Sky's digital phone upgrade letter explained

If you have Sky Broadband & Talk, Sky may have written, emailed or messaged you to say your broadband and home phone are moving to new technology. Its help pages (checked October 2026) explain why: Openreach and Sky are switching off the old copper cable network and traditional phone landlines. If you're affected, you need to upgrade to Full Fibre, or to Part Fibre where Full Fibre isn't available, and your home phone will then work through your broadband instead of a traditional phone line.

The letter uses a few terms worth decoding:

• The copper switch-off. The closure of the old analogue phone network, known as the PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network). The government's connectivity timeline says all users of the Openreach PSTN need to be moved to new services by 31 January 2027.
• Full Fibre (also called FTTP, fibre to the premises). Openreach describes it as a connection with no copper in it at all.
• Part Fibre (FTTC, fibre to the cabinet; Sky's Superfast). Openreach says this runs fibre to the green street cabinet, then copper to your door, and that this copper stays in service until Full Fibre reaches your area: it's the phone network behind it that is closing.
• Internet Calls. Sky's name for VoIP (voice over internet protocol): your calls use the same internet connection as your broadband.

Sky says the changes affect every broadband provider that uses the Openreach network, not just Sky. For the national picture, see our guide to the digital landline switchover.

Here's what Sky's help pages say about the move (checked October 2026):

Sky says that because your copper service is being permanently switched off, your Broadband & Talk service will stop working after the switch-off date unless you upgrade. It lists what that means:

• your broadband and home phone stop working;
• you can't make or receive any calls, including 999 calls;
• telecare, health care or medical devices that use the phone line, such as alarms, pull cords or emergency buttons, stop working;
• you lose your home phone number.

Sky also says that, to keep you connected, it might move you automatically if it doesn't hear from you, emailing or writing first; its help page already has a section for customers it is moving this way. Don't count on it: if you reply and order yourself, Sky asks about care alarms as part of the order.

Sky has signed the government's PSTN Charter. Providers commit not to carry out "non-voluntary migrations" until they have full confidence they are taking all possible steps to protect vulnerable people, though the Charter defines these narrowly (the customer hasn't engaged, has used the landline in the last 12 months and would need to act to keep telecare working) and lets providers go ahead once they've re-assessed their processes. Its firmest promise: no telecare user is moved until the provider, the customer or the telecare company confirms a compatible, working telecare solution is in place. That relies on Sky knowing about the alarm, so tell it.

Your own date is in the email or letter Sky sent you. Sky says that if the date has already passed, your service could be disconnected, so follow the steps in the email or letter as soon as possible. Sky writes when it is upgrading the broadband network in your area, so your date can come before the national one.

That national deadline is 31 January 2027 for lines on Openreach's old phone network, the PSTN (GOV.UK). Openreach says lines not switched by then may have limited service and may be moved to EVAc (Emergency Voice and Access Continuity): a temporary emergency service that keeps basic calls working for a limited time and may not support all your calling features. On 24 September 2026 Openreach said EVAc would also keep linked broadband running where technically possible, and ISPreview reported that those moves are expected from mid-April 2027.

Sky's Internet Calls help page says that, unlike Openreach, Sky isn't removing its own traditional phone service by January 2027: that date only affects customers whose Sky Talk isn't provided on the Sky Network, which Sky puts at about 10%, and Sky will contact them. Either way, if Sky's letter gives you a switch-off date, act on that date.

Sky says to book your upgrade by following the instructions in the email, letter or WhatsApp. If it contacted you by text or WhatsApp, its help page describes the process:

1. Reply "Yes" to confirm you're happy to upgrade.
2. Sky places your order within 48 hours.
3. Sky emails to confirm your install or activation date.

Sky says replying "No" cancels the upgrade. The same page also covers upgrade offers for Sky VIP customers, so not every text is about a switch-off; but if your letter or email gives a switch-off date, saying no doesn't stop that date.

Before you reply: a five-minute check

• Anything else on the phone line? Follow the cable from each phone socket. A care alarm, pendant, burglar alarm or anything else that isn't a phone needs mentioning to Sky. Our guide to whether your phones and equipment work on a digital landline goes through common kit.
• Mobile signal indoors. Can everyone at home make a mobile call from inside the house? If not, Sky wants to know (see below).
• Where the hub lives. Your home phone will plug into the hub (or a phone adaptor, which Sky mentions as an alternative), so think about where the phone needs to be and ask Sky about it if the hub is in a different room.

The confirmation

On an automatic move, Sky emails an order confirmation headed "Changes to your Sky Broadband have been confirmed". If you're signed in with your Sky iD, Track your order shows your activation date or engineer date, along with your packages, phone number and hub delivery.

Engineer or remote activation

On an automatic move, Sky says no engineer visit is needed because it activates the new broadband remotely. If you order the upgrade yourself, it can sometimes do this and otherwise books an engineer; Track your order shows which. Remote work is done at the local exchange or street cabinet, so nobody needs to be home. The service goes live any time up to midnight on the activation date, and Sky texts you when it's running.

A new hub or conversion kit

Sky says you either keep your current Sky hub or, if it's an older one, Sky sends a new one; it may also send a conversion kit. Wait until your activation date before setting anything up. On Full Fibre, check that your Optical Network Terminal (the small box where the fibre enters your home, often called the ONT) is switched on and working before the activation date. Our guide to the full fibre ONT explains what its lights mean.

