How to Cancel Verizon Wireless and Fios Without Fees

The quickest way to cancel Verizon depends on what you’re dropping.

If you’re switching carriers, porting your number is your fastest option. If you’re leaving outright, the process runs through chat or phone.

Before You Cancel

• Find your account number first, at the top of your bill or under the account overview in My Verizon.
• Then check your device payment balance in the app, that’s the real cost of leaving, and it lands on your final bill the moment you cancel.

Verizon doesn’t prorate the final billing cycle, and cancellation takes effect on the last day of that cycle, not the day you call.

★ So, there’s no benefit to canceling early, the smart move is to cancel or port near the end of your cycle, so you actually use what you’ve paid for.

Cancel Verizon Wireless

If you’re switching carriers, porting your number is the fastest route and skips Verizon’s retention pitch entirely. If you’re leaving without keeping the number, you’ll cancel through chat or by phone.

Port Your Number to Close the Line Automatically

1. In My Verizon, generate your Number Transfer PIN and note your account number, you’ll need both to move the line.
2. Give them to your new carrier and start service with them, they’ll run the transfer.
3. Once the port completes, the Verizon line disconnects automatically, no call, no retention pitch.

Cancel by Chat or Phone

To close the account when you’re not porting:

• Open a chat in My Verizon and type “Cancel,” or call 800-922-0204
• Dialing *611 from your Verizon phone routes you to the retention team

The call runs about 15 minutes, most of it a pitch, a $10 to $20 monthly loyalty discount, a plan downgrade, or a device credit. Decide beforehand if any of that matters to you, then hold firm

Canceling Wireless Actual Costs

Most current Verizon plans have no contract, so there’s no early termination fee for canceling a line.

What actually bites is your device payment plan, the remaining balance on any financed phone becomes due in full on your final bill. You keep the phone, but you pay it off in one shot.

The nastiest surprise is a buy-one-get-one deal. If you got a “free” phone through a BOGO promo, canceling stops the monthly bill credits and charges you the remaining balance on both phones, which can turn a routine cancellation into a several-hundred-dollar final bill.

Only older lines still under a service commitment face a traditional ETF. These shrink over time, up to $350 on a legacy smartphone agreement, dropping about $10 for each month completed, and a flat $175 on some basic and connected devices. You can cancel within the first 30 days of a new commitment with no penalty.

★ If you leased any device, hotspot, or tablet, return it within 30 days or the non-return fee gets added to your final bill, which can run into the hundreds for a phone.

Unpaid final balances can go to collections and affect your credit, even after the account is closed.

Cancel Verizon Fios

Fios cancellations run through a phone call.

Verizon has an online disconnect form, but it usually just triggers a retention callback instead of closing the account, so calling 1-800-837-4966 directly is the fastest way.

The line is open Monday to Friday 8 AM to 7 PM ET and Saturday 8 AM to 5 PM ET. Have your account number ready and ask for a confirmation number before you hang up.

Month-to-month Fios has no early termination fee. If you’re on a two- or three-year price-lock agreement, usually tied to a bundle, you may owe an ETF. This fee is prorated, maxes out at $350, and drops by $15 for each month completed.

Check your exact contract status on the Plan Details page in My Verizon before you call.

The Fios Equipment Return Trap

This is where Fios customers get billed after they thought they were done.

You have 30 days from your disconnection date to return the leased equipment, or Verizon charges an unreturned-equipment fee, up to about $175 for the router and roughly $50 per set-top box. Leave the white ONT box on the wall, it stays with the house and doesn’t need to be returned.

• Contact Verizon to start the return, and they’ll point you to nearby UPS Store locations.
• Bring the router, any Wi-Fi extenders, set-top boxes, and their power cords, unboxed.
• The UPS Store scans each item, packs it, and ships it back to Verizon for free.
• Keep the receipt, it’s your real protection if a “we never got it” charge shows up later.

Final Bill and Refunds

On wireless, since there’s no proration, your final bill covers the full cycle plus any device balance, forfeited BOGO credits, and normal charges. You may also get a smaller bill afterward for usage Verizon hadn’t processed yet, which is normal.

You can pay a disconnected mobile account online for up to six months after canceling.

Fios sends your final bill on your regular billing date, and you stay enrolled through that final payment.

If you’re owed a credit balance or deposit refund, Verizon applies it to the final bill or returns it to your last payment method, though that can take 60 days or more. Ask for any credit you’re owed on the cancellation call and get the amount in writing.

Alternatives to Canceling

✦ If you want a lower bill rather than a clean break, Verizon has gentler options.

✦ On wireless, you can suspend a line temporarily instead of closing it, or transfer billing responsibility to another person.

✦ Downgrading to a cheaper plan also keeps your number and history intact.

✦ If you’re canceling Fios because you’re moving, ask about transferring service to your new address instead, it keeps your pricing and skips the equipment return.

If you’re on a Verizon trial and want out before it converts to paid, that’s covered in our guide on how to cancel a free trial before you’re charged.

Confirm You’re Actually Canceled

A cancellation isn’t done until you’ve confirmed it.

• If you ported your number, screenshot the “transfer complete” message from your new carrier, that’s your proof the Verizon line closed.
• If you canceled by chat or phone, save the confirmation number and the stated disconnection date.

Then watch the next two bills. If Verizon charges you after the disconnection date, dispute it through My Verizon chat with your confirmation number in hand.

If that goes nowhere, your last resort is a chargeback through your bank or card issuer for charges after a documented cancellation. It’s slower and worth avoiding, but it’s there for when Verizon won’t fix its own error.

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