How long does broadband installation take?

If the property already has a working line or full fibre box, the new provider can often activate it from its end. Providers that say so include:

• EE connects remotely where the home already has full fibre with working Openreach equipment: the hub arrives in the post and you plug it in on your start date.
• Plusnet says an existing full fibre connection is activated remotely, usually in 3 working days.
• Sky says that with an active line no engineer is needed and you plug in the Sky Hub on your activation date.
• Hyperoptic says that if a router and socket are already installed you can get online in minutes.
• Gigaclear says homes already connected to its network can be up and running within 7 days using its self-install guide.
• Rebel says you can be live within 5 days if an Openreach or CityFibre line is already in the home.
• Virgin Media says homes that have had its service before can usually self-install with its QuickStart kit, while homes never connected to its network typically need an engineer to run a cable.

If you're switching provider at the same address, Ofcom's One Touch Switch process applies. Since 12 September 2024 you contact only your new provider, and the switch happens on the date you agree. Any loss of service must not exceed one working day where technically possible, and your old provider keeps supplying you until the new service is active.

If the last occupant's broadband is still active, see our guide on what to do when the previous occupant's broadband is still connected.

If your home has never had full fibre, an engineer needs to bring a new fibre cable in from the street. On Openreach's network your broadband provider manages the appointment. Openreach says it doesn't have access to your order details, so contact your provider first; the provider will get in touch with Openreach if needed.

The Openreach installation, stage by stage

1. You order. Your provider agrees an installation date with you. EE, for example, says you choose the date when you order.
2. Confirmation. You then get texts or emails from your provider or Openreach confirming the appointment, and you can change the date by following those messages.
3. A possible pre-visit. Openreach sometimes checks the network is ready first, for example by inspecting nearby underground cables or checking whether a telegraph pole can take a new fibre line. You usually don't need to be in. Ahead of the engineer visit you may also get a text from Openreach's partner VYN inviting you to do a short video survey of your home.
4. Install date confirmed after pre-visit checks. Openreach says it confirms your installation appointment once checks and preparation are done, in most cases a few days after the pre-visit.
5. Outside work. Openreach may complete some external work before your installation date and will tell you if it does.
6. Installation day. The engineer runs fibre from an underground duct or overhead pole, brings it through a small hole drilled in the wall and fits an ONT (optical network terminal, the small box your provider's router plugs into). Openreach's help page says most installations take between one and four hours; its installation checklist says an install usually takes around four hours.
7. Occasionally, a return visit. In a small number of cases the work is more complex and Openreach comes back another day to finish.

Other providers and networks describe a survey or preparation visit before the main install too, including Zen, Gigaclear, Truespeed and Airband (see the table below). For more on the visit itself, read our guide to what to expect from a full fibre installation.

Here waits are least predictable and firm numbers are scarce. Openreach says most providers need the connection to be ready before they'll accept an order, and that a home with no existing line may need installation work first. Your provider checks this and arranges it.

• New builds. Openreach says new-build homes typically come with full fibre and an ONT already fitted, so once the network is ready you plug in a router, usually without an engineer. That depends on the developer having arranged it: Openreach asks developers to register sites at least eight weeks before building starts and/or six months before broadband is wanted at the first home. TalkTalk's moving-home help also warns that newly built or converted homes can see delays because cabling may be needed and local council permission can add time. See our guide to broadband in a new-build home.
• Flats. To bring fibre into a block, Openreach needs a wayleave (formal permission) from the freeholder or managing agent. Its guidance for blocks of flats says that after the wayleave is signed, the process from survey to completion can take several months because these installations are complex. See our guides to full fibre in flats and wayleaves.
• A home with no line at all. Few providers publish a figure for this. POP Telecom's terms say a new line takes about 4 weeks; treat that as one provider's estimate rather than a rule, and ask your chosen provider what applies at your address.

Mobile home broadband uses a router with a SIM card that connects to a mobile network, so nothing is installed. Three, for example, says its 4G and 5G hubs need no engineer visit and are delivered the next working day. That makes a hub a handy stop-gap while you wait for a fixed line. Whether it could replace fixed broadband for good is covered in our guide on whether 4G or 5G can replace home broadband.

We read each provider's help pages, sign-up pages and terms in October 2026. Where we found no figure, the table says "not found on pages checked" rather than guessing. That doesn't mean the provider never gives one, so ask when you order.

A few things to keep in mind when reading it:

• Working days and calendar days differ. Plusnet, Zen, Quickline, Airband and POP quote working days; ten working days is usually two weeks.
• BT's and Virgin Media's figures come from their moving-home pages, so they describe moving an existing account to a new address rather than a brand-new order. (Virgin Media's moving page also says new customers can book installation up to 60 days before moving in, but gives no separate lead time for them.)
• V4 Consumer's and YouFibre's figures are given for switching from another provider, which on their own networks still means an install visit.
• Several providers publish no wait from order to installation. On the pages we checked for NOW, Community Fibre, Ogi, Zzoomm, Connect Fibre, Voneus, WightFibre and Rise Fibre we found how long the visit takes or how installation works, but no lead time in days. You'll need to ask.
• Some give other timing details instead. Voneus says that if you're still in contract elsewhere it will hold your installation for up to 11 months. Connect Fibre takes pre-orders in some areas a few months before homes can be connected. Fibrus says that in Openreach areas your equipment arrives by Royal Mail up to 6 days before installation or activation.
• A quick first date can still move if a survey finds outside work is needed.

