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If you spend a lot of time in the wilderness, the rugged GPS-enabled Garmin Instinct 2 smartwatch might already be on your radar—and right now, it’s $130 off on Amazon. With a durable build that withstands the elements and a long-lasting battery, it’s a solid companion for outdoor adventures.

In smartwatch mode, this Garmin model’s battery life can last up to 28 days. In GPS mode, it drops to around 30 hours. While it doesn’t last as long as the brand’s pricier solar-powered alternative (which is also 40% off), it still gives you plenty of runtime out of a single charge for short treks or weekend trips. It holds up to 32MB of storage and connects via USB and Bluetooth. Navigation is a standout feature, with support for GPS, GLONASS, and Galileo satellites, plus a built-in 3-axis compass and barometric altimeter.

The watch also includes all-day health tracking (with the usual caveat that these are estimates), covering sleep, heart rate, respiration, and Pulse Ox in select countries. Built-in sports apps support running, hiking, biking, swimming (it’s water-resistant up to 100 meters), and strength training. Reviewers highlight its activity tracking as a key strength, calling it a reliable tool for anyone looking to monitor or improve physical performance.

That being said, opinions are mixed regarding the ease of use. Although some shoppers consider it user-friendly, others don’t find it as intuitive, saying that the controls and interface are hard to get used to, especially if you don’t use it regularly. The watch is highly customizable though, allowing users to rearrange the main screen and tweak available features to fit their routines.

Construction-wise, the Instinct 2 is described as sturdy yet lightweight, thanks to its fiber-reinforced polymer case and scratch-resistant Corning Gorilla Glass. The monochrome, 1.12-inch display screen is easy to read in direct sunlight, but it lacks bells and whistles like a touchscreen, full color, and video playback, so if you’re looking for something ultra-modern, you may want to upgrade to a different model. 

Still, for outdoor and fitness enthusiasts who want a durable, no-frills GPS watch with excellent battery life and strong tracking capabilities, the Garmin Instinct 2 smartwatch can help take your adventures to the next level.

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If you’re looking to upgrade to a large OLED television, this Panasonic Z85 65-inch OLED TV is currently at its lowest price ever at just under $1,000—45% off—making it a compelling entry point into premium viewing. In 2024, Panasonic partnered with Amazon to integrate Fire TV directly into its OLED lineup, and the Z85 Series is fully equipped with Fire TV’s smart features and impressive picture quality.

The Fire TV integration replaces Panasonic’s older interface with built-in, user-friendly Fire OS, offering smooth performance and Alexa voice control. It’s also compatible with Apple Home and Apple AirPlay. Reviewers appreciate the fast, responsive interface and streamlined menu navigation.

It’s praised for its striking OLED visuals, 4K resolution, and color accuracy, and it supports a 120 Hz refresh rate, two HDMI 2.1 ports, VRR for AMD FreeSync Premium and NVIDIA G‑Sync, and minimal input lag. That said, gamers with more complex multi-monitor setups may find two HDMI 2.1 ports limiting.

Amazon reviewers also highlight the strong audio quality. A separate soundbar isn’t necessary thanks to the built-in subwoofer and Theater Surround Pro. While visuals are strong, reflections may pose an issue in very bright rooms, as PCMag testers point out. It’s also a bit bulkier and heavier than thinner smart TVs from brands like LG, which may make it more difficult to set up.

Ultimately, this OLED TV offers superior picture quality, gamer-friendly features, and integrated Fire TV at an accessible price point, making it a strong buy that packs in many competitive qualities at $1,000. If you’re not concerned about bright-room glare, need only two HDMI 2.1 ports, and are fine with a slightly heavier build, the Panasonic Z85 65-inch OLED TV is a strong, rare buy right now at 45% off.

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Dash cams obviously make driving easier and less nerve-racking, and they can also help with insurance claims by capturing accident footage. The Rove R2‑4K Dual Dash  Cam captures front and rear footage and earned an “excellent” rating from PCMag, and right now it’s 45% off on Amazon. 

The R2-4K Dual Dash Cam is compatible with most vehicles and features a high-res front video on a 3-inch display that, on the front, records at 3840x2160P at 30fps, while the rear cam captures 1920x1080P at 30fps footage. The front has a 150-degree wide-angle lens, and the rear offers 140 degrees, giving drivers a clear and comprehensive view. Footage is usable even in low light thanks to the F1.5 (front) and F1.8 (rear) apertures.

