Wi-Fi guarantees: what providers actually promise

The broadband line brings the internet into your home and ends at the router (often called the hub); Wi-Fi then carries it around the house. Our guide to broadband vs Wi-Fi and what the router does explains the difference.

Speed guarantees only cover the line. Under Ofcom's voluntary Broadband Speeds Code, signatories (including BT, EE, Sky, Virgin Media and Zen) give you a minimum guaranteed speed before you buy, and if a speed problem on their network isn't fixed within 30 days you can leave without an early exit fee. Ofcom advises testing on a computer plugged into the router by Ethernet cable, because Wi-Fi can slow the signal. Providers' own promises are measured the same way: EE's Speed Guarantee, BT's Stay Fast Guarantee and Sky's Speed Guarantee all cover the speed to the hub, not to devices over Wi-Fi.

So a slow laptop in the back bedroom, with a healthy speed at the router, isn't covered. That gap is what Wi-Fi guarantees fill, usually through a paid or bundled mesh add-on. Our guide to the minimum speed guarantee and your right to leave covers the line side.

You'll see three kinds of promise:

• A "reliable" or "strong" signal (BT, Gigaclear). No number is attached, so whether you qualify depends on the provider's own check.
• A minimum speed in every room, from 10Mbps (Vodafone, Fibrus, Sky's slower tiers) to 100Mbps (EE) and 120Mbps (Connect Fibre). Mbps means megabits per second, the usual unit for broadband speed.
• Coverage in every room (Quickline, Zen): a signal, without a stated speed.

A higher number isn't automatically a better guarantee. EE's 100Mbps target only applies with two specific devices on faster plans, while Vodafone's 10Mbps is a lower bar backed by a stronger remedy, the right to leave. Check too how "every room" is defined: some cover only main living areas.

This table summarises each provider's published terms. Most rows come from providers' pages and terms opened in October 2026; Fibrus's comes from its October 2025 products guide (its site couldn't be opened) and part of Virgin Media's from a May 2025 Virgin Media article. Terms change, so read the current version and your contract summary before relying on one. We've left out the value of bill credits on purpose: ask the provider for the figure when you order.

When the extra kit has failed, the guarantees end in one of five ways:

• A one-off bill credit (BT, Virgin Media, EE, WightFibre). You keep the contract and the weak Wi-Fi.
• Subscription money back (Sky): a month of broadband and WiFi Max subscriptions, once per address, and you can cancel WiFi Max without early termination charges.
• Free months (Community Fibre three; Gigaclear one, alongside cancelling the add-on).
• A refund of the add-on (Connect Fibre: your latest Mesh payment, once the devices are back).
• The right to leave (Vodafone and Fibrus, plus toob's and Gigaclear's add-ons). Vodafone and Fibrus let you end the broadband contract. toob says you may be able to end the complete wi-fi contract early with no fee, and Gigaclear lets you cancel Smart WiFi; neither releases you from the broadband.

Deadlines matter as much as the remedy. Vodafone's exit must be claimed within 30 days of receiving the final booster, Fibrus's within 30 days of the engineer visit; Sky and EE each allow one claim.

Across all these guarantees, the same conditions come up again and again. Check each against your home before you order.

• Use the provider's own kit. Sky, Vodafone, EE and WightFibre tie their guarantees to their own hubs and boosters, Quickline's Wi-Fi Everywhere only works with Quickline's router, and BT's discs bought separately don't count. If you plan to use your own router or mesh system, assume you're giving the guarantee up.
• Set it up their way. Sky needs Device Priority off; Vodafone, EE and Fibrus expect their instructions to be followed; WightFibre and Community Fibre warn against moving the kit.
• Faults are separate. BT, Vodafone, Virgin Media and EE exclude broadband faults or outages, and WightFibre's guarantee only applies while its hub is connected to the internet. If the whole connection is down, report it as a broadband fault instead.
• Not every room counts. BT, Sky, EE, toob, Gigaclear, Fibrus, WightFibre, Connect Fibre, Community Fibre and Zen exclude outbuildings, gardens or both; Gigaclear, Fibrus and Zen also leave out basements or cellars (Zen only unconverted ones). For a cabin at the end of the garden, see our guide to getting Wi-Fi to a garden office.
• Bigger homes may fall outside. Fibrus, Connect Fibre, Zen, Community Fibre and WightFibre all set size or room limits.
• The add-on may have its own contract. Sky WiFi Max and Quickline Wi-Fi Everywhere have 24-month minimum terms, toob complete wi-fi and Zen EveryRoom 12 months, and Hyperoptic says adding Total Wi-Fi may restart an existing minimum term. Our guide to reading a broadband contract summary shows where to find these.

1. Rule out a line problem first. Run our broadband speed test on a computer wired to the router, as Ofcom recommends. If that's below your minimum guaranteed speed, it's a speed-guarantee issue, not a Wi-Fi one.
2. Use the test the provider accepts. BT uses bt.com/verifywifi or an adviser, and the My BT app checks each room for Complete Wi-Fi Plus; Sky the My Sky app and an engineer visit; EE its app; Vodafone its WiFi Xperts; WightFibre its HomePass app; Connect Fibre its own speed test server. A result from a different app may not count.
3. Test in each room you're claiming for, at different times of day, and screenshot results with the date and time showing.
4. Ask for the extra kit, install each piece as instructed and test again.
5. Note the key dates: when the final booster arrived or the engineer visited, and any deadline that runs from them.
6. Claim in writing if you can, naming the guarantee, the rooms affected, your results and the remedy the terms promise.

Citizens Advice recommends keeping a record of every contact with your provider, such as screenshots and phone records. Keep your dated speed-test screenshots in the same place.

Make a formal complaint, saying you're relying on the Wi-Fi guarantee in the provider's terms. If it isn't resolved, you can go to an Ofcom-approved alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme, an independent body that rules on disputes: CISAS or the Communications Ombudsman. Every provider serving consumers must belong to one, and it's free.

For complaints first raised from 8 April 2026 you can go to ADR after six weeks (previously eight), or straight away with a deadlock letter saying the provider won't do more. See our guides to complaining about a broadband provider and, if the guarantee lets you leave, leaving broadband without an exit fee.

A guarantee is reassurance, not a fix: the fix is the mesh kit, and the guarantee decides what happens if that isn't enough. It matters most if some rooms never get a decent signal and you'd rather the provider took responsibility. Our guide to mesh Wi-Fi vs Wi-Fi extenders explains the kit, and improving your Wi-Fi signal covers free things to try first.

Before ordering, get straight answers to these:

• Is the guarantee included, or a paid add-on with its own minimum term?
• Is the target a speed in Mbps or a "reliable" signal, and which test counts?
• Which rooms count, and is my home within the size limits?
• How many extra boosters or pods will you send, and is there a delivery charge?
• What is the final remedy, what is any credit worth, and is there a claim deadline?

Enter your postcode in the comparison on our broadband deals page to see live packages at your address, then check the provider's page for whether your plan has a Wi-Fi guarantee. The comparison is run by our partner; it doesn't check guarantee terms, and you switch with the provider.