UPDATE: Competition is wonderful thing, comrades. Now that AT&T has to compete for your ipad data business, they clarified the options, adding a clearly labeled “cancel autorenewal” option. (Although for my new iPad I opted for Tmobile to get the 200MB of free data each month, more than enough most months.)

I use my IPad’s 3G capability only sporatically since I’m usually able to access wifi. So when I do enable the AT&T cellular data, it is usually for one specific ‘event’ and I like to ensure it won’t auto renew every month.

“Turning off autorenewal” of an AT&T data plan for a 3G Ipad is basically undocumented, compounded by a truly terrible user interface that obfuscates the two cancel options.

I called the AT&T support line and at first she kept telling me to choose the “cancel autorenew” option (which doesn’t exist). After checking with someone else, she then came back on the line and said to choose ‘cancel’ plan, and choose the “cancel plan and delete account later” option. That did indeed seem to do the trick.

Wouldn’t kill AT&T to explicitly state, somewhere, anywhere, that ‘cancel plan’ leaves your existing data service intact through the rest of the currnet billing cycle if and only if you choose the “delete account later” option.