Broadband engineer visits: when you can be charged

Openreach maintains the wiring network from the telephone exchange to homes on behalf of the providers that use it. It doesn't sell to households, so you can't book it yourself: repairs and appointments go through your broadband provider.

On copper and part-fibre lines, the boundary comes from each provider's terms, and they don't all word it the same way. Sky's terms for customers who rent their phone line from Sky (Part B of its terms from April 2025) say Sky is responsible for faults it causes and for fair wear and tear on the line or ONT, but not for faults on any part of the line from the primary socket onwards inside your home. TalkTalk charges for faults linked to a condition in your property and says faults with the main socket itself may be charged. BT says that if problems seem to be down to internal wiring, it can sort them for a fee. On Full Fibre, Openreach's home-wiring guide for housebuilders says wires and sockets beyond the ONT are the responsibility of the developer or home owner.

If your full fibre comes from another network (an altnet), its own terms apply; we haven't covered every altnet here, so ask before booking. Your router is separate again: Sky and TalkTalk both say they fix a router they supplied at no charge unless you damaged or misused it. A router you bought yourself is your equipment, as our guide to using your own router explains.

On a copper or part-fibre line, the primary socket is where the line enters your home, usually in the hallway near the front door, and it feeds any extensions. If every socket looks the same, BT says the primary one is most likely the one nearest where the line comes in.

• A single socket needs a microfilter (a small splitter that separates phone and broadband signals) at every socket in use.
• A two-port socket is already split, so no microfilters, and the router must use its broadband port.
• A horizontal line across the faceplate means there's a test socket behind it.

On Openreach Full Fibre you may not use a phone socket at all. The ONT is a white box that converts the fibre signal into a connection your router can use; it isn't a router. Openreach warns that removing or tampering with it could lead to a call-out charge to put it back, so if you don't like where it is, speak to your provider. Our guide to the Full Fibre ONT box covers it in more detail.

BT says simple wiring and set-up checks may help you avoid paying for a call-out you didn't need. Note what you find as you go; it helps when you report the fault and if a charge is ever disputed.

1. Check for a known problem. Your provider's service status page or app shows outages; TalkTalk uses its My Connection tool.
2. Restart the router. TalkTalk suggests switching a fibre router off for 20 minutes (30 seconds for older ADSL).
3. Use the main socket, not an extension. BT says the signal is strongest there, before other home wiring can add interference.
4. Check cables and microfilters. If your main socket is a single socket, BT says to use a microfilter at every socket with phone or broadband equipment plugged in.
5. Listen for a dial tone if you still have a traditional landline, with a phone plugged straight into the primary socket.
6. Unplug everything else on the line. Openreach's fault checklist suggests testing phones one at a time and checking other equipment on the line, such as TV boxes, alarms and care auto-diallers, the same way.
7. Try more than one device, and a spare router if you have one. Openreach says if the spare works, your router is the problem.
8. Report the fault from a mobile, so you can stay on the call while the provider tests the line.

If the connection works but drops in and out, see our guide to broadband that keeps dropping out. For slowness, a result from our broadband speed test, taken over a cable, is useful to quote.

The test socket sits behind the main socket's faceplate and connects straight to the line from outside, bypassing all the wiring in your home. That makes it the best way to find out which side of the boundary a fault is on. BT says its instructions are for copper and part-fibre lines, not Full Fibre.

1. Check the primary socket has a horizontal line across it. If not, there's no test socket to reach: unplug equipment from every socket and connect the router to the primary socket through a microfilter instead.
2. Unplug the socket and remove the faceplate, held by two screws or clips.
3. Gently pull the lower part towards you. The test socket is on the right.
4. Plug the router in through a microfilter and let it connect.
5. Afterwards, refit the faceplate and plug your devices back in one at a time to find any that cause the fault.

• Works from the test socket: the problem is inside your home. BT says this points to the internal wiring (your extensions) or something plugged into an extension. A visit for this is the classic chargeable one, so see the home-wiring options below.
• Still fails: the fault is likely outside, on the network. Report it and say you tested at the test socket. TalkTalk, for example, doesn't charge for faults caused by Openreach equipment.

A failed test isn't a guarantee. Sky's terms for line rental customers and TalkTalk's help page both say a visit can be charged if the engineer finds no fault, and Virgin can charge for a technician visit you chose that it didn't need for maintenance. But the test is a clear record of what you checked.

Full Fibre has no test socket, but the ONT's lights do a similar job. From BT's Full Fibre help pages:

• Switch the ONT off and on. BT says power cycling fixes many problems. Openreach says plugging it back in and waiting a few minutes usually restores the connection, though this isn't guaranteed.
• Power light off? Check the ONT is connected to its battery back-up unit (if you have one) by the white power cable, and that the unit has power.
• Check the cable to your router. On a BT setup, a red-ended Ethernet cable runs from the hub's WAN port to PORT1 or LAN1 on the ONT. BT says use Cat5e or better if you replace it, and try the next port if PORT1 doesn't work.
• Never unplug the fibre cable the engineer connected. If PON is off and LOS is red or flashing, just check it's fully pushed in.

BT says PON off, or PON and LOS flashing together, means the fibre link isn't connected or there's a problem between your home and the exchange. Check the fibre cable is in and undamaged, switch the ONT off and on and wait five minutes, then report it if nothing changes. BT's description points to the connection outside your home rather than your own kit. Sky's terms for line rental customers make Sky responsible for fair wear and tear on the ONT, while Openreach warns that removing or tampering with the ONT could lead to a call-out charge.

