Internet for Snowbirds: How to Pause Service Up North and Get Online at Your Winter Home

One way to handle internet as a snowbird is to put your northern home on a seasonal hold instead of canceling it, then get a no-contract plan at your winter home. Seasonal holds from Xfinity, AT&T and Verizon Fios last up to nine months. Xfinity's cheapest hold is $8 a month, and its $20 option keeps a slow connection running for cameras and thermostats. If you use Starlink up north, check the fee and eligibility for Standby Mode in your account; it supplies low-speed access rather than normal broadband.

The details matter, though. Some holds cut off your Wi-Fi completely, some charge a setup fee, and a few won't let you keep a security system online. Here's how the main options compare for the 2026–27 season.

Seasonal holds for your northern home (October 27, 2026)

Provider	Program	How long	Cost while away	Keeps Wi-Fi on?
Xfinity	Seasonal Convenience Plan	2 to 9 months, up to twice a year	Internet Suspend $8/mo, or Seasonal Internet Access $20/mo	Yes with the $20 plan (20 Mbps down, 10 Mbps up). No with the $8 plan.
AT&T	Vacation Hold	2 to 9 months, up to twice in 12 months	A monthly hold fee (AT&T doesn't list the amount online)	No. Home Wi-Fi is off until service is restored.
Verizon Fios	Vacation Suspend	30 days to 9 months	One-time charge to start, plus some ongoing charges and taxes	No
Spectrum	Seasonal hold	Ask Spectrum	Ask Spectrum	Ask about an option that keeps security devices online
Starlink	Standby Mode	Month to month	Check the fee in your Starlink account	Low-speed access; not a guarantee that cameras will work

Review the current Xfinity seasonal terms, AT&T Vacation Hold guidance and Fios Vacation Suspend guidance. Eligibility and fees vary by product and area; the linked AT&T support page is labeled for DSL, so fiber and Internet Air customers should ask which policy applies. Taxes and fees are extra.

How each seasonal hold works

Xfinity Seasonal Convenience Plan

Existing Xfinity residential customers can reduce service for 2 to 9 months, up to twice a year, and service switches back on automatically on the date you pick, with no installation fee. Leave your equipment at home, and Xfinity says you won't be charged for leased equipment while you're away. Pick the $20 Seasonal Internet Access plan if you want to keep smart thermostats and cameras online. The $8 Internet Suspend plan cuts the connection completely and isn't available to Xfinity Home security customers. One catch: your promotional rate keeps counting down while you're on hold, because Xfinity doesn't extend the promo end date.

AT&T Vacation Hold

Your account needs to be in good standing with at least 30 days of service. The hold has to start 10 to 30 days after you ask, and service comes back 60 to 270 days after it starts. To restore it, call AT&T at 800-288-2020 a few days before you head home. Your home Wi-Fi won't work during the hold, so this isn't the right choice if you rely on cameras. If you're on a 12-month promo, the promo months you spend on hold are billed at the hold fee instead.

Verizon Fios Vacation Suspend

You can set this up in My Verizon for 30 days to 9 months. You need 90 days of service before your first suspend and at least 3 active months each calendar year. There's a one-time charge to start it, and some monthly charges and taxes continue. If you don't choose a restore date, Fios turns service back on after 9 months. It doesn't apply to Verizon 5G Home.

Spectrum

Spectrum offers a seasonal hold, but its support pages wouldn't load for us, so we couldn't confirm the current length or price. Call or chat with Spectrum before you leave, and ask whether a lower-cost plan that keeps security devices connected is available.

Starlink at a northern cabin or rural home

Starlink's official pause guidance describes Standby Mode as low-speed service for emergency messaging and reactivation, for a monthly fee. It is not intended for in-motion use, and some promotional offers and rentals are excluded. Confirm the fee, return-to-service availability and any surcharge in your account. Do not rely on it for camera uploads without testing the actual devices. If you plan to move equipment, compare Roam and Residential and check the plan's location rules.

Should you keep cameras and thermostats online?

If you have cameras, water-leak sensors or a smart thermostat guarding against frozen pipes, the extra $12 a month for Xfinity's Seasonal Internet Access plan (compared with Internet Suspend) is cheap insurance. Cameras mostly need upload speed. A few cameras on motion-only recording usually fit within 10 Mbps up, but continuous recording to the cloud needs more. See how much upload speed security cameras need.

Getting online at your winter home

Snowbird destinations in Florida, Arizona and Texas usually have more choices than you'd expect. Focus on plans you can stop when you head north:

• Month-to-month cable or fiber. Most major providers now sell internet with no annual contract. Ask about installation and equipment fees, since you'll pay them every season if you cancel each spring. Compare typical costs in how much internet costs per month in Florida.
• 5G home internet. T-Mobile Home Internet, Verizon 5G Home and AT&T Internet Air use a plug-in gateway with no technician visit. That makes them easy to start and stop. Before you move one between homes, read how to move 5G home internet to a new address, because these plans are tied to an approved address.
• Starlink. Useful if your winter place is rural, like a ranch outside town or a park model in the desert. See Starlink in Florida and Starlink in Arizona.
• Community or HOA internet. Many 55+ communities and condo associations include bulk internet in the HOA fee. Ask the office before you sign up for anything, so you don't pay twice.

Rural homes with no cable, fiber or 5G service can also use Viasat, with plans and speeds subject to address eligibility and current offer terms; speeds are not guaranteed, or Hughesnet, which reaches almost every address in the continental U.S.

Ask about senior pricing, too. Several providers offer discounts for older customers or households on assistance programs. See internet plans and discounts for seniors in 2026.

Snowbird moving-day checklist

• Request your northern seasonal hold 2 to 4 weeks before you leave. AT&T, for example, needs at least 10 days' notice.
• Write down the hold end date and set a reminder a week before you return.
• Leave equipment plugged in if you're keeping a connection for cameras. Unplug it if service will be fully off.
• At the winter home, ask whether the plan is month to month and what it costs to cancel or pause in the spring.
• Avoid double billing. Start the winter service the day you arrive and set the stop date before you leave.
• If you're returning rented equipment at the end of the season, keep the drop-off receipt.
• If you have a home phone line up north, ask about a seasonal voice plan instead of canceling, so you keep the number. Xfinity's Seasonal Voice plan is $8 a month.

For more ways to pause service, see how to pause your internet service.