Our guide to UK broadband providers links to a page on each one.

Openreach says most full fibre installations go smoothly, but sometimes extra work is needed before you can be connected. The reasons it lists are:

• Underground work: digging, or clearing blocked ducts (the underground pipes cables run through).
• Tree cutting and work at height.
• Road closures.
• Water or debris in underground chambers or ducts.
• Specialist engineers being needed.
• Waiting for permissions, including wayleaves.

None of this is visible when you order, which is why a date can change after a survey. If yours is put back, ask your provider which reason applies and when the new date is. On Openreach's network, contact your provider first: Openreach says it can't see your order details and that the provider will contact it if needed.

Some delays start at home. Openreach says a decision maker over the age of 18 needs to be there throughout the appointment, and renters need the landlord's permission for drilling, so sort both out early. Delays the customer causes, such as not being home for an engineer visit, aren't covered by the automatic compensation scheme described below.

"Go-live" is the day your new service is switched on. What it looks like depends on your situation.

Before go-live: when your router arrives

Engineer or not, your router or hub usually arrives a few days ahead. BT says a day before activation on a home move; POP about two days before go-live; Vodafone three days before your installation date; Onestream 3-5 days before go-live; toob a few days before installation (it needs the router to complete activation); and Fibrus up to 6 days before in Openreach areas. If it hasn't arrived a day or two before your date, chase the provider.

Don't cancel your old service too early

If you're switching provider at the same address through One Touch Switch, your old service runs until the new one is active, so don't cancel anything yourself first. Two exceptions to watch: One Touch Switch doesn't cover home moves (Rebel, for example, says home movers must cancel with their current provider themselves), and not every provider takes part. Connect Fibre, for instance, says it isn't part of One Touch Switch, so its customers cancel their old provider themselves after installation.

If no engineer is needed

EE and Sky both say you plug the hub in on your start date, with no engineer visit.

If an engineer is coming

• Before the day: if an intruder alarm, health pendant or wrist alarm uses your phone line, Openreach says to contact your provider first.
• Messages: Openreach publishes the numbers it texts from, for example 07701407770 (installing your new service) and 07491163160 (activating full fibre), and emails come from info@comms.openreach.co.uk. Checking Openreach's list helps you spot scam messages.
• On arrival: the engineer calls or texts beforehand. Openreach advises checking their ID badge, and says it never asks for bank details.
• During the visit: the engineer agrees the cable route with you, drills, fits the ONT and connects your router.
• Afterwards: EE says that where an engineer visit is needed, the appointment date is when you go live. Once you're set up, run our broadband speed test.

Ofcom runs a voluntary automatic compensation scheme that started on 1 April 2019. Providers that have signed up pay set amounts without you having to claim, and the amounts rise each 1 April in line with inflation. ISPreview's April 2026 report of Ofcom's figures (Ofcom's own page wasn't reachable when we checked in October 2026) gives these amounts from April 2026:

For comparison, the delayed-start payment was £5 a day when the scheme began in 2019. ISPreview lists the signatories as BT, EE, Plusnet, Hyperoptic, Sky (including NOW), TalkTalk, Utility Warehouse, Virgin Media, Vodafone and Zen, together covering about 97% of landline customers and 91% of broadband customers. Compensation can come as cash or a bill credit. Vodafone, for example, says late activation is compensated automatically. Our full guide to broadband automatic compensation explains the rules in detail.

If your provider isn't in the scheme, check its terms, and complain if a delay causes you problems: see how to complain about your broadband provider.

To stay online meanwhile, ask your provider what it offers. BT, for example, says that if it knows a home move will be delayed by more than two days it offers a 4G Mini Hub with unlimited EE data at no extra cost. Otherwise a phone hotspot or mobile broadband can tide you over: see our guide to setting up a backup broadband connection.

Before you order

• Work out your situation. Is there a working line or fibre box? If you're moving, ask the seller, landlord or agent.
• See who serves your address. Enter your postcode in the comparison on our broadband deals page to see the deals available there, or browse our broadband deals by area pages. If you want full fibre, our fibre broadband deals page shows fibre options for your postcode.
• Use the results to plan around your deadline. If you have a fixed date to be online, such as a move-in day or the end of a contract, shortlist two or three providers from the comparison and look each one up in the table above. A provider quoting a short wait, or one that can switch on an existing connection remotely, may suit a tight deadline better than the cheapest deal. The comparison shows deals, not installation dates: the provider agrees your date when you order, so confirm it before you finish.
• Ask the provider before you commit: Do I need an engineer? Is a survey likely? What's the earliest date you can offer, and is that in working days? Will my equipment arrive in time? Are you signed up to Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme?

If you're moving home

• Start as soon as you have a completion or move-in date. BT says two weeks' notice is normally plenty for a home move, and Virgin Media's moving-home page says new customers can arrange installation up to 60 days before moving in.
• Our guide to broadband when moving home walks through the whole process.

An example timeline

This is an illustration, not a prediction. Say you order full fibre from a provider quoting 6-20 working days, and a survey is needed. Expect the survey first, a confirmed install date after it, and go-live on installation day. If the survey finds a blocked duct, the date may move. Planning around the top of the stated range leaves room for that.