It also includes built-in dual-band 5GHz and 2.4GHz WiFi, allowing you to view, manage, and download footage directly from the Rove dash cam app on any iPhone or Android. It also has built-in GPS, letting drivers access live speed and a compass on the screen in real time, so you can watch videos with GPS data like routes, locations, or speed stamps. 

The package includes suction and adhesive mounts for setup and a free 128 GB microSD. The camera runs off a USB-C port, but the brand’s 24/7 custom parking mode requires a hardwire cable, and you’ll need to purchase the brand’s hardwire kit separately.

While Amazon reviewers appreciate the easy installation and user-friendly setup, some reported issues connecting to their phone. The rear cam also has a weaker resolution than higher-end 2K options, but for an affordable dual-channel setup with GPS and app support, the R2-4K still offers a strong value.

If you need flawless rear camera quality, forward collision warnings, and a touchscreen, then you may want to invest in a more premium model. But overall, the Rove R2‑4K Dual Dash Cam is a great option for everyday driving protection with GPS support and app integration.

It’s easy to see why being happy is such a challenge these days. People are working jobs they hate, struggling to pay bills, and living in an increasingly isolated, digitally driven world. And that lack of happiness has real consequences beyond just feeling glum: When you’re unhappy, you’re less productive and less stable, and that sense of powerlessness can quickly become a rut that’s hard to climb out of. And happiness leads to greater stability and productivity, both of which lead to even more happiness.

There are steps you can take to break out of the cycle. Some are physical—getting out into nature more, getting more exercise, or socializing with people in person—but you’ve also got the most powerful happiness engine in the universe inside your head. You can use your own mind to trick yourself into being happier—though it’s important to note that while these tips can help anyone reset their outlook and elevate their mood, they’re not a substitute for formal therapy or medication.

Pay attention to what you enjoy

Feeling depressed can be a vicious cycle: You’re feeling sad or unmotivated, so you skip activities that make you happy. Friends invite you out, but you’re in no mood, so you stay in. You’ve got a day off, but you feel too sluggish to engage with hobbies that bring you joy. In seeking to break that cycle, we tend to focus on eliminating the negatives. Instead, you should try to boost the positives.

Studies have shown that you can treat happiness like a muscle. A strategy called “reward sensitivity” means actively noticing positive emotions and taking the time to relish them. If something makes you happy, even momentarily, take a moment to record and catalog the feeling. Then seek it out again. Being aware of what makes you feel good and pushing yourself to relive that experience can train you to be happier in general.

Use the “behavioral activation” technique

Research has shown that a Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) skill known as Behavioral Activation can help us to be happier. Depression and unhappiness can often become a vicious cycle—we stop doing things that make us happy because we’re depressed. This can manifest as avoidance: If going for a run reliably elevates your mood, you find reasons why you can’t go for a run right now—it’s too hot out, you don’t have the right clothes, there’s not enough time for your usual route. Avoiding that pleasurable behavior makes you even more unhappy, deepening the cycle.

Behavioral Activation is a technique where you do these pleasurable activities even when you don’t feel like doing them. You might not enjoy that specific run (or doing laundry, or engaging with hobbies) that instance, but simply by consistently engaging in that behavior your mood will improve. If you begin scheduling activities that should bring you joy, you can “train” your mind to be happier in reality.

Challenge your critical thoughts

We often fall into depression because we repeat negative messages about and to ourselves. If you’re constantly criticizing yourself, it starts to feel like the natural state of things. A trick that can work wonders is to challenge that negative outlook by forcing yourself to defend your position—a process known as Socratic Questioning. If your position is that you suck and you’ll never get the things you want in life, challenge those thoughts by asking yourself to provide facts that back your perception, how other people might see you, and how you would react if someone else told you they were feeling the same way. By challenging and interrogating your negative thinking, you can remove some of its power.

Socratic questioning has been studied in the context of a therapist doing the questioning, but there are also worksheets that you can use to try out this technique on your own.

Use the “One Minute Rule”

For a quick mood booster, try the One Minute Rule: Identify tasks and chores that you can accomplish in one minute or less. These will be simple things, like putting something away, responding to a text, or packing up an item to return. Because these tasks are quickly accomplished, they take relatively little effort to engage with—but the sense of accomplishment is often the same as with larger, more complex tasks. By engaging in the One Minute Rule several times a day you train yourself to experience that sense of accomplishment, and to internalize its positive effects. Plus, the effects of the rule are tangible—you can see your desk getting cleaner, your inbox getting more organized, your life getting streamlined.

