By M. Curtis McCoy · Last reviewed September 20, 2026 · How we make money

Before you start: three checks

Switching to Mint Mobile from your current carrier

The steps are the same everywhere. What changes is whether your phone needs checking first.

Switching to Mint Mobile from Verizon

This is a network change: you are coming off Verizon and onto T-Mobile. Most phones sold in the US in the last few years carry the bands for all three, but that is not the same as being certified. Run your IMEI through Mint Mobile’s compatibility checker before you pay for anything. Dial *#06# to get the IMEI.

Either way you need your account number and transfer PIN from Verizon first. Here is how to get them.

Switching to Mint Mobile from AT&T

This is a network change: you are coming off AT&T and onto T-Mobile. Most phones sold in the US in the last few years carry the bands for all three, but that is not the same as being certified. Run your IMEI through Mint Mobile’s compatibility checker before you pay for anything. Dial *#06# to get the IMEI.

Either way you need your account number and transfer PIN from AT&T first. Here is how to get them.

Switching to Mint Mobile from T-Mobile

Your phone is already on T-Mobile’s network, so there is no compatibility question at all. The handset will work. What changes is the account it bills to and, if you are moving to a prepaid brand, where you sit in line when a tower is busy.

Either way you need your account number and transfer PIN from T-Mobile first. Here is how to get them.

On a different carrier? Find it in the database — there are port-out instructions for 230 of them.

How to activate your Mint Mobile SIM or eSIM

1. Have your account number, transfer PIN, and the billing name and address exactly as your old carrier has them. A mismatch here is the most common reason a transfer fails.
2. Start the switch with Mint Mobile and choose to keep your existing number.
3. Install the eSIM or insert the physical SIM when Mint Mobile tells you to — not before.
4. Leave the old line active and the old phone powered on until the new one is working.
5. Restart the phone once service appears. Carrier settings often do not apply until you do.
6. Test a call and load a web page over cellular with Wi-Fi off.

What it costs you to leave your current carrier

No US carrier is allowed to charge you a fee for transferring your number out. That is federal law, not a courtesy. What can still cost you:

• An unpaid device balance. If your phone is on an instalment plan, the remaining balance becomes due when the line closes, and the phone stays locked until it is paid.
• Promotional credits you were part way through. Trade-in and bill credits are usually spread over 24 or 36 months and stop the moment the line closes. You do not repay what you already received, but you lose the rest.
• A final partial bill. Postpaid carriers bill in arrears, so expect one more statement after the transfer.

Check the device balance and any remaining credits before you switch, not after. Those two numbers are the real cost of leaving, and neither one is a termination fee.

Is Mint Mobile the right fit?

Mint is the cheapest way onto T-Mobile’s network if you can pay for several months at once. That is the whole trade: you prepay in blocks instead of monthly, and the per-month price drops as the block gets longer.

The advertised low price is usually the introductory rate. Check what the renewal costs before the first block runs out — that is where most complaints about Mint come from.