Three 5G home broadband: set-up and Outdoor Hub

1. Check your exact address. Three estimates coverage for each address, so the house next door can get a different answer. If your home is a new build, or has been converted or split into flats, it may not be in the checker yet, and Three says to get in touch so it can check for you.
2. Decide how you'll leave your current provider. Three's pages disagree. Its One Touch Switch help page says you can switch by contacting Three only, but its 5G set-up page and main broadband page tell you to contact your current provider about leaving first. So ask Three at order time whether it will switch you through One Touch Switch. If it does, your current provider must send you the switching information, including any early termination charges; Three says the process itself is free, though you may still have a final bill and, if you're still in contract, an early termination fee. If it doesn't, give notice yourself. Our guide to switching to 4G, 5G or satellite broadband explains why the rules are less clear-cut for wireless services.
3. Coming from another 4G or 5G home broadband provider? Ask that provider for its Service Termination Authorisation Code (STAC) and pass the code to Three, which says it will do the rest.
4. Check the money-back period in writing. Three's sales and Leave Home Broadband pages offer a 30-day money-back guarantee, but its 5G set-up page says 14 days, and its Home Broadband terms for customers who joined or upgraded from 8 September 2024 (effective 29 May 2026) describe a "Fourteen Day Money Back Guarantee" counted from the day you receive the equipment. Ask which applies to your order and keep the answer.
5. Keep the box. Under those terms, if you cancel in the money-back period the equipment has to go back undamaged and in its original packaging, with any SIM cards, leads and accessories. Three's Leave Home Broadband page differs: the 5G hub must always go back (or you pay a non-return fee), but 4G hubs and eero devices don't. Ask about returns when you confirm the money-back period.

Because the hub doesn't use a phone line, it can run alongside your old connection while you test it, but only if the old service is still live. If you're switching through One Touch Switch, pick a later switch date (Three says you can choose a preferred date); if you're cancelling yourself, time your notice so the old service outlasts your tests. See our guide to the broadband cooling-off period for your wider rights.

Three describes the indoor hub as plug and play. Its support pages give these steps:

1. Get the Three app. Three calls it the easiest way to set up a 5G hub: it guides you through positioning and connecting to Wi-Fi, shows real-time signal strength and runs diagnostic checks. It doesn't currently support 4G hubs.
2. Put the hub on a windowsill, or as close to a window as you can, with clear space around it.
3. Plug it into a power socket. The first time, it takes a few minutes to turn on, so give it time before deciding something is wrong.
4. Watch the signal light, which shows how strong the signal is once the hub connects (see the next section).
5. Connect your devices: pick the network name (the SSID) on the label under the hub in your device's Wi-Fi settings and type in the password, or use a network cable for a computer or games console.

If you personalise the Wi-Fi details in the Three app, Three says you can share them by QR code, print or email, which is handy for visitors. Its 5G support page says up to 65 devices can connect to the 5G Hub. That's a ceiling, not a promise of speed: every device online at once shares the same connection.

Which hub will I get?

ISPreview reported in June 2026 that the 5G package came with the Three 5G Hub MC888AD, a Wi-Fi 6 router made by ZTE, but Three's support pages cover several makes, so follow the guide that matches the model on your hub's label.

Three is open that speeds for any individual home aren't guaranteed and depend on the hub's position, line of sight to the nearest mast, local topography such as hills, how many people in the area are using the network and the thickness of your walls and windows.

What the signal light means

A simple way to test spots

Three's advice is to try a few locations and give the hub some time in each. A methodical way to do that:

1. Start on a windowsill with nothing in front of the hub. Three says plants, photos, curtains and blinds can get in the way.
2. Keep it at least one metre from TVs, cordless phones and other electrical items.
3. Note the light colour and the reading in the Three app, then run our broadband speed test from a device near the hub.
4. Move to another window, ideally on a different side of the house and, if you can, upstairs. Three also suggests turning the hub to face different directions.
5. Compare your notes, then re-test the front-runner in the evening (see the checklist below).