Practice compassion

Compassion—empathizing with someone else’s suffering and seeking to help—can be learned, and studies have shown that people who “practice compassion” toward others are happier—and more resilient. There’s also evidence that turning that inward and practicing self-compassion has a direct relationship with your happiness. While it might initially seem silly, writing yourself a note or giving yourself a supportive speech as if you were talking to your best friend can have a real and powerful impact on your happiness. Practicing self-compassion can also include treating yourself, offering yourself little kindnesses.

Being unhappy and depressed often leads us to be self-critical, constantly castigating ourselves for our shortcomings. Flipping that script and constantly reminding ourselves how great we actually are helps to recalibrate our thinking, leading to more happiness.

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If you’ve been waiting for the right moment to upgrade your home theater setup, the LG 65-inch C5 OLED Evo 4K TV has just hit its best price yet, according to price trackers. It’s now down to $1,696.99 on Amazon, which is a full $1,000 off its original price of $2,696.99. That’s a big drop for a TV that’s only a few months into its release cycle and sits in LG’s premium lineup, just a notch below the G-series. CNET gave it a strong 8.7/10, highlighting its excellent contrast, accurate color, and refined performance, but suggested holding off until the price came down. Well, now it has.

In terms of performance, the C5 is built on LG’s OLED Evo panel tech, which makes it brighter than older C-series models like the C4, though not quite as bright as the G5 or Samsung’s QLED sets. Still, it reportedly hits up to 870 nits in HDR content, which is more than enough for most rooms unless you’ve got direct sunlight bouncing off the screen. And because it’s OLED, you’re getting perfect blacks, which help movies and games pop in darker settings. Speaking of, for gamers, the C5 checks all the right boxes—4K at 120Hz, four HDMI 2.1 ports, VRR, G-Sync, FreeSync, and a low input lag (basically everything you’d want in a next-gen gaming TV).

The smart TV platform here is LG’s webOS 24, which now promises five years of software updates (a meaningful perk if you plan to keep your TV for a while). You also get the usual LG Magic Remote with voice controls, and support for Alexa and Google Assistant. Dolby Vision and HDR10 support come baked in, along with LG’s new Alpha 9 AI Processor Gen8 that helps upscale lower-res content and adjust the image in real time based on what you’re watching. There’s also a dedicated Filmmaker Mode that disables post-processing for a more cinema-like feel, which is great if you’re into watching movies the way directors intended. That said, while the TV includes Dolby Atmos support and AI-powered enhancements, the built-in audio is not too amazing, so you might want to consider a soundbar or external speakers.

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Like many Americans, I bemoan the fact that online shopping hurts local businesses, which can’t compete with the convenience of unsustainable perks like “free” two-day Prime shipping. Like many Americans, I still buy a ton of stuff online anyway, because it’s sure easier not to have to carry a huge pack of toilet paper home from Aldi (at least, as a New Yorker, I can still be a snob about the fact that I walk to buy groceries). But this also means that, come Prime Day or during the holiday season, I have to deal with a whole lot of cardboard boxes.

Some 35 million tons of “containerboard,” or cardboard used to make shipping containers like Amazon boxes, is produced in the U.S. each year. By my estimate, at least 10 percent of that arrives on my doorstep. And while I’m super diligent about recycling all of it (the American Forest & Paper Association estimates that the “effective recycling rate” for cardboard is as high as 85%—yay!), breaking those boxes down to get them ready to place curbside is a hassle.

Or it was, until I learned about the Canary box cutter, a slim little knife with a non-stick serrated blade and a cheery yellow handle.

A box cutter produced by a former Japanese sword company

This $8 knife—yes, it is sold on Amazon, though mine was shipped to me in a padded envelope rather than a box—is made in Japan by a company called Hasegawa Cutlery, which got its start nearly 100 years ago polishing and grinding swords (the “Cutlery” part was added to the name after World War II, when the business first began producing scissors). Hasegawa’s marketing language suggests the company has brought all of its Japanese sword-making expertise to bear on creating consumer goods, and while I’ve never tried to break down a stack of shipping boxes with a sword, I can’t imagine it’d be much easier than using my Canary.

My previous methods for cutting through cardboard—kitchen scissors or a steak knife (don’t be like me, kids!)—were less than effective, and utility knives, though certainly an improvement, aren’t great at the task either. Cardboard is stiff and fibrous, so while a razor blade can slice through it pretty easily, it’s hard to use one to make a controlled cut, as the blade will careen off-course if you try to go against the “grain,” so to speak; utility blades also dull quickly but will still remain sharp enough to easily cut you if you handle them incorrectly.

