The AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan is one of the best low-cost phone plans on the market. This plan offers unlimited talking, texting, and 16GB of high-speed data each month, and it’s packed with extras like spam call protection, mobile hotspot, and Canada/Mexico roaming. At $300 a year ($25 a month), it’s easily the best value on the AT&T network.

I’ve used the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan for almost three years. In this article, I’ll review the plan’s features, show you what add-ons are available, and share insight into how well it works. I’ll also explain how to sign up for this plan and the best procedures to switch from your current carrier.

Updated May 2023 to say that this plan now includes 5G data, if your phone supports it!

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What features does the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan have?

The AT&T Prepaid 12-month plan has all the essential features you’d expect in a phone plan, but it also includes perks you don’t usually see with low-cost plans.

Let’s start with the basics: This plan has unlimited talk and text plus a monthly 16GB high-speed data allowance. Other basic features include Caller ID, Basic/Visual Voice Mail, Three-Way Calling, Call Waiting, Call Forwarding, Group Texting, Photo Texting, and WiFi Calling.

AT&T highlights six additional perks with this plan in its advertising. Here’s how each one works.

Rollover Data: Most prepaid plans come with a fixed amount of high-speed data each month: use it or lose it. However, the AT&T Prepaid Annual plan lets you roll over unused data. For example, if you use 6GB in the first month, AT&T will add the remaining 10GB to your second month’s allowance. The rollover is not perpetual: rolled-over data only survives one additional month and gets used after burning through the current month’s 16GB allowance. Even with those caveats, the rollover data feature provides a great safety net.

Mobile hotspot: Mobile hotspotting refers to using your phone’s data plan to provide Internet access to another device, such as a laptop. Not all low-cost plans offer mobile hotspot support, while many others charge extra, lower the speed, or limit how much data you can use for hotspotting. The AT&T Prepaid Annual plan does none of these things, allowing you to put any or all of your mobile data towards hotspot usage.

Talk, text, and data work in Canada and Mexico: All AT&T Prepaid plans offer free roaming in Canada and Mexico – that’s talking, texting, and using data. You may experience slower data speeds than you would at home, but I’ve found it’s more than adequate to look up information and stay connected. Roaming is rare among low-cost plans, so if Canada or Mexico come up in your travel plans, the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan scores points for convenience. I’ll talk about roaming in other countries below.

AT&T ActiveArmor: AT&T describes ActiveArmor as “Built-in network security [that] helps block fraud calls and alerts you to suspected spam risks.” When you get a call AT&T thinks is spam, you’ll see “Spam Risk” or “Telemarketer” on the Caller ID. You can still answer the call if you’d like.

This feature is on by default, but you can disable it. I’ve had hundreds of spam calls flagged by the system and find it’s a huge timesaver. I did have one legitimate call get flagged, which means I’d call the feature 99% reliable.

StreamSaver: By default, the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan will use StreamSaver to stream videos at DVD quality to conserve cellular data. Some people misunderstand this feature: It’s an option, not a restriction. You can disable the setting from the account management website if you prefer to stream in HD quality. I don’t have a problem with the lower quality, and I’m grateful for the automatic data conservation. This feature does not affect streaming over WiFi.

International texting: The AT&T Prepaid Annual plan allows you to text international numbers in over 230 countries. In practice, I suspect most people use data-based messaging services (like Messenger, WhatsApp, or iMessage) for international communication, but it’s nice to have the option.

What’s missing from the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan?

With so many features included, there’s little not to like about the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan. However, here are a few quibbles:

No free international roaming: The AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan does not include free international roaming in any country except Canada and Mexico. This is not unusual: the vast majority of low-cost and even most postpaid plans don’t offer free international roaming either. 

Fortunately, there are workarounds. You can buy an international roaming add-on for this plan, described below, but it’s costly.

Alternatively, if your phone supports dual SIM with eSIM, you can buy a secondary, local eSIM card when traveling abroad. Then, you can use the WiFi Calling feature of your AT&T Prepaid plan to continue calling and texting via the secondary SIM’s cellular data network.

No family plan: The AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan is only available as a single line of service. From a cost perspective, I don’t mind that there isn’t an additional discount for adding multiple lines because this plan is already a great deal at $25 a month. However, each person must also sign-up separately, which is an (admittedly minor) hassle. My partner and I each have an account, and when the year is up, I have to log in to each account separately to renew the plan.

What happens if you run out of data on the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan?

If you run out of high-speed data on the AT&T Annual Prepaid Plan, your data speed will slow to 128Kbps, which is sufficient for messaging but not much else. 

With a 16GB per month data allowance plus rollover data, running out of data should not be a problem for most people. And if you do think you might regularly exceed the data allowance, this plan is not the right fit. 

However, sometimes the unexpected happens. I ran out of data on this plan once: I had just moved homes and encountered a lengthy delay in getting internet service set up, so I needed to use my cellular data and mobile hotspot far more heavily than usual.

The good news is you can buy high-speed data top-ups in either 1GB or 3GB increments (details below). You wouldn’t want to make a habit of buying extra data, but it’s nice to have the option if an unexpected situation develops.

What add-ons are available with the plan?

Several add-ons and top-ups are available with the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan. You can purchase these via the website.

Additional high-speed data: 1 GB for $10 or 3GB for $20. Valid for 30 days. Helpful if you run out of your monthly allowance and use up any rollover data.

International calling: $10 for a basic package of 250 minutes to 70 different countries, or $15 for unlimited calling to an expanded list of countries. Valid for 30 days. Most people will be better off using VoIP services instead of paying for international calling.

International travel: $35 for unlimited talk, text, and data in a small list of countries. Valid for only seven days. This is convenient but expensive. As mentioned above, if your phone supports dual SIM cards, you can usually get a better deal by buying a local eSIM.

