OPTIMUM EQUIPMENT RETURN · 2026 GUIDE
Canceling Optimum and need to return your gateway, router, modem, or set-top box? You have 30 days from cancellation before they bill you the full retail price. This page lists the right dropoff locations + the wrong stores to avoid.
Do NOT drop off equipment at:
Some legacy Suddenlink markets had retail-partner stores that closed during the 2022 rebrand. The official return path is the Optimum Store locator or UPS prepaid.
Optimum gives you 30 days from cancellation to return all rented equipment. Miss that and they'll typically bill the full retail price — usually $100–$300 per device. We've seen the bill hit on day 31 more than once. Don't drag it out.
The safe paper trail: drop at UPS Store, get the printed tracking receipt, take a photo of it with your phone. If anything goes sideways with the carrier later, that receipt + tracking number is your evidence the equipment was returned on time.
You only need to return equipment Optimum rented to you. If you bought a retail modem or router (an Arris, Netgear, TP-Link, etc.) it's yours to keep — they'll never ask for it back. If you have a Optimum-branded gateway, that's almost certainly rented. Check your bill — the line item "equipment rental" or "gateway fee" tells you which units to return.
Built by Bear & Rick Baron — a father-and-son AV install team with 78 combined years of residential AV experience. Rick has walked customers through Optimum returns hundreds of times after they got the wrong-store runaround. Optimum is publicly-traded since 1973. Verified 2026-06-06 against Optimum's official return policy. Re-checked quarterly.