How to Get Out of Your Mobile Phone Contract

Let's not be coy—this story exists so you can get a new . Obviously, you've seen just how thin, fast, and cool it looks. (It has so many more icons on the home screen!) You want one so badly, even if it means breaking the terms of a legal agreement with your current mobile phone carrier.

Well, don't feel guilty. Carriers aren't exactly in love with you either, just your money. That's why they make sure to sign you up for a two-year contract in the first place. (the better to guarantee they recover the true cost of that little handheld computer you call a smartphone.) That's why there's an early termination fee if you do cancel early. Sometimes that fee could be as high as $350. (Hey, carriers gotta make a living too, amirite? They can't live off outrageous SMS fees alone.)

There are a variety of reasons why you may want out of your contract. Maybe you hate your current carrier. Maybe you just want to . Maybe you want to get an unlocked iPhone to use on the one carrier that can't sell the iPhone. (Poor .) Maybe you don't mind your carrier, but simply want to upgrade your phone early. That'll cost you the unsubsidized price of the device. On Verizon, for example, that's $649 for an iPhone 5. Ouch.

If you want a new phone or a new carrier, no one but the current contract holder would really hold it against you. But how on earth do you break the seemingly iron-clad terms you signed? It's not easy. Chances are your wallet won't come out of the fight unscathed. If you really, really want the iPhone 5's, though, here are the best ways to try to pull it off legally (and somewhat less legally).

1. Cancel Early
If you very recently signed a contract for a new phone with a carrier, you probably have a period of about 14 days (or 30, if you're lucky) to go back in to the store and get a refund. You'll pay a "restocking" fee and perhaps a couple other minor charges, but if the timing is right, you can get out of the contract very early on.

2. Just Pay the Fee
Early termination fees (ETF) suck, but at least they are limited. For a smartphone (or tablet or laptop or other high-end data consuming device), the highest you'd pay is $350 (with Verizon or Sprint). T-Mobile's highest is $200 and AT&T's is $325. The ETFs are much lower for feature phones. All of the carriers prorate their fee based on the amount of time actually left in a one- or two-year contract; it goes down by $5 or $10 a month for each month of "completed service commitment" (as AT&T puts it).

MyRatePlan.com has an ETF calculator that will tell you just what you would owe today based on when your contract with any of the four major carriers ends.

Just don't think you'll get out very cheap, even if the end is near. The ETF calculator shows that a two-year smartphone contract with Verizon ending on the last day of this month (September 2012) would still cost $120! Once you pay, however, you're out and they can't suck you back in. Even combined with buying a new price-subsidized smartphone, that's still usually cheaper than paying the non-subsidized price.

A great way to offset the fee: sell your old device. Our own Wendy Sheehan Donnell, managing editor of consumer electronics and mobile, plans to sell her Verizon iPhone 4S to Apple for $255, which will more than cover her $250 ETF. Then she's getting an iPhone 5 from AT&T. Otherwise, she'd have to wait until June 2013. Here are some places that buy old phones: Apple Recycling, Amazon Electronics Trade-In, Gazelle.com, Glyde.com, and uSell.com.

3. Family Upgrade
If you're on a family plan, find out which of your relatives has an upgrade coming and steal it. This doesn't technically get you out of your contract, but by using a familial phone upgrade before you've finished your own two years, you can skip the ETF and go right to a new phone—as long as you are willing to pay the subsidized price of the device and sign on for another two years. (It's not even really you using the upgrade; the customer service reps do the upgrade for your relative and then just transfer the phone to you, so both you and mom are locked in for another two-year contract.)

4. Make the Carrier Provide Proof
First, call your carrier and ask for a copy of your contact. If it can't produce it, guess what? You don't have a contract, so you should be able to get out of it pretty fast.

That's about as likely as Apple and Samsung collaborating on a new smartphone, but maybe you'll be the lucky one getting billed without the paperwork to back it up.

5. Find the Contract Loophole
Got a few hours to spend on this squirming-out-of-your-obligations project? Then print out a copy of your contract with your carrier—the terms of service (ToS)—and start reading.

Sadly, the chances of finding a way out are pretty slim. Begging your carrier and sobbing about the hardships in your life won't get you far, and neither will the fact that you moved somewhere where there's little service. Even if your own home is a blackhole for that carrier, that's on you.

You might think not actually getting service from your carrier would easily get you out of a contract, but the ToS for all the four major carriers often expressly say they can't guarantee coverage and service. By signing on to use your current phone in a two-year contract, you agreed to that assertion. If you moved to the dead zone, that's not the carrier's fault. That's your fault.

However, it can't hurt to document every dropped call. When the carrier doesn't care, file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau or Federal Trade Commission as backup.