The all-around serrated edges of the Canary, on the other hand, seem to cut through cardboard like butter, whether you’re going with or against the grain, pushing the blade or pulling it, or making a sawing motion; its blade stays sharp much longer, and won’t cut you nearly as easily. (These qualities have made the Canary a favorite of crafters who work with cardboard.)

I’m not the crafting type, but I’ve used my Canary on boxes both small and large. In about a minute, I cut down the big box my dehumidifier shipped in, leaving a neat stack of small pieces of cardboard that are easy to tie up for recycling. The knife works equally well on the lighter cardboard boxes like those Amazon uses, and thicker ones, like the beefy boys that held my Target flatpack furniture.

It seems a stretch to call this little blade life-changing, but it has definitely saved me a lot of time—much more than $8 worth.

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Amazon’s Prime Day is almost here again. The shopping holiday has been a capitalist tradition since 2015, and this year the mega-retailer will be offering four days of discounts on thousands of products of all kinds to Amazon Prime members, rather than the usual two. The sale officially runs from July 8 to July 11, but early Prime Day deals are already live—just check out our Prime Day live blog for proof.

While listicles and online guides about how to take advantage of Prime Day savings can be helpful, the best piece of advice if you want to save money on Prime Day is dead simple: Don’t buy anything you weren’t already planning to buy just because it’s on sale. And there’s a corollary: If you find a Prime Day “bargain” on something you wanted anyway, make sure it’s actually a bargain.

Only buy things on Prime Day that you were planning to buy anyway

The reason you should only buy what you are already planning to on Prime Day is because Amazon wants you to do the opposite. The entire sales promotion is designed to encourage you to purchase things you don’t really want or need, and to get you to sign up for an Amazon Prime membership.

Amazon’s sales (like all sales) are an attempt to drive numbers upwards by creating a “ticking clock” and a false sense of scarcity—that’s why “lightning deals” have limited time windows and limited supplies. They’re taking advantage of people’s fear of missing out on bargains. Yelling “act now!” and “only available while supplies last!” is an old sales trick, but you’re not likely to “miss out.” Amazon’s prices fluctuate constantly. Also: With the exception of hot toys around Christmas and other special cases, supplies usually don’t “run out.” So the trick is to take a long view of Amazon’s pricing.

Amazon Prime Day “bargains” can be misleading

In the chart above (which I made with Keepa, a browser extension that compares Amazon prices over time) you can see the volatility of the price of Amazon’s 5th Gen Echo Dot over the last year. It’s not the same for every product, of course, but there’s nothing special about the Dot either.

We tend to think that the price of a thing remains fixed until there’s a special sale. But that’s not the case at Amazon. That “list price” of $49.99 is very flexible; the product is offered for less regularly. For instance, the October Prime Day price was $22.99. The price was raised immediately when Prime Day ended, which might have made you think you “missed out,” but it was lowered again around Thanksgiving, so really, there was not a need to rush.

Here’s a look at price changes over a longer period of time:

As you can see, there was never really a need to rush to Amazon to buy an Echo Dot, lest you miss your chance at a bargain. It was even offered as a “lightning deal” during 2023’s summer Prime Days, and the much hyped “lighting price”of $24.99 was higher than both the October Prime Day price and the “Christmas shopping” price. In short, don’t be fooled into thinking you need to act now to get a deal—and if you only buy what you were planning to, you won’t feel so burned by a later price drop.

How to avoid overspending on Amazon Prime Day

If you are going into this Prime Day with open eyes and a steely heart, determined to resist attempts to make foolish purchases, below are steps you should take to maximize your chance of success and keep yourself from impulse-buying.

Take advantage of an Amazon Prime free trial

You won’t be able to take advantage of any Prime Day offers without signing up for a membership to Amazon Prime. The service costs $14.99 per month or $139 per year, but they offer a 30-day free trial for first time users, so you can sign up, get your Instant Pot, and then cancel it for nothing. (Just set an alarm so you don’t forget.)

Amazon offers a six-month Amazon Prime trial period for students, and it’s half price, $7.49 a month, after that. If you’re on EBT or Medicaid, Prime costs $6.99 through Amazon Access and offers all the benefits of a traditional Prime membership and a one-month free trial for new users.