Our guide to why speed test results differ explains why a single test can mislead.

When the best signal spot is a bad Wi-Fi spot

The window with the strongest signal may be far from where you actually use the internet. Three sells eero mesh Wi-Fi that works with its 4G and 5G hubs to spread the signal around the home; our guide to mesh Wi-Fi versus Wi-Fi extenders compares the options. If even the best window gives a weak signal, ask Three whether the Outdoor Hub is offered at your address.

Three pitches the Outdoor Hub at homes that can't get a good or reliable 5G signal indoors, naming distance from a mast, buildings and tall trees as typical culprits. Three's installation page says to check the hub user guide before you start; the guide is written for the outdoor hub model Y5. The parts you'll handle are the hub, a Power over Ethernet (PoE) adaptor, which sends power and data down one network cable, a power adaptor, a flat Ethernet cable on a reel, an Allen key, cable clips and the mounts. The eero router comes in a separate box.

Step 1: survey the signal before you drill anything

Indoors, connect the PoE adaptor to the power adaptor and the cable reel, then plug in the hub. With it powered, walk around all sides of your property, preferably outdoors, watching the signal display. Note where the score is highest, then unplug the hub before you mount it. Three normally recommends a spot high up, close to an upstairs window, ideally facing the nearest mast.

The 5G readings include both 5G Standalone and Non-Standalone networks. Our guides to 5G Standalone and 5G frequency bands explain the difference and why signal varies so much around a building.

Step 2: choose how to fix it

The cable is fed inside through an open window, which Three says can then be closed fully without drafts or affecting the seals.

Renting? Check your tenancy agreement or ask your landlord before drilling; the window mount and stand need no holes. See our guide to broadband for renters.

Step 3: stay safe

Three's terms put installation on you: you must make sure it's done safely, Three won't be liable for losses or injury from incorrect installation or pay to put right alterations to your property, and if you can't install it safely you should get professional help. The user guide adds:

• Don't install in bad weather, and don't fix the hub to a lightning pole.
• Avoid dusty or humid spots, and places near magnetic fields, microwaves, fridges or electric heaters.
• Don't take the hub apart or try to repair it.
• Use only the power adaptor supplied. The hub's working range is -40C to 55C.

What the Outdoor Hub's lights mean

The Outdoor Hub passes the connection down the cable to the eero, which creates your Wi-Fi. Three's installation page sets out the order:

1. Make sure the hub isn't powered.
2. Connect the eero to the PoE adaptor with the Ethernet cable supplied.
3. Plug the hub's cable into the PoE adaptor (the correct port is shown in the user guide).
4. Connect both the PoE adaptor and the eero to power, so the hub can configure itself.
5. Download the eero app, log in with Amazon details or create an eero account, and follow the steps.

Your Wi-Fi name and password are created in the eero app during set-up. Three's tip: if you reuse the name and password from your previous router, your phones, TVs and smart devices reconnect without you touching each one. Our guide to keeping your devices connected when you switch explains how that works and its limits.

• Wired devices plug into the spare Ethernet port on the back of the eero.
• Coverage: Three says each eero covers up to 1,500 sq ft (139 sq m) and more can be added as one network with one name and password. The eero app suggests where to place them.
• Extras: the eero app lets you schedule and pause internet access and handles automatic updates, and eero Secure (malware protection, content filters and ad blocking) is included as standard with Three.

Keep the eero in the open: Three warns that plant pots, coats and microwaves can affect its signal.

1. Is it the network or your home?

Check Three's Network Status checker for known issues or planned maintenance near you; unplanned outages go on Three's social media pages. Our guide to planned maintenance and outages explains what to expect during one.

2. Indoor hub checklist

• Try a different device. If one device works and another doesn't, the problem is the device, not the connection. Our guide to when only one device is slow picks up from there.
• Restart the device that won't connect.
• If nothing connects, check the hub is on and its Wi-Fi light is solid.
• If the signal light has dropped to orange or red, check nothing now blocks the hub.
• Run the troubleshooter in the Three app, which takes you through checks step by step.

