How to switch from cable to Quantum Fiber

Switching from cable internet to Quantum Fiber is mostly about timing and a few details cable companies never make obvious: whether fiber is actually built to your street, how to avoid paying two bills, and when the referral cash actually lands. This guide walks the whole move in order, from checking your exact address to returning your old cable box, with honest notes on the parts that trip people up. Done through a referral link, both you and the person who referred you can earn up to $100 each in cash.

Switching from cable internet to Quantum Fiber is mostly about timing and a few details cable companies never make obvious: whether fiber is actually built to your street, how to avoid paying two bills, and when the referral cash actually lands. This guide walks the whole move in order, from checking your exact address to returning your old cable box, with honest notes on the parts that trip people up. Done through a referral link, both you and the person who referred you can earn up to $100 each in cash.

Step 1: Check your exact address before anything else

Cable is usually available wherever the coax line runs, so cable shoppers are used to service being a sure thing. Fiber is different. Quantum Fiber is fiber-to-the-home, built out street by street across roughly 17 states (including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington and Nevada), which means the only answer that matters is what shows up for your specific address. A neighbor a block away being connected tells you nothing reliable about your own home. Enter your full street address at quantumfiber.com and read the result carefully: it will tell you whether fiber is live, the speed tiers available at that address, and your install options. If it comes back as 'not yet serviceable,' fiber simply has not reached your home yet, and no plan or promo can change that until the build does. This is the single biggest source of frustration for switchers, so resolve it first before you cancel anything.

Step 2: Pick a plan that actually beats your cable connection

The headline reason to leave cable is symmetrical speed. On the 500 Mbps and 1 Gig Quantum Fiber plans, your upload matches your download, where cable typically gives you fast downloads and a small fraction of that for upload. That symmetry is what makes video calls, cloud backups, large file sharing and game streaming feel different. Tiers run from around 200 Mbps up through 500 Mbps, 1 Gig, 2 Gig and 3 Gig, with up to 8 Gig in select areas (note that the 2 Gig and faster tiers are not covered by the symmetrical claim per Quantum Fiber's own footnote). Indicative pricing runs from roughly $50 for 500 Mbps to about $75 for 1 Gig, with the very top 8 Gig tier up around $165, though promotions vary, so confirm the live price at checkout for your address. For most households leaving cable, 500 Mbps or 1 Gig is the sweet spot. There is no annual contract, no early-termination fee, and no data caps, and the 360 WiFi gateway (a Wi-Fi 7 unit, plus mesh pods where a home needs them) is included rather than a rental add-on like many cable boxes.

Step 3: Order, then choose self-install or a technician visit

When you order, your address determines how installation works. In many markets where fiber is already wired to the home, self-install is available: you receive a SmartNID plus the 360 WiFi gateway and set it up yourself, usually in about 10 to 15 minutes. If new fiber or a wall jack still needs to be run to your home, a technician visit is scheduled instead, and that appointment date is worth planning your switch around. Either way, the key habit from cable to unlearn is rushing to cancel. Keep your cable internet running until your Quantum Fiber connection is live and tested. Activate the fiber, confirm you are getting the speeds you expect on a wired device, move your devices over, and only then proceed to cancel the old service. A short overlap of a few days is cheap insurance against being offline, and it costs far less than the stress of a botched same-day cutover.

Step 4: Cancel cable cleanly and return the equipment

Once fiber is working, call your cable provider to cancel rather than just unplugging the modem, since service keeps billing until it is formally closed. Ask for the exact final-bill date and whether any credit is owed, and get a cancellation confirmation number in writing or by email. The detail people forget is equipment: cable modems, gateways and TV boxes almost always have to be returned, and unreturned-equipment fees can run well over a hundred dollars per device. Return everything to a store or via the prepaid shipping the provider supplies, and keep the receipt or tracking number until your account shows a zero balance. Because Quantum Fiber includes the 360 WiFi gateway, you are not swapping one rental for another, so there is nothing on the fiber side you need to keep paying for separately.

Step 5: Understand the AT&T rebrand and the 60-day reward wait

If the branding looks different from what you remember, that is expected. AT&T acquired Quantum Fiber's consumer fiber business from Lumen (formerly CenturyLink) on February 2, 2026, so you will now see it as 'Quantum Fiber from AT&T.' Only the ownership and branding changed; the fiber network, the plans and the referral program are the same. Worth knowing for comparison shoppers: Quantum Fiber and AT&T Fiber are now both owned by AT&T but remain distinct products with different network footprints, so an address served by one is not necessarily served by the other. On the reward, set expectations early, because this is where switchers get impatient. The cash is tied to your service staying active, not to your order. The new customer must install, activate, and keep Quantum Fiber active for 60 consecutive days; only then does the Aklamio platform audit the referral and pay both parties up to $100 each in cash via PayPal or bank (ACH) deposit, with full payout taking up to about 90 days. It is genuine cash, not a gift card or bill credit, and Quantum Fiber also donates $10 to charity per successful referral.

Step 6: Use a referral link so you both get paid

The reward only attaches when your order carries a registered referrer's code, which happens automatically when you sign up through a valid referral link. Order directly off the home page and no one is credited, so this last step is the one that actually unlocks the money. Start your switch by following a referral link, which drops you straight into the address checker on quantumfiber.com, confirm fiber at your home, and complete the order there. In the interest of transparency, the owner of the link you use may earn a referral reward too, and the program is built so you, as the new customer, earn up to $100 in cash as well, capped at $100 per new customer per calendar year. Two quick caveats: the offer is for new residential customers (business accounts are not eligible), and a referrer should register on the Aklamio portal before sending their first referral. Always confirm the current terms on quantumfiber.com before relying on a specific figure, since promotions can change.

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