Across the terms and help pages we read, charges fall into five situations, though not every provider lists all five: no fault found; a fault in your home beyond the socket or ONT; a fault in your own equipment; damage or misuse; and a wasted trip because nobody 18 or over was in, there was no access or you cancelled too late. Here's how each provider we checked puts it (October 2026). Our provider pages, such as Sky broadband deals and TalkTalk broadband deals, give an overview of each.

In the same line rental terms, Sky confirms call-out fees when the visit is arranged, and fault work runs 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public and bank holidays. If you cancel a fault visit while the fault is still ongoing, those terms let Sky deduct its reasonable costs from the appointment charge, or charge a default fee it told you about when you booked. For Sky Broadband customers who don't rent their line from Sky, we didn't find a separate Sky page setting out repair visit charges, so ask Sky when you book. For installation visits, Sky's general terms say it confirms the charge (if any) when you order. Virgin says many faults can be fixed remotely and it always agrees the time and charge of a chargeable visit with you first. We couldn't find one BT page listing every chargeable repair situation, and we haven't checked EE, Vodafone, Plusnet or the altnets, so ask before you agree a visit.

TalkTalk's page was last updated in September 2025. BT's two amounts come from different, undated help pages for different kinds of work. We checked all of them on 9 October 2026; charges change, so check again when you book.

Ask your provider, and note the answers, the date and who you spoke to:

• Could this visit be chargeable, and how much?
• What would make it chargeable here: no fault found, a wiring fault, my own equipment?
• Can you run a line test now, or is there anything else I should check first?
• What's the latest I can rearrange without a charge, and what's my fault reference?

For the day itself, Openreach asks for someone 18 or over at home for the whole slot, pets in another room, clear access to your sockets, wiring and master socket (or ONT), and someone ready to explain when the fault started and what you've tried. The engineer runs tests, repairs network equipment and tests the connection before leaving, and may work at a roadside cabinet if that's where the problem is.

Check the engineer is genuine. Openreach texts repair updates from 07701407771 and emails from info@comms.openreach.co.uk. Check the ID badge before letting anyone in; Openreach notes some new engineers drive plain white vans. It will never ask for your bank details. Our guide to broadband scam calls and emails has more on spotting fakes.

If you can't make it, Openreach says any charge depends on your provider's policy, and you rebook through the provider.

• TalkTalk charges £75 unless you rearrange before 12 noon the day before (noon Saturday for a Monday visit). It also charges if the engineer is refused or can't get access, the address is wrong, no adult is there, the site is unsuitable or has no electricity, or there are health and safety concerns. Its free Managed Install fibre set-up visits carry the same £75 if missed.
• Virgin Media charges nothing if you cancel or rearrange before 12pm the day before, but can charge if you miss it or nobody over 18 is in.
• Sky's line rental terms say it can charge if the engineer can't get access or your home isn't prepared. For a new phone line installation, Sky asks you to rearrange before 3.30pm on the working day before; after that, or if nobody is in, it keeps the fee for the first appointment and charges its full costs for another.

If the engineer doesn't turn up, the money flows the other way. Providers in Ofcom's voluntary automatic compensation scheme pay £32.31 (from 1 April 2026), without you claiming, when an engineer misses a confirmed appointment or cancels with less than 24 hours' notice. Ofcom lists exclusions, for example if you caused the failure or delayed the repair by asking for a later appointment than the one offered. Ofcom lists BT, EE, Hyperoptic, Plusnet, Sky (including NOW Broadband), TalkTalk (with restrictions for customers not on the Openreach network), Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Zen Internet as members. The scheme also pays if a total loss of service isn't fixed in time, but not where the cause was equipment or activity inside your home. Our automatic compensation guide has the details.

• Remove the cause yourself. Plugging devices back in one at a time often finds a faulty phone, filter or extension. Running the router from the main socket takes most home wiring out of the picture.
• Use a local electrician, as BT's wiring help suggests.
• Pay the provider. BT says it can sort internal wiring for £85. Moving or adding a main socket is a separate job: BT lists £130 including VAT for work such as moving it, and TalkTalk lists £128.40 for Openreach to install or replace one.

On Full Fibre, Openreach's housebuilder guide puts wiring beyond the ONT with the developer or home owner rather than Openreach, so a fault there is the household's to sort. Don't move the ONT or its fibre cable yourself. If you rent, check with your landlord before anyone changes the wiring; see our guide to broadband for renters.

1. Ask why. Openreach says when an engineer finds the problem lies beyond its network, for example in your home setup, the reason goes into the engineer's notes and is shared with your provider, which can review the report.
2. Send your evidence: your test socket or ONT checks, photos, dates, the fault reference and what you were told when booking, especially if nobody mentioned a charge.
3. Complain formally if the answer doesn't satisfy you. Our guides on disputing a broadband bill and complaining to your provider walk through it.
4. Use the free ADR scheme (alternative dispute resolution, an independent service) if it's still unresolved. For complaints first raised on or after 8 April 2026, you can go six weeks after you first told your provider (it was eight weeks before), or straight away with a deadlock letter. Ofcom approves two schemes, CISAS and the Communications Ombudsman.

If the engineer couldn't fix the problem and you've heard nothing within a couple of days, Openreach says contact your provider to check the report and arrange any follow-up.

Engineer charges rarely decide a deal, but read the faults and charges section of the terms before you sign, especially if your home has older extension wiring. The comparison on our broadband and phone deals page shows live deals for your postcode from our partner, but not engineer charges, so check those with the provider. The broadband providers hub and pages such as BT broadband deals and Virgin Media broadband deals are a good place to start. If you're switching on Openreach Full Fibre, leave the ONT and its cabling in place: Openreach says your new provider will use the same ONT and fibre connection, and leaving it in place avoids unnecessary engineer visits.