Consolidated Statements Of Changes In Stockholders' Equity - USD ($) shares in Millions, $ in Millions	Total	Preferred Stock Preferred Stock – Series A	Preferred Stock Preferred Stock – Series B	Preferred Stock Preferred Stock – Series C	Common Stock	Additional Paid-In Capital	Additional Paid-In Capital Preferred Stock	Additional Paid-In Capital Common Stock	Retained (Deficit) Earnings	Retained (Deficit) Earnings Cumulative effect of accounting changes and other adjustments	Retained (Deficit) Earnings Adjusted beginning balance	Treasury Stock	Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income Attributable to AT&T, net of tax	Noncontrolling Interest	Noncontrolling Interest Cumulative effect of accounting changes and other adjustments	Noncontrolling Interest Adjusted beginning balance
Balance at beginning of year at Dec. 31, 2019	$ 201,934	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 7,621	$ 126,279			$ 57,936	$ (293)	$ 57,643	$ (13,085)	$ 5,470	$ 17,713	$ (7)	$ 17,706
Balance at beginning of year (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2019		0	0	0	7,621							(366)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Distribution of WarnerMedia						0			0
Repurchase and acquisition of common stock								$ 67
Issuance of stock							$ 3,869
Repurchase and acquisition of common stock												$ (5,631)
Repurchase and acquisition common stock (in shares)												(150)
Issuance of treasury stock						(62)						$ (806)
Issuance of treasury stock (in shares)												21
Share-based payments						18
Acquisition or reclassification of interests held by noncontrolling owners						4								0
Net income (loss) attributable to AT&T	(5,176)								(5,176)
Preferred stock dividends									(139)
Common stock dividends ($1.11, $2.08 and $2.08 per share)									(14,871)
Other comprehensive income (loss) attributable to AT&T	(1,140)												(1,140)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	1,355													1,355
Issuance and acquisition (disposition) of noncontrolling owners														1,979
Redemption of noncontrolling interest														(1,950)
Distributions														(1,464)
Translation adjustments attributable to noncontrolling interest, net of taxes	59													(59)
Balance at end of year at Dec. 31, 2020	179,240	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 7,621	130,175			37,457	0	37,457	$ (17,910)	4,330	17,567	0	17,567
Balance at end of year (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2020		0	0	0	7,621							(495)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Distribution of WarnerMedia						0			0
Repurchase and acquisition of common stock								0
Issuance of stock							0
Repurchase and acquisition of common stock	$ (662)											$ (237)
Repurchase and acquisition common stock (in shares)	0											(8)
Issuance of treasury stock						(76)						$ (867)
Issuance of treasury stock (in shares)												23
Share-based payments						13
Acquisition or reclassification of interests held by noncontrolling owners						0								0
Net income (loss) attributable to AT&T	$ 20,081								20,081
Preferred stock dividends									(224)
Common stock dividends ($1.11, $2.08 and $2.08 per share)									(14,964)
Other comprehensive income (loss) attributable to AT&T	(801)												(801)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	1,398													1,398
Issuance and acquisition (disposition) of noncontrolling owners														7
Redemption of noncontrolling interest														0
Distributions														(1,447)
Translation adjustments attributable to noncontrolling interest, net of taxes	2													(2)
Balance at end of year at Dec. 31, 2021	$ 183,855	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 7,621	130,112			42,350	$ 0	$ 42,350	$ (17,280)	3,529	17,523	$ 0	$ 17,523
Balance at end of year (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2021		0	0	0	7,621							(480)
Increase (Decrease) in Stockholders' Equity [Roll Forward]
Distribution of WarnerMedia						(6,832)			(45,041)
Repurchase and acquisition of common stock								$ 0
Issuance of stock							$ 0
Repurchase and acquisition of common stock												$ (890)
Repurchase and acquisition common stock (in shares)	(34)											(44)
Issuance of treasury stock						(171)						$ (1,088)
Issuance of treasury stock (in shares)												31
Share-based payments						(162)
Acquisition or reclassification of interests held by noncontrolling owners						663								(5,997)
Net income (loss) attributable to AT&T	$ (8,524)								(8,524)
Preferred stock dividends									(207)
Common stock dividends ($1.11, $2.08 and $2.08 per share)									(7,993)
Other comprehensive income (loss) attributable to AT&T	(763)												(763)
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interest	1,469													1,469
Issuance and acquisition (disposition) of noncontrolling owners														(21)
Redemption of noncontrolling interest														(2,665)
Distributions														(1,352)
Translation adjustments attributable to noncontrolling interest, net of taxes	0													0
Balance at end of year at Dec. 31, 2022	$ 106,457	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0	$ 7,621	$ 123,610			$ (19,415)			$ (17,082)	$ 2,766	$ 8,957
Balance at end of year (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2022		0	0	0	7,621							(493)