Leaving a provider: the extras you lose

Extras are easy to switch on and forget, so before you compare deals, list everything in your account that isn't the broadband line itself. Where to look (checked October 2026):

• BT: My BT, under My Extras, is where BT Parental Controls and Web Threat Protect are switched on.
• EE: EE online, under Menu, then Plan & add-ons, lists your EE services and subscriptions.
• Virgin Media: My Virgin Media, then Account Settings, then Online Security, for Essential Security.
• TalkTalk: My Account, where HomeSafe is turned on and managed.
• Sky: your Sky account, where Sky Broadband Shield is set.

Then add any kit that came from the provider: mesh discs, boosters, a TV box or puck. The table below sorts what you find.

Our summary of the provider pages below; your provider's terms come first.

Most big providers' protection works at the network or router level rather than on your laptop, and that's the part that disappears when you switch. For what each tool does, see our guide to provider security add-ons. On leaving (checked October 2026):

BT. Its Parental Controls and Web Threat Protect work on devices connected to your BT Hub, and its Cyber Threat Protect phishing warnings come with its broadband packages. We found no BT page saying any of these carry on after BT Broadband ends, so plan as if they won't.

TalkTalk. HomeSafe, its free filter, comes with its broadband; packages with an eero router use eero Secure instead, and here TalkTalk is explicit: eero Secure is included free with your package, but you lose access to it if you cancel your TalkTalk services or move to a TalkTalk package that doesn't support eero. That's the clearest statement we found from any provider that a security tool ends when you leave.

Sky. Sky Broadband Shield is free for Sky broadband customers and set through your Sky account. We found no Sky page saying what happens to it when you leave, so ask Sky rather than assume it carries on.

Virgin Media. Essential Security (the new name for Web Safe) is built into Virgin Media's home Wi-Fi network and is on unless you ask otherwise. Virgin Media says it protects devices only while they're connected to that network. Advanced Security, formerly Virgin Media Internet Security, is a separate paid add-on installed on a device. If you have it, ask Virgin Media whether it ends with your account.

Vodafone. With Secure Net Home, Vodafone's whole-home filter, what matters is how you got it. On Pro plans it's part of the package. On Power Hub plans it's an add-on that starts as a free trial, and Vodafone's terms say it then keeps running until you cancel it in My Vodafone. We found nothing saying it stops by itself when the broadband ends, so cancel it or get Vodafone to confirm it has stopped, and check your final bill. Secure Net Mobile, for phones, is a separate subscription.

Replacing it. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) points out that Windows and Apple computers usually have antivirus built in, so before switch day check it's switched on on every computer (on Windows, Microsoft Defender Antivirus in the Windows Security app). Smart TVs and consoles can't run such software, so switch on the new provider's network tool in the first week.

A provider's filter checks traffic on its own network, so the moment your line moves to a new company, the old filter stops applying. BT says its Parental Controls work on devices connected to the BT Hub; Virgin Media says Essential Security protects devices only while they're on its home network. So from switch day your home can be unfiltered until you set up the new provider's controls, or your own.

Before you switch, write down what you set:

• which filter level or blocked categories you chose;
• any time limits, such as homework time or a bedtime pause;
• any sites you allowed or blocked by hand;
• which children's devices had their own rules.

Easy to miss: Virgin Media says Essential Security settings apply only to the broadband connection and don't change Virgin TV Go or TiVo parental controls, which are set separately.

Controls set on phones, tablets and consoles themselves don't depend on your broadband provider, so setting those up before switch day covers the gap. Our guide to parental controls on home broadband covers each layer and what each big provider offers.

If you had BT storage, the decision is already made. BT says BT Cloud, a storage service for BT Broadband customers who registered before 26 October 2022, has closed. It became read-only on 9 September 2024, and files could be viewed, downloaded and deleted until 31 October 2024. If the BT Cloud app is still on your computer, BT's help page explains how to uninstall it on Windows and Mac.

If any storage, photo backup or file space came with your broadband, treat it as ending with the account and move your files first. BT points former BT Cloud users to Apple iCloud, Microsoft OneDrive and Google One. As a guide to free space (checked October 2026):

• Google says each Google Account includes up to 15 GB, shared across Gmail, Google Drive and Google Photos.
• Apple says iCloud comes with 5 GB free, with paid iCloud+ plans for more.

The NCSC suggests backing up important data, such as photos and key documents, to an external hard drive or a cloud-based storage system. Our own tip: if the provider's storage was your only copy, keep a second one elsewhere, so no single closed account can take everything.

Provider mesh kit and boosters are usually on loan, and some carry their own security or app features that go with them (checked October 2026):

• Gigaclear: its terms say it disables eero devices when the service is cancelled. Its Smart WiFi page describes eero Secure (threat protection, ad blocking, content filters and parental controls) as an optional add-on that some packages already include.
• Hyperoptic: its help page covers returning the Hyperhub, Minihubs and battery back-up unit, with a self-service return option in My Account once you've asked to end your service.
• Community Fibre: says all its services, including Security and WiFi-in-Every-Room, are cancelled when the account closes.
• toob: says its complete wi-fi kit is provided for the duration of your contract and you'll be expected to return it at the end.
• TalkTalk: cancelling a boost inside its commitment period (usually 30 days) can mean a breakage fee; for Total Home Wi-Fi on Full Fibre packages (Fibre 150 and above) TalkTalk says it equals the remaining contract term.

