iPhone Handoff cost at T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T: $5 a month plus taxes and fees, $10 on Verizon when it launches, and no AT&T price
As of October 24, 2026, iPhone Handoff costs $5 a month on T-Mobile, plus taxes and fees, and Verizon says it will charge $10 a month when it adds the feature, with no launch date given. AT&T had not announced support or a price on its own pages. Over 12 months that is $60 on T-Mobile and $120 on Verizon (our arithmetic, before taxes and fees).
- T-Mobile
- $5 per month, plus taxes and fees
- T-Mobile status
- Available; announced September 10, 2026
- Verizon
- $10 per month (announced price)
- Verizon status
- Coming soon; announced October 16, 2026; no launch date stated
- AT&T
- No support or price announced on AT&T's own pages
- Per year (our arithmetic)
- T-Mobile $60; Verizon $120
- What it does
- One phone number on two iPhones running iOS 27, active on one at a time
Figures above were read from T-Mobile's iPhone page and newsroom, Verizon's newsroom and Apple Support on 2026-10-24. See sources.
iPhone Handoff price by carrier
| Carrier | Monthly price | Taxes and fees wording | Who is eligible | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile | $5 | "Plus taxes and fees." | Postpaid consumer or sole proprietor accounts at launch | Available; announced Sept. 10, 2026 |
| Verizon | $10 | Not stated in the announcement | Compatible iPhone models running iOS 27; plan eligibility not stated | Coming soon; announced Oct. 16, 2026; no date |
| AT&T | None announced | None announced | None announced | Not announced on AT&T's pages |
What iPhone Handoff is
iPhone Handoff is an iOS 27 feature from Apple that lets one phone number work on two iPhones. Apple's support page says calls, voicemail, messages and Find My location move to whichever iPhone you unlock, and: "Your phone number will only be active on one iPhone at a time when using iPhone Handoff." It is a different feature from Apple's older Handoff, which passes tasks between Apple devices.
Apple lists the requirements as two devices running iOS 27 or later, connected to Wi-Fi, sharing the same Apple Account, using Messages in iCloud and signed into FaceTime and iMessage with the same account, plus an eSIM from a carrier that supports iPhone Handoff. On cost, Apple says: "Carrier fees might apply when enrolling in iPhone Handoff."
Apple's support page, dated October 19, 2026, lists one supported carrier in the USA: T-Mobile. Apple's iPhone 18 Pro press release of September 9, 2026 says: "iPhone Handoff will be available at launch with T-Mobile in the U.S. and Telekom Germany in Germany."
T-Mobile: $5 a month plus taxes and fees
T-Mobile's new Apple iPhone page describes the secondary iPhone's services and ends: "All for just $5/month." The line below it reads "Plus taxes and fees." The setup steps on the same page ask the customer to confirm T-Mobile's iPhone Handoff plan at $5 a month on the phone itself. The page labels the feature "ONLY AT T-MOBILE".
T-Mobile's press release of September 10, 2026 announced the $5 a month price and said the feature is "ready to use from day one on the new iPhone 18 Pro lineup and iPhone Duo". The same release gives availability for iPhone 18 Pro beginning September 18 and for iPhone Duo beginning October 23, 2026.
Who can use it, according to T-Mobile's FAQs:
- "At launch, this feature is only available to T-Mobile postpaid consumer or sole proprietor accounts."
- Two iPhones only (tablets and other devices are not eligible), on the same Apple ID and iCloud account with two-factor authentication, each with a passcode or Face ID.
- "The second phone should not have any other service attached to it."
- At launch, one active number or eSIM on each of the two phones.
How T-Mobile bills the second iPhone
T-Mobile compares the setup to a watch line: "Like a smartwatch, iPhone Handoff uses eSIM in each device and a separate assigned billing phone number on your T-Mobile account." It also says the secondary phone will not use the same plan as the main phone.
The secondary phone gets its own plan terms: "Your secondary phone plan supports unlimited calls, messaging, and data within the US with 50GB of premium data and unlimited 3G mobile hotspot." If the main plan includes international roaming, T-Mobile lists unlimited calls, messaging and 5GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico, then unlimited data at 128kbps, plus further allowances for other destinations. If the main plan has T-Satellite, the secondary phone can use it too (compatible device required).
Verizon: $10 a month, coming soon
Verizon's newsroom release of October 16, 2026, which launched iPhone Duo pre-orders, has a section headed "iPhone Handoff coming soon to Verizon". The price sentence reads: "iPhone Handoff will be available from Verizon for $10/month on compatible iPhones models running iOS 27."
The release's summary adds: "Share one Verizon number across two compatible iPhone models with iOS 27, including iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone Duo." It does not give a launch date, does not say which Verizon plans are eligible, and does not say whether taxes or Verizon surcharges are added to the $10. We found no Verizon support page for iPhone Handoff; Verizon's support pages that came up describe Apple's older Handoff feature.
