still have to be on your provider’s network in your new place. Otherwise, you’ll need to find a new internet plan. And since you’re moving, you might want to check for other options that weren’t available to you before, like a cheaper or faster plan from a different provider.

We put together a step-by-step guide to successfully transferring your Wi-Fi to a new home. Our suggestions can help make your move as stress-free as possible.

Step-by-step guide

Here’s a quick look at what you have to do before we go into specifics:

Step 1: Tell your ISP that you’re moving.

Step 2: See if you can move your internet service to your new home.

Step 3: Check for discounts or deals.

Step 4: Install and activate your new internet service.

Step 5: Run a speed test in your new home.

Tell your internet provider that you’re moving

You’ll need to contact your internet service provider (ISPs) to see if you can transfer your Wi-Fi to a new home.

When: Aim to contact your provider at least two weeks before your move date so that you have enough time to arrange an installation.

How: Whether you’re transferring internet service from AT&T, Xfinity, CenturyLink, Cox, or another ISP, all you have to do is sign onto your account online or call a customer service agent to figure out how to move your internet. Take a look at the phone numbers and websites above to find more information.

When you’re moving to a new home, you’ll have to make sure you can get the same Wi-Fi service at your new location. There’s a good chance you can keep the same internet service if you aren’t moving far, but it may not be as likely if you’re moving to a new city or state. Use our zip code search tool below to see if your ISP is available at the new location.

We also recommend you double-check with your provider by giving a customer service rep your address. And some things might be different about internet service in your new location. For example, you might be able to get faster speeds or a more reliable connection type that you couldn’t get before. (Let’s hope you won’t get slower speeds!) Ask your customer service agent if there will be any significant changes to your internet package when you transfer your service.

What if you have to change internet providers?

Before you cancel, check with your current ISP to see if you have to pay in early termination fees (ETFs). Your ISP may waive ETFs for certain circumstances, such as moving outside its coverage area, moving into bulk housing that uses a different ISP, or moving for military deployment. Make sure to ask about early termination fee exceptions if you cancel your service.  You can also check to see if any of your new ISP options offer a contract buyout to get your business. You can find more tips in our guide to canceling your internet service.

Check for discounts or deals

When you first sign up with a new provider, it’s common to get discounted promotional pricing—so be on the lookout for deals when choosing your next ISP.

Even if you stick with the same provider, you still may be able to leverage your move to get a discount. It usually depends on if you’ve completed your current contract or not. Be sure to ask if you’re eligible for new customer pricing when you schedule your move with your ISP.

Whether you’re using the same provider or moving on to a new one, moving to a new place presents a terrific opportunity to look for awesome internet deals. You may be able to get any of these perks:

• A promotional price that’s lower than your current bill
• A discounted rate that comes with a TV or phone bundle
• A faster speed at the same price
• A much better internet connection type (like fiber) for a slightly higher price

Moving is no fun, but this is one way to make lemonade out of lemons.

Install and activate your new internet service

To set up your internet, you first need to determine if your new home is wired up for service. If it is, just schedule the service activation with the ISP, plug in your equipment, and you’re good to go. If it isn’t, you’ll need to schedule an installation.

Usually, only an ISP tech is going to be able to tell you if your new place is 100% ready for rockin’ Wi-Fi, but here are a couple of ways you can make a reasonably accurate guess:

• Ask the ISP the last time service was active at your new address.
  If the last owner or tenant had the same internet service, chances are all the cabling is still in place and operational. If the previous resident used a different internet, TV, or phone service that rerouted the home’s cabling, you probably need to schedule an install.
• See if your modem goes online.
  Usually, a modem will go online if there’s a clear connection to the ISP’s network, even if the service isn’t active—it won’t provide internet access, but it should connect. If you have access to your new place and have your modem, try hooking it up and check the modem status lights to see if it goes online. If it does, all that’s left to do is call the ISP to activate once you’re ready to make the switch from your old place. If your modem doesn’t go online, you probably need a tech to come out.

Once you’ve figured out whether or not you need an install, it’s time to schedule your service activation. If you’re keeping the same ISP, note that you usually can’t have internet access at your old address and your new address at the same time (unless you want to pay double), so make sure you don’t still need internet at your old home when you schedule the service to switch over.

If you do need an install, clear some time off your calendar. Prepare to live without internet for up to four hours—looking at you, remote workers.

Once you’ve moved your Wi-Fi to your new home, run a speed test

You can officially breathe a sigh of relief once your internet is all set up and working properly in your new home. Just to be thorough, run a few speed tests on your new system to make sure you’re getting the speeds you’re paying for.

