Cox Military: ETF Waiver on Orders and a 39-Month Number Hold

Cox does not show a military discount on cox.com today. What it does have is in writing: a written early termination fee waiver for military orders inside its own term agreements, and a support article that holds Cox Mobile and Cox Voice numbers for up to 39 months while you deploy. That article opens by citing “section 305A of The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act,” the section’s original number, now codified at 50 U.S.C. § 3956 (read October 9, 2026).

One thing changed this fall. Charter, which runs Spectrum, completed its transaction with Cox Communications on August 20, 2026 (Charter’s press release of that date). Cox’s surviving agreement pages now say they apply “to Cox branded services only” and not to Spectrum services. Some Cox policy addresses, including its 2021 term agreements and its Customer Service Agreement, now forward to Spectrum’s terms in a browser. If you are still on a Cox plan, save a copy of your agreement and your first bill now.

The ETF waiver in Cox’s own contracts

Each of the four Cox term agreements read for this page carries the same clause in section 3.3, “Special Circumstances/ETF Waiver.” It excuses the fee if “you are a member of the United States Armed Services and have received military orders to relocate outside of the local Cox service area that supports this Agreement for a period of not less than 90 days.” The same section waives it if “you move outside a Cox service area” and give Cox documentation of the move, with no orders and no 90-day minimum. If your orders do not fit the military clause, or the account is in a spouse’s name, the move-out clause may still apply.

Read on cox.com October 9, 2026. Every row includes the military orders waiver and the move-out waiver.

On the 2021 agreements the fee is tied to Cox Internet. Changing TV or Voice does not trigger it; disconnecting internet does.

Worked example. You signed a 24-month agreement and paid on time for 8 full months when PCS orders to Germany arrive. Cox’s formula gives $240 minus 8 × $10, or $160. The section 3.3 waiver takes it to $0, and so does § 3956(e)(1), which bars any early termination charge on a covered contract you end on qualifying orders. On the top tier of the 2018 agreement the same timing would have cost $360 minus 8 × $15, or $240.

Cox’s terms next to § 3956

The statute lets you end internet, cable TV, phone, and mobile contracts signed before your orders, once the orders relocate you for 90 days or more to a place the contract does not reach. The contract cancellation guide has the whole section.

Two gaps matter. Cox’s hold program requires a clean account; the statute’s termination right does not. And the statute’s equipment deadline is five days shorter than Cox’s own.

How to handle Cox on orders

End or hold Cox service on military orders

1. Work out which agreement you signed from your sign-up date and term length, and save a copy. Cox’s own Internet Service Disclosures match the 12- and 24-month agreements to sign-up dates.
2. For phone numbers: fill in Cox’s Military Deployment Form, linked from its deployment support article, and attach orders showing more than 90 days. Give an email address you will be able to open when you return.
3. For Internet and TV: send written notice with a copy of your orders, the date service should end, and a line citing section 3.3 of your agreement and 50 U.S.C. § 3956. The letter generator drafts it.
4. Contact Cox to disconnect before you drop off equipment, as Cox’s return page instructs.
5. Return modems, receivers, power supplies, and remotes within 10 days at a Cox store or a UPS Store. Both are free and need no box. Cox Mobile phones need a return label from a Cox agent first.
6. Check the final bill for $0 in early termination fees and a refund of anything paid past the current billing period within 60 days. The deadline checker tracks it.
7. Contact Cox before month 39 to reactivate, port, or cancel the held numbers. Cancelling a held line carries no ETF, per Cox’s article.

Things members trip on at Cox

“Inside the service area” is not covered. Cox’s military clause, its move-out clause, and the statute all need a new location your Cox contract cannot serve. A move between two Cox markets is a transfer, and Cox’s agreements already waive the fee when you move service to another Cox address.

One number per person. Cox decides eligibility line by line. If only you deploy, you can hold one Cox Mobile number and one Cox Voice number. Family lines can be held only if those family members go with you.

The 30-day window is separate. Each of these Cox term agreements lets anyone cancel within the first 30 days with no fee. If orders arrive in that window, you do not need the military clause at all.

Homelife is ending anyway. Cox’s equipment page tells Homelife security customers to disconnect by October 22, 2026, because Cox is discontinuing it. Return the leased touchscreen like any other equipment.

Spectrum plans are a different contract. If you switch to a Spectrum plan, use our Spectrum military page. If a Cox or Spectrum agent refuses the waiver, the common violations guide shows how these disputes usually go, and the GTA settlement is a telecom case the Justice Department brought over early termination fees.

The same orders reach your lease; the apartment lease guide covers that one.

The law behind this: 50 U.S.C. § 3956

Termination of certain consumer contracts: mobile, landline, internet, TV, gym, and home security: read the statute , or read § 3956 in plain English, with its enforcement record .