Verizon's per-line surcharges are changing separately. Its Important Plan Information page lists the Regulatory Charge rising from $0.21 to $0.26 per voice line on November 1, 2026 and the Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge rising from $3.78 to $4.69 per voice line on November 15, 2026. Verizon does not say whether either charge applies to iPhone Handoff. Verizon's other 2026 changes are on our Verizon price increase 2026 page.
AT&T: no announcement on its own pages
AT&T had not announced support or a price for iPhone Handoff on its own pages as of October 24, 2026. Its newsroom releases for the iPhone 18 Pro lineup (September 10, 2026) and iPhone Duo (October 9, 2026) mention eSIM but not iPhone Handoff, and AT&T's NumberSync page, which covers sharing a phone number with a tablet, smartwatch, computer or car, does not mention it either.
A spokesperson's comment was reported by MacRumors on September 23, 2026, citing CNET: "While we see that there could be potential in capabilities like iPhone Handoff," followed by a reference to AT&T's existing eSIM activation and transfer options. The statement gave no date or price.
Cost per year and compared with a watch line
| Carrier | iPhone Handoff per month | Per year (our arithmetic) |
|---|---|---|
| T-Mobile | $5 | $60 |
| Verizon | $10 | $120 |
| AT&T | Not announced | Not announced |
On our smartwatch plan cost page, checked October 17, 2026, a watch line was $10 a month on T-Mobile's Watch Plan 2.0 with AutoPay, $15 on Verizon's Unlimited for Apple & Android watches and $10.99 on AT&T's wearables plans. T-Mobile's own iPhone Handoff FAQ draws the comparison to a smartwatch for how the second device is billed; neither T-Mobile nor Verizon says that watch plan prices or rules apply to iPhone Handoff.
Turning iPhone Handoff off
Apple's support page says: "You must contact your carrier to turn off iPhone Handoff." It adds that if you delete an eSIM from your iPhone, "your carrier may continue to charge you until you request them to turn off the service." Apple also says some carrier services, such as Call Forwarding and Caller ID, and carrier account management can only be managed on the main iPhone.
What we could not confirm
- T-Mobile's full terms for iPhone Handoff. The page links to "Get full terms", and we did not read that text; the figures here come from the visible page and its FAQs.
- Which taxes and fees T-Mobile adds to the $5. The page says "Plus taxes and fees." without amounts, and the FAQs do not say whether the per-line Regulatory Programs and Telco Recovery Fee applies to the secondary iPhone.
- T-Mobile's allowances outside Canada and Mexico. The FAQ lists $0.50 per minute calls, unlimited messaging, 5GB of high-speed data in 11 European countries and 256kbps data in 215+ countries and destinations in one run-on sentence, without separating which allowance applies where.
- Verizon's launch date, eligible plans, prepaid and business eligibility, and taxes or surcharges on the $10. The October 16, 2026 release states none of these, and we found no Verizon support page for the feature.
- AT&T's plans. We looked at AT&T's newsroom releases of September 10 and October 9, 2026 (read through PR Newswire, because about.att.com refused our automated request), AT&T's NumberSync and eSIM pages, and a search of att.com.
- Whether T-Mobile's prepaid brands or business accounts beyond sole proprietors will get the feature. T-Mobile's FAQ limits it to postpaid consumer and sole proprietor accounts "At launch".
Questions
How much does iPhone Handoff cost on Verizon?
How much is iPhone Handoff on T-Mobile?
Does AT&T support iPhone Handoff?
Does deleting the eSIM stop the iPhone Handoff charge?
What do I need to use iPhone Handoff?
Sources
- T-Mobile price, taxes and fees wording, eligibility, secondary phone plan - T-Mobile: New Apple iPhone release (iPhone Handoff), read 2026-10-24
- T-Mobile announcement, September 10, 2026 - T-Mobile Newsroom: Get iPhone 18 Pro on Us at T-Mobile, read 2026-10-24
- Verizon price and status, October 16, 2026 - Verizon News: Verizon launches iPhone Duo pre-orders, read 2026-10-24
- Verizon surcharge changes on November 1 and 15, 2026 - Verizon: Important Plan Information, read 2026-10-24
- Requirements, supported carriers, turning off - Apple Support: Set up iPhone Handoff, read 2026-10-24
- Launch carriers - Apple Newsroom: Apple debuts iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max, read 2026-10-24
- AT&T iPhone 18 lineup release, September 10, 2026 - AT&T via PR Newswire, read 2026-10-24
- AT&T iPhone Duo release, October 9, 2026 - AT&T via PR Newswire, read 2026-10-24
- AT&T NumberSync - AT&T: NumberSync, read 2026-10-24
- AT&T spokesperson comment as reported - MacRumors: AT&T Responds to iOS 27's New iPhone Handoff Feature, read 2026-10-24
Source links are not affiliate links. Prices are for consumer postpaid accounts and exclude taxes and fees unless stated.