You can use our speed test tool—it takes only a couple minutes.

How to run a speed test: Close out of all your windows and apps and run the test. Try it a few different times and see if you get different speeds throughout the day. Your speed will likely fluctuate, but if you’re happy with how it’s running, then congratulations: you have successfully transferred your internet service to a new house. Hurray!

FAQ about transferring your internet service

Whether it’s because you’re moving to a new place or looking for a better deal, sometimes you have to just cancel your internet.

Canceling your service and switching to a new provider isn’t always easy—but don’t worry. We’ll walk you through the process to help you navigate early termination fees (ETFs), long phone calls with the customer retention department, and other challenges.

Step-by-step guide

Really quickly, here’s a step-by-step guide of what you have to do.

1. Look over your contract. Figure out if there are any early termination fees you need to pay.
2. Shop for new internet. It’s best to have your new internet plan lined up before you cancel your old one to avoid  unnecessary inconveniences.
3. Call customer service. Get a rep on the phone to cancel your service. (Unfortunately, the majority of internet providers don’t let you cancel online.)
4. Consider negotiating. If you’re canceling due to high prices or lackluster speeds, you can haggle with your provider’s customer retention rep to get a better deal.
5. Return the router and modem. Make sure to return any equipment you’ve rented to avoid expensive fees.
6. Enjoy your new internet. The most important step of all!

Look over your contract and figure out if you have early termination fees

If your current plan has an annual contract, you may have to pay early termination fees (ETFs) to cancel it. Depending on the provider, ETFs cost $10–$15 for each month you have left on your contract.

Some providers have no-contract internet plans, which lets you switch internet providers without incurring any fees. Consider signing up for a no-contract plan when you switch to a new provider to stay free and clear of the dreaded ETFs.

Early termination fees from major internet providers

Data as of 6/28/23. Offers and availability may vary by location and are subject to change.

AT&T’s internet plans run month to month. But AT&T TV requires a two-year contract. The ETF is $15 for each month you have left on the contract, totaling to a potential maximum of $360.

With Optimum, you don’t have to pay early termination fees. However, you will be charged for the full billing cycle no matter when you cancel your service. So if you cancel your account on the first of the month, you will pay for the entire month.

Google Fiber’s early termination fee applies only to customers who have to pay a $300 construction fee to properly set up fiber internet when they sign up. If you cancel your service before 12 months, you’ll need to pay $25 for each month left on your bill. But you won’t need to worry about these fees if you don’t have a construction fee.

Before cutting off your service entirely, make sure you have a new internet package in place. That way you won’t have to deal with any waits or delays between canceling your service and activating a new one. (If you don’t actually need new internet, feel free to skip this step.)

Shop around and pick out the internet provider and plan that fits best for you. Take a look at any deals and offers you can get, and use our speed test tool to make sure you’re getting enough speed. Then call your new provider and schedule a time for it to switch on your new service. Also schedule installation if necessary.

You have to call customer service to cancel your internet. That’s usually the only option to cancel your service from most internet service providers (ISPs)—it’s highly unlikely you’ll be able to cancel it online.

When you make the call, you’ll be redirected to an agent working at your ISP’s customer retention department. The agent will want to keep you signed up, so be prepared to get put on hold or to slog through a long conversation.

The customer retention department usually has some leeway to upgrade your service or give you extra perks to keep you with your ISP. So if you want a lower price or a faster speed, consider negotiating for a better deal instead of canceling outright.

Bring details about prices from other providers and have an idea of how much you’re currently paying for your service. Depending on the internet provider, the customer retention agent may be able to do the following:

• Offer a price match on your plan
• Return your monthly bill to its original promotional price
• Speed up your internet at a reduced cost
• Give you premium channels as part of your cable TV package
• Combine internet with mobile service at a special price

After canceling your service, pack up any equipment you have that you’ve rented from your old ISP—usually a modem, router, or “gateway” device that combines the two. Then put it in the mail and send it back to them. Double-check to see if your ISP will send you a return label or if you need to look up the mailing address. Also see if it can provide packaging and if you have to pay the shipping yourself.

Don’t forget this step: you can face a hefty fee if you don’t return the equipment.

And, finally, we’ve come to the most important step of all: bonding with your new internet connection. Once you’ve stopped service with your old ISP and successfully switched to a new internet provider, you’re now free to stream, game, tweet, and download to your heart’s content. Yay!