How is data prioritization on the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan?

The AT&T Prepaid Annual plan has the same or better data priority as most other AT&T plans. This plan is not a second-class citizen or less reliable than a mainstream plan.

Data prioritization policies determine which plans slow down first if there’s congestion on your local tower. Congestion typically occurs when a sudden, unexpected demand exceeds an area’s capacity. 

AT&T assigns each of their plans to a tier that determines its data priority:

• Best: AT&T Unlimited Premium Plan
• Better: AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan, AT&T Unlimited Extra Plan, most other AT&T plans, MVNO plans
• Worst: AT&T Unlimited Starter, Value Plus, and Prepaid Unlimited plans 

As you can see, only AT&T’s most expensive plan gets higher priority than the Prepaid Annual Plan. If you’re coming from any other AT&T plan, your data prioritization will either increase or stay the same.

How do you pay for the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan?

This plan costs $300 every 360 days, plus sales tax. You can pay by credit/debit card, or you can use AT&T Prepaid top-up cards. Most people will find paying with a credit/debit card the most convenient and straightforward method.

In addition, if your credit card offers a cell phone protection benefit, you may gain coverage by paying with that card. Many credit card programs state that coverage applies when using the card to pay your “monthly” bill, but I’ve found that annual plans are also covered. (Check your card’s benefits and contact them to confirm.)

You can also pay for this plan by redeeming AT&T Prepaid top-up cards on the website. People who want to save money aggressively will watch for these cards to go on sale at places like Target or Kroger, and you may also be able to avoid sales tax by buying top-up cards. If that all sounds like too much hassle, you’re still getting a great deal using your credit card.

You’ll get a text message every thirty days stating your data has been renewed and reminding you when your next annual payment is due. You can set the plan up for auto-renewal on the website.

As is common in the prepaid world, AT&T defines a month as thirty days, which means this plan lasts for 360 days rather than a true calendar year.

You cannot cancel the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan for a pro-rated refund, and if you switch plans, you’ll forfeit your remaining allowance.

How do you sign up for the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan?

The only way to sign up for the AT&T Prepaid Annual plan is through the website. You cannot sign up for this plan in an AT&T store. Chances are, in-store sales staff haven’t even heard of it. Switching involves a few steps: preparing your phone, signing up, and porting your number.

How to bring your own phone to AT&T Prepaid

Although the AT&T Prepaid store sells a few basic phones, most people will want to bring their current phone to the service. If you currently have service with another carrier, see my article on how to pay off and unlock your phone. If you need a new phone, I recommend buying an unlocked phone rather than going through a carrier.

To bring your phone to AT&T Prepaid, select “Bring Your Own Phone” and order a SIM card while signing up for service. Once you receive the SIM card in the mail, you’ll insert it into your phone and proceed to activate your plan.

Alternatively, you can purchase an AT&T Prepaid SIM card kit from an independent retailer and sign up for the annual plan when activating it here.

How to port your number to AT&T Prepaid

During the sign-up process, you can check whether your number is eligible for porting and even begin the port process. However, if you are ordering a SIM card kit, do not port your number during sign-up because doing so may disconnect your old service immediately. Instead, ask for a new number during sign-up and wait for the SIM card to arrive. When it does, finish activating service and call the AT&T port helpline at 888-898-7685 to port your number. When you do it this way, your new service will pick up as your old service shuts down.

If you follow this strategy, when picking your temporary “new” number, request a number from the same market as the number you will later port. For example, if you have a Seattle-area number (206 area code) but currently live in Texas, activate your plan with a temporary Seattle-area number, not a Texan number. Doing it this way avoids a technical issue in AT&T’s system.

How to switch from AT&T to AT&T Prepaid

You would think customers desiring to switch from AT&T to AT&T Prepaid would have an easier time than those coming from another carrier. Unfortunately, it’s the other way around: If you are coming from another company (e.g., Verizon or T-Mobile), you should have no trouble porting your number as long as you have an unlocked phone. However, if you are switching from an AT&T postpaid plan, there are some extra considerations.

Read: How to pay off your phone, unlock it, and leave your high-priced phone plan

First things first: You still need to ensure your phone is unlocked, and if you have an installment plan on your AT&T postpaid service, you still need to pay off your device. You cannot carry your payment plan from AT&T postpaid over to prepaid.

Once you’ve sorted out your phone, there are several eligibility requirements your AT&T account has to meet to switch to Prepaid service. For example, your line can’t be a business account, and you can’t combine your wireless bill with other services like AT&T Internet or DirectTV.

If you meet these conditions, I advise signing up for the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan using the “temporary new number” procedure described above. Once you have the Prepaid SIM card, contact the AT&T porting helpdesk to help you convert your account from postpaid to prepaid. If you’re lucky, they can take care of the switchover on the phone, but they may send you to an AT&T store to process the account conversion. 

Some people have found it’s less hassle to temporarily port their number away from AT&T and immediately back to AT&T Prepaid. This tactic can also be a workaround if you don’t meet one of the eligibility requirements above. The port-out approach works because porting your number away from AT&T isn’t subject to their internal rules.

Bottom line

For most people, switching to the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan is straightforward. Even if you do have a few extra steps to navigate, once you’re up and running, you’re on autopilot: there’s nothing to do except renew next year.

The AT&T Prepaid 12-month plan stands out because it provides so much value for such a low price. If you’re coming from a traditional phone plan, you could save over $600 a year (e.g., going from $75 a month to $25 a month), so switching can make a meaningful and lasting impact on your budget!

I hope this article has helped you understand what the AT&T Prepaid Annual Plan provides and how to switch to it. If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment or send me a message!