Return deadlines matter too: EE asks for broadband and TV equipment back within 30 days or it charges you on the final bill, and TalkTalk within 28 days (42 days if you cancel within your first 14 days), or you may be charged. Our guide to lost or damaged routers and TV boxes covers what happens if kit has gone missing.

Before the kit goes back, note your Wi-Fi name, password, schedules and guest network settings. Setting the new router to match lets your devices rejoin without fuss; our guide to keeping smart devices connected after a switch has the steps. If your home needs mesh, ask the new provider before ordering whether it supplies discs or boosters, and on what terms.

Some broadband customers get access to public Wi-Fi hotspots. BT's business help says BT Wi-Fi is now EE Wi-Fi, and BT Business Broadband customers get unlimited free access by logging in with their broadband email address and password. Home customers can use a BT login too: BT's parental-controls page says its filters also apply if you use your BT ID to log in to UK EE WiFi hotspots. What we couldn't find is a BT or EE page saying what happens to that access when you leave BT broadband, and we found no current hotspot pages from Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk or Vodafone. So if a hotspot login is tied to your broadband account, plan as if it stops when the account closes.

If you rely on hotspots, EE WiFi sells on-demand access to anyone for set periods of 1 hour, 1 day, 5 days or 30 days, and suggests short-term access for people moving home.

Each provider links TV to broadband differently. If you're keeping your TV with one company and moving broadband to another, our guide to what happens to your TV when you switch broadband covers whether that works.

Sky. Switching your Sky broadband doesn't end Sky TV: it stays active until you cancel it. Sky asks for 31 days' notice, and if that notice ends before your minimum term finishes, early-termination charges may apply unless you're still in the cooling-off period (31 days for UK customers). When your Sky TV subscription ends, any Sky Stream pucks stop working. For pucks ordered after 23 February 2023, Sky says you must return the equipment without undue delay, using the returns method it provides. Cancelling a Sky Glass subscription loses features such as voice search, Glance, pause, rewind and fast forward. If you cancel the last Stream puck or extra Glass TV, the Whole Home pack ends too.

Recordings. On Sky Stream you add shows to a Playlist rather than recording them. ISPreview reported that Sky OS 2.0, an opt-in trial since 15 September 2026, adds cloud recordings on Glass and Stream. For recordings stored on a box, such as Sky Q or a Virgin Media TV box, we couldn't find a provider page saying what happens to them when you leave. What is clear is that the box goes back: Sky says that when a Sky Q subscription ends you must return the equipment without undue delay, using the returns method it provides, and Virgin Media asks for its kit back by collection or with a free return pack. So watch anything you want to keep before the box leaves the house. If you're changing box rather than leaving, see our guide to moving from Sky Q or Virgin TV 360 to a Stream box.

TalkTalk and EE. TalkTalk says you need TalkTalk broadband to keep TalkTalk TV, so cancelling broadband means losing the TV service too. EE says that in most cases your other EE services and subscriptions end when your account closes; check them under Menu, then Plan & add-ons.

A discount is the extra people forget most, because it doesn't feel like a product. Rewards for taking broadband and mobile together can go when the broadband does (checked October 2026):

• EE: if you're an EE One customer and cancel broadband, you lose any discounts and data add-ons on your EE Mobile account.
• Virgin Media: discounts, offers or benefits linked to the cancelled service may no longer apply to services you keep.
• TalkTalk: TalkTalk mobile continues, but because its plans are exclusive to TalkTalk customers, you may have to pay mobile charges if you cancel your other services.
• Sky: Sky Mobile stays active when Sky Broadband is cancelled and has to be cancelled separately if you want it to end.

Ask your provider, in writing if you can, what your mobile bill will be after the switch, and add it to the cost of the new deal when you compare. Our guide to broadband and mobile discounts explains how these bundles work.

TalkTalk customers: on 5 October 2026 BT announced it had acquired TalkTalk out of administration. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) sent its phase 1 report to the Culture Secretary on 19 October 2026, and the case was still open on the gov.uk case page on 28 October. BT says the two stay separate meanwhile, nothing changes for most TalkTalk customers for now, and it will contact them if anything does.

A running order built from the sections above. Start before you order: a switch can go live as soon as the next day.

1. List your extras from your account pages and the kit in your home.
2. Sort email first if you use a provider address, as it has its own deadlines.
3. Turn on device protection: built-in antivirus on every computer, and device-level parental controls for children's phones and tablets.
4. Write down filter settings, Wi-Fi details, schedules and device names.
5. Download your files from any storage tied to the provider and keep a second copy somewhere else.
6. Decide about TV: keep it, cancel it with the right notice, or move it. Watch anything stored on a box you'll return.
7. Ask about money: your mobile bill after the switch, any boost or add-on breakage fee, any paid add-on such as Vodafone's Secure Net that needs cancelling yourself, and the early-termination charges in your switching information.
8. Check the new deal: which of these extras it includes, and on what terms. Our guide to what comparison results do and don't show helps here.
9. Return kit within the old provider's deadline once the switch is done.

When you're ready, compare broadband deals at your postcode. Our comparison partner shows live deals and you order directly with the provider; we don't switch you ourselves, so for your own account the provider's terms are the final word. For individual providers, see our BT broadband deals, Sky broadband deals and Virgin Media broadband deals pages, or browse every company in our broadband providers hub. Our guide to switching broadband providers covers the switch itself.