Use Amazon’s wishlist to your advantage

You can use Amazon’s wish list feature as a way of maintaining buyer discipline—just go to Amazon’s list page, create a new list called “Things I was going to buy anyway,” and add the items you hope will go on sale. Tell yourself you’ll only buy these items, no matter how big the discount is on LED lightbulbs.

Capitalize on Amazon’s promotional offers

During Prime Days past, Amazon offered a variety of promotions to get free credits to buy Amazon products. Customers could earn credits by choosing slower shipping, attending certain movies, using different Amazon services, and jumping through other hoops. Research and take advantage of these deals to shave even more off Amazon Prime Day prices. These can sometimes be a pain, but if you want to save a few more bucks, it might be worth it to you. I’ll update with this Prime Day’s promotional offers when they’re live.

Set your own prices

Retail comparison tools can be used to make sure your Amazon bargain is actually a bargain. There are apps and extensions that provides price histories of every item on Amazon and will send you an email when your selected products fall to a specific price. Some allow you to import your wishlist, then set the maximum price you’ll pay for your goods—here’s how to do that. That’ll give you the freedom to ignore Amazon entirely during Prime Day unless you get the “buy” signal in your inbox.

Compare against other retailers

Even if the thing you were planning to buy already shows up as a sale item on Amazon at a price you like, don’t rush to click “buy.” It still might not be the best deal possible. Because of the popularity of Prime Day, other retailers (including Walmart, Best Buy, and Target) usually have their own sales promotions to compete with Amazon Prime Day, so check the prices at those retailers before pulling the trigger.

Wait until November

If you can handle waiting, you might get a better deal in November. As much hype as Prime Day always gets, the biggest retail savings and markdowns almost always come during the Christmas shopping season. Black Friday savings are likely to be bigger than Prime Day savings overall, unless you’re buying things like school supplies and outdoor furniture that usually aren’t put on sale in November.

Amazon Prime Day 2025 is just around the corner. For four days in July, you’ll find promotions on products from companies both big and small, all vying for your clicks and the contents of your bank account.

Many of these offers will claim to be great deals, with the implication that not buying the item during Prime Day will mean you miss out on a massive savings. But not all Prime Day deals are really all that great—just because a product is discounted on Prime Day doesn’t mean it hasn’t been cheaper before and won’t be cheaper later.

Luckily, there are a few strategies you can use to quickly figure out whether that “amazing deal” really is all that.

How to tell a good Prime Day price from a bad one

One of the best things you can do to tell if a Prime Day deal is legit is to employ the use of a price tracker. These sites and tools keep tabs on the prices for any given product across the many different stores and vendors where it is sold, in order to give you the best possible price, as well as show you whether that current “deal” really is that much lower than the original price or other deals that are out there.

A common technique to make deals look good is to pump up the price of the product: That way, when the company slashes the price for something like Prime Day, it can claim a large discount, even if the overall price tag isn’t much lower than the original price (if it’s lower at all). If something originally costs $60, a company can raise the price to $75, then cut it back down to $60, claiming it took 20% off. It’s accurate, but scummy, so watch out for it.

You can use a browser extension like Keepa to watch a product’s price history. But other trackers, like Capital One Shopping, can help you find prices and price histories for items across multiple stores. Their browser extensions are especially useful: If there’s another store selling the same product you’re looking at on Amazon for less, you’ll get a pop-up letting you know, with a direct link to that store’s product page.

Knowing whether something is a good deal isn’t all about getting the best price, though. You might see that this item isn’t any cheaper elsewhere on the web, but there’s more than just the general price tag to consider.

Amazon’s own products will have the best deals

It’s Amazon Prime Day, after all. The company is here to sell as much inventory as it can, but it’s happiest if you’re buying Amazon products from Amazon. As such, the best tech deals are likely going to be with Amazon’s own line of gadgets. Of course, just because an Amazon product is massively on sale doesn’t make it a “good deal.” If you wanted a different brand over Amazon’s, or if you just want to make sure you’re getting the best version of a product, make sure to compare offerings from different companies, too.

Make sure you’re not unknowingly buying an outdated piece of tech

I’m a big believer in old tech: I think we should be holding onto our devices for longer than many of us do. However, I don’t think companies should sell you old tech as if it were new, especially when new tech is right around the corner.

Amazon is actually sometimes helpful here: If you’re looking at an outdated version of a product, Amazon lets you know, and gives you a link to the current version of that device. However, that’s only true if Amazon carries that new version of the device or if there’s a direct successor to that product. Lines are blurred these days: Last year’s device isn’t necessarily obsolete just because there’s a new version out, so Amazon doesn’t always try to sell you on the newer product.