Plugging in your phone

• Plug your home phone into the hub, not the wall socket. Sky says it won't work if plugged into the master socket or any other phone socket.
• Use Sky's hub. Sky says Internet Calls only works with the Sky Broadband Hub, Sky Max Hub or Sky Gigafast+ Hub, so if you've been using your own router, the phone needs the Sky hub.
• Leave the hub switched on. Sky says the phone won't work if the hub is off, in a power cut, or if broadband is down because of a fault or outage.

Checking which service you have

Sign in to My Sky, choose View Bill and open Broadband & Talk. "Sky Talk Line Rental" means a traditional line; "Sky Talk Internet Calls" means you're on Internet Calls.

Usually, yes: Ofcom says you can keep your number on a digital landline, and Sky's warning is that you lose it if you don't upgrade. But Sky says that on Full Fibre your number might come with a different area code, which in practice means a different number, if your Full Fibre connects to an exchange in another area.

Sky texts you if this applies. It says you don't need to do anything if you're happy with a different number; if you're not, call the number in that text to reach the right team. If you do end up with a different area code, you can't use local dialling and have to dial the full number; Sky says call charges aren't affected. If friends, family or a care alarm company have your landline number saved, update them.

If you plan to leave Sky rather than upgrade, our guide to keeping your landline number when you switch explains how to take it with you.

If anyone in your home relies on a healthcare or medical alarm (Sky lists care alarms, pull cords, panic buttons, pendants and intercom-like devices), Sky says to call the number on its email or letter as soon as possible. What Sky says happens next:

• it asks about healthcare and medical alarms when you order, so the right checks are done;
• after activation it might send a WhatsApp from "Sky" or a text asking you to test your care alarm; reply "Yes" or "No" so it can help if the test fails;
• with Internet Calls, the alarm must plug directly into the "UK phone" port on the back of the hub; Sky says the most common alarm problems come from the in-home set-up;
• you should check with your alarm provider that the alarm and your set-up work with an internet-based phone service.

Ofcom adds that, told in advance, your provider can check your device and pause the change until a safe solution is in place. Our guide to telecare and alarms after the landline switch-off covers what to ask the alarm supplier, testing on the day and what to do if an alarm stops working.

Sky says that with Internet Calls you can't make any calls, including to emergency services, if the power fails or there's a broadband outage. It advises having another way to call 999, such as a mobile with a strong signal.

If your home doesn't have a strong mobile signal, or you don't have a mobile phone, Sky asks you to tell it by filling in its Mobile coverage form (linked from the "No mobile or poor mobile signal" section of its help page) so it can support you through the switch. Sky also says that if you have no other way to reach the emergency services when Internet Calls is down, it might not be able to switch your broadband service, so tell it early.

What the rules say:

• A free back-up. Ofcom says that if you depend on your landline and have no working mobile or reliable mobile signal, your provider must offer a free back-up solution, such as a battery unit that lasts at least one hour; some last up to seven hours.
• Going beyond the minimum. PSTN Charter signatories, Sky included, say they'll work to beat Ofcom's one-hour minimum where they provide battery back-up.
• 999 on a mobile. Ofcom says that if your own mobile network has no signal, a 999 call from a mobile automatically connects through another network if one is available.

Sky's help pages on the switch-off don't say which back-up unit it supplies (checked October 2026), so ask what it will send, which boxes it powers (the hub, and the ONT on Full Fibre) and for how long. Our guide to whether a digital landline works in a power cut goes through the options in detail.

Sky's upgrade page gives separate numbers for two groups (checked October 2026):

• customers on Sky's Social Tariff offer: the Social Tariff team on 03337 595 120;
• Sky staff account holders: the Staff team on 03442 411 295.

If you're older, disabled, have a health condition or limited mobility, Ofcom says your provider must assess your needs and make arrangements to support you, and should offer extra help with installation if you need it. If you're arranging this for a parent or relative, our guide on telling your provider you need extra help explains what to say.

The letter is a good prompt to check your deal, but know what leaving does and doesn't change.

• Exit fees. Sky warns that early termination charges might apply if you cancel. Its contract page says that for Broadband & Talk they apply only if the service ends before your minimum term is up (for reasons the contract doesn't permit); Sky tells you whether you have to pay and confirms the amount.
• How switching works. Under One Touch Switch you contact only the new provider, which arranges the move. Your current provider, Sky in this case, must send you the switching information, including any early termination charges.
• The phone still goes digital on Openreach. Sky says the changes affect every provider on the Openreach network, so moving to another provider on that network won't keep the copper landline. Other networks run to their own timetable: Ofcom says switch-off dates for Virgin Media O2's and KCOM's old landline networks have not yet been set, and GOV.UK suggests asking any provider when it will require customers to use digital landlines.
• Do you need a home phone at all? If everyone at home uses mobiles and the signal is good, broadband-only deals from other providers may suit you. If you want to keep a landline, look at broadband and phone deals.

To see what's available, compare deals at your postcode, or look at current Sky broadband deals if you'd like to stay but want to check whether a different Sky package fits better. Our guide to checking full fibre availability at your address shows how to see which networks reach you. Moving house soon? Read moving home with Sky or NOW broadband before booking anything.

If your phone or broadband stops working after the switch, a device fails or you're unhappy with how the move was handled, complain to Sky first. Ofcom's guidance on the landline switch says that if your complaint isn't resolved, you can take it to an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme, an independent complaints body. The Communications Ombudsman explains the timing: for complaints first raised on or after 8 April 2026 you can go to ADR six weeks after you first told the provider, or straight away if the provider sends a deadlock letter saying it can't resolve it.

Keep the letter, your order confirmation and a note of each call. Our guide on how to complain about a broadband provider walks through the process.