Break Leases & Contracts Penalty-Free
T-Mobile Military Suspension: 39-Month Hold, EIP, and Cancelling
Part of: The Complete Guide to the SCRA
T-Mobile does not publish an SCRA page. What it publishes (all read August 15, 2026) is a military suspension inside its account suspensions article, a self-service path in the T-Life app, a military verification page, and a general cancel-service page. That is enough to know exactly what you get and what you do not.
Suspension is the published benefit
| Military suspension | Seasonal suspension | Cancel a line or account | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who | Verified active-duty customers with an active-duty (ADM) indicator | Anyone | Anyone, by phone |
| Length | Up to 39 months | Up to 90 days, twice in 12 months | Permanent |
| Plan charges | $0, no taxes, no suspension fee | Full monthly charge ($10 for Internet AWAY and business plans) | Billed through end of cycle |
| Device installments (EIP) | Continue every month | Continue | Continue if other lines stay; whole balance due on final bill if the account closes |
| Number | Kept | Kept | Reactivate within 90 days without a credit check, but T-Mobile says the old number may not be available |
| Where | T-Life app or T-Mobile.com, primary account holder, one line at a time | Same | 1-800-937-8997 or 611 |
T-Mobile lists the eligible services as Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, and Public Health Service officers on duty with the Army or Navy. Space Force, Guard, and Reserve are not named on that list; the statute reaches them, so if you are one of those, verify status and ask rather than assuming.
Underneath the suspension is 50 U.S.C. § 3956, which does not depend on a carrier having a program: qualifying orders (90 days or more, to a place that does not support the contract) plus a written notice with a termination date end the contract with no early termination charge, and the provider owes any prepaid amount back within 60 days. The complete guide walks through it.
How to do it at T-Mobile
Suspend or cancel T-Mobile on orders
- Verify status first. In T-Life: Manage or Account, the gear icon, Settings, Profile, Military Verification. On T-Mobile.com: Profile, Military Verification, choose your status, submit. T-Mobile says a text confirmation arrives within 48 hours if no documents are needed; if it asks for documents (LES, orders, or a military POA for active duty), it says you get an email within 24 hours after receipt. Black out SSNs and ID numbers; T-Mobile says it destroys the documents after verification.
- Make sure the servicemember is the primary account holder, or complete a change of responsibility; T-Mobile says a spouse can verify for a deployed member with extra documentation.
- Suspend: T-Life or T-Mobile.com, Manage or Account, pick the device, choose Military suspension (up to 39 months), set start and end dates, accept the terms. Repeat per line; T-Mobile only suspends one line at a time.
- To cancel instead, call 1-800-937-8997 (or 611) and, the same day, send written notice with the termination date and a copy of your orders. The letter generator cites § 3956 for you.
- Keep every EIP payment on autopay through the suspension. A nonpayment suspension will not convert back to a military suspension when you pay it off; you would have to re-restore the line.
- Home Internet: return the gateway inside 10 days (statute) with tracking; T-Mobile’s own deadline is 14 days.
Things members trip on at T-Mobile
The EIP is a loan, and it does not stop. Every T-Mobile page says the same thing: monthly installments continue during a military suspension, and if you cancel the whole account the remaining device balance lands on the final bill. If you cancel one line but keep others, the installments for that line keep billing monthly. Budget the device separately from the plan before you decide between suspending and cancelling.
Verification is a separate step from suspending. The suspend menu will not offer the 39-month option without an active-duty indicator on the account. Verify days ahead, not the morning you fly. Note that T-Mobile’s verification page is written around its military discount plans and their 45-day deadline; the suspension uses the same status check but is not a discount.
Shared charges keep billing. T-Mobile’s own worked example is an $80 family plan: one line suspended and one active still bills $80. Only when every line is on military suspension does the plan go to $0. Multi-line promotions and free-line offers can also drop if you cancel a line and no longer meet the plan’s line count.
Cancellations are dated to the end of the cycle. T-Mobile bills through the end of the current billing cycle on any cancellation. That lines up with § 3956(f), which lets the provider keep the rest of the billing period in which termination occurs but requires any prepaid amount beyond it to be refunded within 60 days.
Your number after a plain cancellation. T-Mobile’s cancel page says you can reactivate within 90 days without a credit check or activation fee but that your previous number may not be available. If you cancelled on orders, § 3956(c) requires the provider to let you keep the number when you re-subscribe within 90 days after a relocation of three years or less. Suspension avoids the argument; if you cancel, keep the written notice so you can point to it on return.
Discount, separately. T-Mobile sells military-priced plans that require the servicemember to be the account holder and to verify within 45 days, or the plan reverts at up to $20 more per line (T-Mobile’s stated terms, verified August 2026). That is pricing, not a protection, and it has nothing to do with whether the suspension or the statute applies to you.
The same orders may unlock a car lease termination and an apartment lease break; the PCS money moves list runs the whole set.
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.
Frequently asked questions
Does T-Mobile pause my phone payments during a military suspension?
No. T-Mobile's account suspensions page states that if you have an Equipment Installment Plan, the monthly installment amounts continue to be charged and must be paid each month by the due date, regardless of whether your monthly recurring charges are suspended. Only the plan, taxes, and suspension fees go to zero.
How do I qualify for the military suspension?
T-Mobile says military suspension requires verification of active-duty status (an "active ADM indicator" on the account) and that the primary account holder does the suspending. Verify in T-Life or T-Mobile.com under Profile, then Military Verification; T-Mobile lists a Leave and Earnings Statement, orders, or a military power of attorney as acceptable active-duty documents.
Can I suspend the whole family plan?
T-Mobile's pages say you can only suspend one line at a time and that other subscribers on the account are charged the normal monthly plan fee. If any charge is shared between a suspended line and an active line, the shared charge still bills. T-Mobile's own example: an $80 family plan with one line active and one on military suspension still bills $80; with both suspended it bills $0.
How do I cancel T-Mobile entirely on orders?
T-Mobile's cancel-service page says to call 1-800-937-8997 or 611 from a T-Mobile phone; there is no online cancel. Send a written notice with your orders and the termination date too, because 50 U.S.C. § 3956(a)(3) makes that the trigger for the no-ETF, 60-day refund, and number-retention rules. T-Mobile publishes no separate SCRA page (verified August 2026).
What about T-Mobile Home Internet equipment?
T-Mobile says a return label is emailed after cancellation and the gateway and any mesh extender must be back within 14 days, or a non-return fee of up to $370 plus tax can apply. The statute's own return deadline in § 3956(e)(3) is 10 days after disconnection, so ship it inside 10 days and keep the tracking number.
Sources
Heads up: SCRA Saver publishes general information, not legal or financial advice. Laws change and every situation differs. Confirm details with your installation legal assistance office (free for service members) or a licensed professional.