AT&T confirms its plan to end two-year contracts on January 8

By David Curry December 30, 2015

att to end two year contracts january 2016 sign phone company carrier — Image used with permission by copyright holder

AT&T confirmed it will end two-year contracts on January 8, 2016 for its smartphone service plans. Currently, AT&T is the only major U.S. carrier offering contracts on its website. T-Mobile, Sprint, and Verizon all killed contracts recently. Internal documents published by Engadget initially revealed AT&T’s planned changes to coverage.

Updated on 12-30-2015 by Malarie Gokey: Added confirmation from AT&T that it will end two-year contracts.

After January 8, AT&T will sell smartphones at full retail price or through installment plans like its current Next program. Customers will pay monthly for a data plan and unlimited talk and text, but won’t have an obligation to keep the data plan, as long as they’ve paid for the phone.

“With $0 down for well-qualified customers, the ability to upgrade early and down-payment options available with even lower monthly installments, our customers are overwhelmingly choosing AT&T Next,” AT&T told Re/code. “Starting January 8, AT&T Next will be the primary way to get a new smartphone at AT&T.”

No further details were revealed by AT&T.

The new policy should, hopefully, make AT&T’s data pricing more competitive when compared to T-Mobile, Verizon, and Sprint. The wireless carrier is the last of the major four to remove two-year contracts, and if rumors are correct, it has been looking into it for the best part of this year.

att-two-year-plans — Engadget

According to the leaked document, flip phones and feature phones, named “Quick Messaging Devices” by AT&T, will receive the same treatment. Neither the document nor AT&T mentioned contracts for business customers, meaning two-year contracts might still be around for businesses.

Wearables are another potential area where two-year contracts might remain, especially since AT&T has been heavily promoting two-year contracts for wearables like Samsung’s Gear S2.

Once two-year contracts for phones are gone, so will the lower subsidized prices of smartphones. Customers will have to pay the full-retail price of the smartphone over a certain amount of time. All four of the major carriers currently offer 24-month phone installment plan deals for smartphones, but that may soon be the only option available to customers.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

David has been writing about technology for several years, following the latest trends and covering the largest events. He is…

Mobile

Does the OnePlus 10T have wireless charging? What you need to know

The side of the OnePlus 10T showing the power key.

OnePlus has launched the OnePlus 10T, marking the return of its T-series lineup after last year’s hiatus. While the new midrange smartphone offers some impressive specs, there’s one crucial thing you may want to keep in mind about the OnePlus 10T before you rush out and hit the buy button.

Although wireless charging is arguably table stakes on midrange and premium smartphones in 2022, the OnePlus 10T is a surprising exception to this rule. Like its predecessor, the 2020 OnePlus 8T, this latest T series smartphone lacks any form of wireless charging.

Mobile

Is the OnePlus 10T waterproof? What you should know about its IP rating

The OnePlus 10T laying face-down on the arm of an outdoor chair.

As phones have become entirely engrained into our lives, they're frequently placed in positions where they could face damage. Whether that's from falling out of pockets, being stepped on, or being chewed up by a pet — when you buy a new phone, you're making a major investment in a world where everything is a potential phone-killer. With the OnePlus 10T here, potential buyers are asking questions regarding how sturdy the device will be. More specifically, you're probably wondering if the OnePlus 10T is waterproof.

One of the biggest areas where device owners want their smartphones to be the most resistant is when it comes to waterproofing. Keeping devices dry can be a difficult task, so most people want to know what the OnePlus 10T can survive. From withstanding a drop in the pool to a quick splash from a knocked-over glass of water, there's a wide range of what waterproofing can mean. Most devices possess some level of waterproofing, which makes answering "is the OnePlus 10T waterproof" a little complicated.
The OnePlus 10T has IP54 water resistance

Mobile

Your T-Mobile plan now has bigger gas discounts and international 5G

OnePlus 8T

There are a lot of financial deterrents this year keeping people from planning summer vacations, but T-Mobile is determined to help subscribers take the vacations they've been dreaming of with its newly announced Coverage Beyond initiative. In short, Coverage Beyond aims to reduce the cost of traveling for T-Mobile's most popular coverage plans by giving subscribers three great perks: free 5G data abroad, free streaming while on flights, and a handful of other travel perks like reduced gas prices.

Some of T-Mobile's previous connection efforts gave its customers limited free low-speed data and free texting while abroad. This was a good way to reduce the stress of being out of the country for a short period, but Coverage Abroad ups the ante by offering 5GB of high-speed data to all Magenta Max and Business Unlimited Ultimate plan owners in 210 countries. In countries where it's available, that "high-speed" data may even be 5G. Magenta and most other business plan owners can also count on free high-speed international data, but only in 11 select European countries.