6. Find a Sympathetic Ear
Just because it's unlikely that the carrier won't listen to your plea to escape doesn't mean it's impossible. You just need to find the right operator with the right amount of power to make it happen. Typical customer service reps have to follow a carefully worded script to get you back to a certain level of service, but not lose you as a customer. It's not like they're paid enough to take any of your crap. So the first thing to do is, be nice.

If you can get just one person on the line to show some sympathy or, better yet, acknowledge that what you're going through is, perhaps, unfair, then you pounce; suggest a solution like, oh, getting out of the contract without paying the ETF.

When all else fails, escalate your complaint to the next level. Everyone you talk to on a customer service line has a boss and you have a right to talk to him or her.

Always take the high road and never lose your cool. Engender sympathy, not antipathy. Call back if you are "disconnected" and remind the operators that you've already called. (Don't lie...they keep a log.)

7. Wait for a Change
Perhaps the best bet to get out of a contact is await a change by the carrier that is so egregious that you get to storm the customer service gates and demand to be released. For this, you have to be hypervigilant. Keep an eye on announcements from the carrier and study your bill like you'll be quizzed on it later, searching for that one little edge you could use.

Of course, like any end-user license agreement in the software world, carrier contracts usually say they can change the terms at any time. But they also typically will let you terminate without paying a fee if the change is "materially adverse" to you, the customer. Guess what? A $1 regulatory fee hike just became "materially adverse!" Even if it's a fee on a service you rarely use. Don't wait for them to notify you, however. Read the fine print as soon as the bill arrives because you likely only have a 30-day window to make a complaint.

8. Get Ugly and Cheap
If you can't find a way to bail that won't cost you the ETF and there isn't much time left on the contract, you can lessen the impact on your cash flow by reducing the service on your mobile phone to the bare minimum. Forgo texting, data plans, or any other extras you can eliminate. This could save you serious money in the long run and make you an unattractive enough customer that the carrier is happy to see you go early. On the other hand, make too radical a change and the ToS may force you to add a full year to your contract. Make sure you know the carrier particulars first.

Another way to be "unattractive" is to use lots of services that don't cost you a thing. If you're grandfathered into an unlimited data plan, for example, turn off that Wi-Fi and use the 3G to Skype video calls and watch the entire run of Arrested Development on Netflix in a day.

9. Go Social On Their A$$
If your terms changed, your service sucked, and your escalation up the ladder of customer support didn't help you get out of a contract, it's time for public shame. Use Twitter, Facebook, and a hearty helping of hashtags (like #ATTfail or #SprintFail) to make sure the carrier notices. Get people with more followers to retweet you. Customer service may quickly contact you, this time more willing to address your gripe to prevent the public relations crisis management team from getting involved.

10. Trade Your Contract
Believe it or not, someone else might want to take over your existing contract, even with your carrier. An entire ecosystem of websites exist to facilitate contact with interested parties. Check out sites like CellPlanDepot, Cellswapper, Celltradeusa, and TradeMyCellular. Such a swap means giving up your phone and your phone number, though. Imagine skipping the next 18 months with AT&T and getting six months with Verizon instead, before you get that new coveted phone. It's allowed, as long as the carrier approves the new customer with a credit check. That's a pretty good deal, even with a small fee paid to the site. You just have to find a trade that fits your needs, which could take months for one to happen, and by then you could have paid the ETF and been done with it.

11. Get Bought Out
Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) are the small carriers with names like Boost Mobile, Virgin Mobile, and TracFone. Sometimes they're owned by the big carriers (Boost is owned by Sprint, for example, and uses Sprint's wireless network) and sometimes serve as a way for the big carriers to sell pay-as-you-go services without contracts. Sometimes they're just little independents. You can find a complete list of them on Wikipedia.

How can they help you? Occasionally they go shopping, looking to buy out contracts so you will become a customer. The most recent MVNO to do so was Ting, which runs on the Sprint network and thus would work with almost any Sprint phone (but not the iPhone). They had a lottery that would buy out one person a month. It might be worth checking in with as many as you can to see if they've got any buy-out plans in the works.

12. Be All That You Can Be
When you get truly desperate, there's the nuclear option: join the armed forces. If you can then get the brass to send you somewhere that your carrier does not provide service and you can prove it by showing the carrier the documentation, supposedly they have to let you out of the contract. First ask yourself: how far am I willing to go for an iPhone?

13. Dearly Departed
Even the carriers won't charge a dead person. If you die, you're out. If you'd rather not die, but still want out, switch your phone and contract over to the name of someone who might soon cross over. Upon his or her demise, you provide proof and you're home free. You're also a horrible, horrible person.