Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
If you’re reading this, odds are you’ve been an AT&T home internet or wireless customer for a long time and have an email address you don’t want to lose if you decide to switch providers. In the early days of the web, it was very common for families to use email addresses provided by their ISPs and even some wireless carriers, as these were considered more legitimate than free accounts online. That’s no longer the case. Today, we’ve become too reliant on email to risk losing access when we switch providers.
So, can you leave AT&T Wireless and keep your legacy email account? In short, yes. You can cancel AT&T service and still retain access to your @att.net or the even older @sbcglobal.net email address, with no action required on your part. However, if you’re not keeping the same phone number, we recommend updating your backup phone number and email information before canceling with AT&T, just in case you need to recover your account later.
Why don’t you need a paid AT&T account anymore to access your email?
Simply put, AT&T offloaded its email services to Yahoo a few years ago. Now, AT&T email addresses function just like free @yahoo.com accounts. They aren’t directly tied to AT&T’s services beyond the name, so it doesn’t matter if you’re still an AT&T customer. In fact, even people who aren’t AT&T customers can create an @att.net email address directly through AT&T’s website.
We recommend switching email providers anyhow, if you can
We understand how tedious it can be to switch over your email provider. It often requires contacting many businesses directly, visiting a ton of websites, and plenty of other hoops. When my own mother went through this same process with her local ISP we started a slow migration, only moving over vital contacts first about 30 days ahead of her planned cancellation of service. This gave her time to see what other kinds of emails (newsletters, stuff tied to her streaming services, etc) were coming in to ensure nothing important was left behind.
There are a lot of hoops involved in switching email providers, but there’s much less risk going with a Gmail or even a direct Yahoo Mail account over something like @att.net. For example, what if AT&T and Yahoo canceled their arrangement? While you might be given a warning period if something like this were to ever happen, it’s always best to act before you have to.
Leaving AT&T but not sure where to go next?
If you’re leaving AT&T as an ISP, we recommend checking out local options. If you’re switching to another wireless carrier and considering prepaid, here are three top options:
- US Mobile: With the flexibility to switch between all three major carriers and some of the lowest unlimited pricing in the U.S., there’s a lot to like about US Mobile. Sign up now!
- Mint Mobile: Paying upfront can save you significantly with Mint Mobile, all while being powered by and owned by T-Mobile. Sign up now!
- Visible: This Verizon-owned service offers truly unlimited data in a no-frills package focused on self-service and online support. Sign up now!
