How to Change Your Phone Number: Step-by-Step Guide
You can change your phone number without buying a new phone. Most U.S. mobile carriers let you request a different number through your online account, mobile app, or customer service while keeping your existing device and wireless plan.
The process usually involves choosing an available number, confirming the change, and restarting your phone if required. Before switching, update important accounts that use your current number for verification, especially banking, email, and two-factor authentication services.
How to Change Your Phone Number
Your mobile carrier assigns the phone number to your wireless line, so changing a number must normally be done through the carrier rather than through your iPhone or Android settings.
- Contact your mobile carrier. Sign in to the carrier’s website or app and look for an option such as Change phone number. You can also contact customer support if self-service is unavailable.
- Request a new number. Depending on the carrier, you may be able to select an area code, enter a ZIP code, or choose from several available numbers. You usually cannot choose any number you want.
- Check fees and availability. Some carriers allow certain number changes for free, while others charge a fee depending on how the request is made or how long the line has been active.
- Confirm the change. You may need to verify your identity or account permissions before the carrier activates the new number.
- Restart your phone if instructed. Once the change is complete, test outgoing and incoming calls, SMS, and mobile data.
Changing the number usually does not require a new smartphone. A new physical SIM or eSIM may not be necessary either, although the exact process depends on the carrier and how the line is provisioned.
How to Change Your Number With Verizon, AT&T, or T-Mobile
| Carrier | How to request a change | Typical fee policy |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon | My Verizon app, My Verizon website, or customer service | Free through My Verizon; $15 through customer service |
| AT&T | Online account, AT&T store, or customer support | Free within 30 days of activation; $36 afterward |
| T-Mobile | T-Life app or T-Mobile.com | Up to two number changes per year at no cost, limited to one per month |
Verizon lets customers change a mobile number through My Verizon without a fee. If customer service handles the change by phone, Verizon currently charges $15. When using My Verizon, customers can select an area code and prefix based on availability. Details are available in Verizon’s mobile number change FAQs.
AT&T allows a wireless number to be changed for free within 30 days after activation. After that period, the current change fee is $36. The request can be made online, at an AT&T store, or through support. AT&T also warns that existing voicemail messages cannot be transferred to the new number. See the AT&T number change instructions for current details.
T-Mobile allows eligible account holders to change a number through T-Life or T-Mobile.com. The carrier currently permits up to two number changes per year at no additional cost, with a limit of one change per month. Available numbers are generated based on the selected city, state, or ZIP code. Current rules are listed on T-Mobile’s phone number change page.
Can You Change Your Phone Number on iPhone or Android?
You cannot normally get a new carrier-assigned phone number simply by editing a setting on an iPhone or Android device.
On an iPhone, settings related to your Apple Account, iMessage, or contact card may control where messages are sent or what number is displayed in certain services. Changing those settings does not replace the mobile number assigned to your wireless line.
On Android, the same basic rule applies. A phone may display or store a number in its settings, but editing that information does not change the actual wireless number provided by the carrier.
For both physical SIM cards and eSIMs, request the new number through your carrier. Whether the SIM needs to be replaced or reconfigured depends on the carrier and account setup.
What Happens When You Change Your Phone Number?
Once the new number is activated, your old number is no longer assigned to your current line. People who continue calling or texting it will not automatically reach your new number unless the carrier provides a specific forwarding arrangement.
Contacts, photos, apps, and other information stored on your phone normally remain in place because you are changing the wireless number, not replacing the device.
Carrier-based information can be different. Voicemail may need to be set up again, and stored voicemail messages or other network-based records can be lost. For example, Verizon warns that network-stored voicemail or text messages may be affected, while AT&T states that voicemail messages cannot be transferred when the number changes.
Your old number also does not remain yours indefinitely. Carriers can eventually return unused numbers to their available pool and assign them to another customer. This is one reason it is important to remove the old number from sensitive accounts.
Changing your number with your current carrier is different from number porting. Porting means changing carriers while keeping your existing phone number. A number change gives you a different number.
What Should You Do Before and After Changing Your Number?
Before the old number stops working, review accounts that use it for login verification, password recovery, security alerts, or appointment notifications.
Important accounts to update include:
- banking and financial apps;
- Apple Account or Google Account;
- email accounts;
- WhatsApp and other messaging services;
- social media accounts;
- services using SMS-based two-factor authentication;
- work accounts;
- healthcare portals and other services that send important notifications.
Two-factor authentication deserves particular attention. If a service sends login codes to your old number, update the number or add another recovery method before the carrier disconnects it. Otherwise, you could make it harder to access the account later.
After activating the new number, test phone calls and text messages in both directions. If you use an iPhone, make sure iMessage recognizes the new number. On Android devices, check RCS messaging if you use it. You may also need to create a new voicemail greeting or mailbox.
Do not assume every app will automatically detect the change. Services that store your phone number separately generally need to be updated individually.
Does It Cost Money to Change Your Phone Number?
It depends on the carrier. A phone number change can be free, subject to a fixed fee, or free only under certain conditions.
For example, Verizon currently charges nothing when the change is completed through My Verizon but charges $15 when customer service performs it. AT&T offers free changes during the first 30 days after activation and currently charges $36 afterward. T-Mobile allows a limited number of free changes each year.
The charge for changing a number is separate from the cost of a phone or SIM card. In most cases, getting a different number does not mean you need to replace either one.
The most important step is not the technical change itself but preparing for it. Update security and recovery information while you still control the old number, then verify calls, messages, voicemail, and important accounts as soon as the new number becomes active.