3. Outdoor Hub checklist

From Three's Outdoor Hub support page, for no internet, slow speeds or drop-outs:

• Check you have data allowance left in My3 or the Three app.
• Check the Ethernet cable is connected to the PoE adaptor and the adaptor is switched on.
• Check the hub is plugged into the correct PoE port and switched on; Three starts with these two cable checks if the hub's lights aren't working at all.
• Re-check the signal with the hub's LED signal finder against the score table above. Three names buildings and tall trees among the things that block signal, so changes around your home can matter.
• Make sure the eero isn't hidden or covered.

If the hub is damaged, contact Three to go through the options; Three also says to contact it for spare parts.

4. Only some websites won't load

All new Three devices have the adult content filter switched on by default, and it can block some pages. Over-18s can ask Three to turn it off, or visit a Three store with photo ID; Three's terms also describe proving your age through the Three app. If it's one site that's slow rather than blocked, see why one website is slow.

5. Fine in the day, slow in the evening

Three says data speeds vary with how many customers use your closest mast, so a dip at busy times may be the network rather than your set-up. Three treats 8pm to 10pm as the "busy hours" when it measures its 5G hubs' peak-time speeds, so test once in the morning and again in that window, and keep dated results as evidence if you raise it with Three. Our guide to why broadband slows down in the evening covers the busy-hour effect.

Hub settings. You reach an indoor hub's settings page by typing its IP address into a web browser while connected to it, Three explains. Use the address in your hub's own guide; our guide on how to log in to your router settings explains the basics. The Outdoor Hub is managed through the eero app instead.

The SIM stays in Three's hub. The Outdoor Hub's nano SIM sits under a weatherproof panel on the bottom. To replace it, turn the hub off, open the panel with the Allen key, push the SIM in until it clicks and don't over-tighten the screws. Three's terms say each SIM may only be used in equipment Three has authorised, and moving it to a mobile device means charges under the Mobile Broadband Price Guide. That matters if you were planning to use the SIM in your own router or a dual-WAN router with two connections: ask Three first.

Boosters. Before buying a signal booster or external antenna, read what's legal with mobile signal boosters.

Moving. Both hubs can move house with you if Three has coverage at the new home, and a 5G hub will still run where only 4G reaches. Three's terms describe Home Broadband as a domestic service, with the equipment supplied for use at the address you've given, and say that if you roam with the equipment you'll be charged under Three's Mobile Broadband Price Guide. So give Three your new address before you plug in there. With the Outdoor Hub you'll also need to survey the signal and mount it again.

999 calls. Three says you can call 999 using Wi-Fi calling through its 5G hub, but the call may be interrupted or end in a power cut or if the Wi-Fi fails. If your Wi-Fi is playing up, Three says a mobile or fixed network connection may be better for the call. It also recommends registering the address where the hub is used for Wi-Fi calling, so the emergency services have up-to-date location information. See our guide to how Wi-Fi calling works.

Contacting Three. The Outdoor Hub guide gives 500 from a Three mobile or 0333 338 1003 from any other phone.

If it isn't fixed. Three's complaints code says it aims to give a final response within six weeks and that you can then take the complaint to CISAS, a free, independent dispute resolution scheme whose decision Three is bound by. For complaints first raised on or after 8 April 2026 you can go to that scheme after six weeks (eight weeks for earlier complaints), or straight away with a deadlock letter. Our guide on how to complain about your broadband provider takes you through it.

If it never works well. If a careful survey still leaves weak scores and slow evenings, use the money-back period and compare broadband deals at your postcode through our partner's comparison, or browse all broadband providers. The comparison can't measure mobile signal in your home, so your own tests still matter. On another network's hub? See our guides to setting up EE 5G home broadband and the Vodafone 5G hub and GigaCube.