And that can be fine! Last-generation laptops, tablets, smartwatches, and phones are often great choices: Tech is advancing so rapidly that it can be frugal and practical to buy older tech that still works well. That said, Amazon telling you to buy something that won’t be able to update to the latest software later this year isn’t right. If you’re looking to buy a piece of tech on Prime Day, research is your friend. It’s more than okay to buy something that came out last year or the year before; what matters more is making sure the product still works as it should in 2026, and if it’ll last as long as you’d reasonably expect it to.

If the reason a device is such a good price is because it’s obsolete, that’s not a good deal.

Not everything that’s “cheap” is good

On a similar note, be wary of cheap tech that simply isn’t very good. It might be affordable, but if it doesn’t work well, it’s not worth the cost.

Often, this issue arises with the many brands you’ve never heard of selling items for pennies compared to other companies. Sure, you could save some money and go with these brands, but what about the long-term investment? After Amazon’s 30-day return policy is up, you’re sunk without a customer support channel, something many of these tiny companies lack themselves.

On the other hand, you might have heard of the brand, but the product itself just isn’t very good. It might seem like a steal to get a giant 65-inch 4K TV for $500, but if the picture quality is poor, was that really worth it? (No.)

Read the reviews (not on Amazon, if you can help it)

One way to make sure that TV is worth its steep price cut, or whether those cheap headphones are going to pass the listen test, is to read reviews for the products you’re considering buying. I’m not talking about Amazon reviews, either: Amazon’s ratings can be helpful, but they can also be compromised. Sometimes the reviews don’t even match the product they’re supposed to be talking about, which doesn’t bode well for the integrity of the review. And in the age of AI, you can never be too sure who’s writing that customer review in the first place.

When it comes to tech, the best approach is to listen to the reviewers with technical experience, who put these products through their paces before issuing an opinion. An outlet like our sister site PCMag will help you figure out pretty quickly whether that TV is really worth the hype, and they show their work so you can understand how they came to their conclusions.

At the end of the day, it’s all about taking your time and doing your research—the opposite of Amazon’s “BUY IT NOW” strategy. Fight the urge to buy something on impulse, and make sure your money is going toward the best possible product for your needs.

If you’re an AT&T customer, you can turn on a new security feature that prevents your phone number from being moved to a different device without your knowledge, exposing your data to cyber criminals in the process. The feature, called Wireless Account Lock, is now rolling out to all AT&T users.

SIM swapping (also referred to as SIM jacking) is a form of phone hacking—and one that’s especially dangerous. In this type of attack, threat actors reroute your cell number to another SIM card on a different phone, meaning all of your calls, texts, and two-factor authentication codes are visible to someone else.(This is one of several reasons why you should avoid SMS authentication whenever possible.)

SIM swaps require convincing your cellular service provider to transfer your number to a new SIM, which hackers accomplish by impersonating you with information they’ve gleaned from a phishing attack or data breach. They may even attempt to trick or bribe someone at the company to make this switch. As Bleeping Computer outlines, SIM swapping attacks have proliferated over the last few years and affected customers at carriers like T-Mobile and Google Fi.

How Wireless Account Lock protects your data

Wireless Account Lock prevents certain changes from being made on your AT&T account while the setting is active, meaning no one (not even an AT&T employee) can transfer your number to a new SIM card. When enabled, Wireless Account Lock prevents the following:

• Upgrading a device

• Changing a SIM card or eSIM

• Initiating a phone number transfer

• Adding a new line

• Changing billing info

• Changing authorized users

• Changing phone numbers

If you have a business account, the account administrator can choose to exempt lines or select specific lock functions to turn on or off.

How to enable AT&T Wireless Account Lock

You can turn on Wireless Account Lock via the myAT&T app under Services > Mobile Security > Wireless Account Lock. Select Continue, choose the account you want to lock or unlock, and swipe to complete. AT&T Prepaid customers can choose the number they want to lock from the myAT&T app, select Continue, then go to Profile & Settings > Account Info & Preferences > Wireless Account Lock > Turn on or Turn off. You’ll need to validate the change with an SMS code.

The setting applies to all devices and lines on your AT&T account, including phones, tablets, wearables, hotspots, and laptops.

Note that both T-Mobile and Verizon already offer security features—called SIM Protection—to prevent SIM swapping attacks to both prepaid and postpaid customers. If you use either of these carriers, you can enable this feature on your line via the appropriate website or app.