When budgets are tight, internet service can be one of the easier obligations to put on hold. Most internet service providers (ISPs) already have a system in place for customers to temporarily pause their service and then resume it with minimal effort. The trick is knowing where to find it.

Most ISPs refer to these pauses as “seasonal holds.” But it could also be called a “hibernation plan,” “temporary suspension,” or a “vacation hold.” This difference in terminology can get confusing, but we’ll walk you through the basics.

Why would you need to pause your internet service?

It might sound easier to just cancel your internet service if you don’t need it, but there are a number of downsides to outright cancelling internet service:

• Hefty cancellation fees
• Activation or installation fees when you reactivate service
• Long wait times for reactivating service

Pausing service can help you avoid fees and makes it much easier to get your internet up and running once you’re ready to resume service. If you get other services through your ISP, such as phone service or an email address, temporary pauses usually allow you to keep these services active.

While most of us rely on the internet daily for work, entertainment, and communication, temporary holds can be useful for long vacations or for people who spend time between more than one residence. Some providers even allow you to stay connected at a lower speed in order to maintain smart devices and security systems in vacation homes or in vacant rental properties. If you know you won’t be needing normal internet access in a given location, pausing service can save you a lot of money.

The downside of seasonal holds is that there is usually an associated fee, though this tends to be much lower than cancellation fees or the cost of simply keeping your plan active. The nature of these fees varies from provider to provider. Some ISPs require a one-time fee, while others will charge you month to month throughout your hold.

Pausing Service vs Cancelling Service

What alternatives are available to pausing your internet service?

While temporary holds can be a helpful tool, they’re not a one-size-fits-all solution. If you’re looking for even more flexibility in your internet plan, there are a few other options you can try.

Month-to-month contracts

Seasonal holds work great if you’re going to be away from home for an entire summer, but they can become a hassle if you move back and forth between locations multiple times throughout the year. A better option in this case would be to sign up for a no-contract internet plan. These plans operate on a monthly basis, so there’s no long-term contract to cancel. This also makes them useful for frequent movers, renters, and people looking for work in other cities.

Although signing a year-long contract will usually save you a bit of money on your monthly bill, these savings will be lost to early termination fees if you cancel early. If flexibility is something you value, the extra cost of a no-contract plan might be well worth it.

Mobile hotspots

For those who want maximum flexibility, the best option is to buy a mobile hotspot. Mobile hotspots are similar to a standard router, providing a Wi-Fi network for your other devices. Hotspots then connect to the internet using cellular signals, allowing you to connect from anywhere you can get a cell phone signal.

Unlike other wireless connections, such as 4G LTE home internet, a mobile hotspot doesn’t have to stay at a fixed address. If you move, you can simply take your hotspot with you with no need to transfer or cancel your service. You can even take it with you on vacations or business trips (though if you travel internationally, check with your provider to see if they offer coverage in other countries).

Contract buyouts

Temporary holds are great, but they aren’t much good if you’re not coming back. If you’ve already signed a long-term contract, there’s usually no way to get out of it early without incurring some pretty steep fees. But there are some ISPs, like Spectrum , that offer contract buyouts. In other words, they’ll reimburse you for your cancellation fees (up to a certain amount) as long as you switch to their service.

Contract buyouts aren’t the most flexible option, since you usually just switch one long-term plan for another. But if you’re going to be forced to cancel a contract anyway, it’s worth looking into ISPs who might make that transition less painful.

Added this, however, there’s no convenient way to add Go links in a Google doc.

Early termination fee exceptions

If you’re looking to use a service pause to temporarily avoid early termination fees, there may be an easier way. Many ISPs will waive early termination fees for certain circumstances like moving into bulk housing that uses a different provider or military deployment. Check your ISP’s policies to see if you qualify to have your fees waived.

Temporary holds are a useful option

Dealing with internet bills can be one of the most frustrating interactions you have with your ISP, so it’s convenient that most providers already have a system to help customers who need to put their service on hold. Pausing your service can save you time and money, so it’s an option you should take advantage of if you need it.

Temporary internet hold FAQ

Is there a fee to place my internet service on vacation hold?

Usually, many providers have a one-time fee to place your internet service on hold. Others have a reduced monthly fee throughout the period your service is on hold. Make sure you know how your provider charges for paused service before putting it on hold.

Can I cancel my service after putting it on hold?

If you cancel your service while it is on a seasonal hold, you will incur the same penalties for early cancellation that you would normally have to deal with. Additionally, if you have a contract period of 12 or 24 months, time spent with your service on hold usually doesn’t count toward that contract period.