Returning your router after a broadband switch

The old kit usually still belongs to the old provider

Hubs, power supplies, TV boxes and extenders are often on loan. After a switch you should receive return instructions. Keep proof of postage. Charges for non-return are separate from early termination charges.

Do not bin it on switch day

Wait until the new service is working, then pack the old equipment as instructed. If a label does not arrive, contact the losing provider rather than assuming you can keep the hub.

What is yours and what is theirs

Many routers are loans. Some are yours after a fee. The optical network terminal on the wall often belongs to the network and stays. Do not unscrew equipment because a forum said the switch was complete. Read the returns note in the cease or the welcome pack.

Photograph the serial number and the postage receipt. Providers lose returns. The photograph is how you show you sent the box they asked for, to the address they named, on a date before their deadline.

A mesh pod, a TV box and a router are three returns. People send the router and keep the pod, then meet a charge. Put every item on a list before you go to the post office.

Timing

The right day to return kit is after the new line has worked for a day you care about, and before the old provider’s deadline. Those two dates can clash. If they do, ask for an extension in writing rather than guessing.

Do not factory-reset a router you might still need tonight. Reset it when you pack it. Keep the cable until you are sure the new provider’s router is the one in use.

What to do with this guide

Use this page as a checklist, not as a quote. The decisions sit with you and with the provider: the address, the contract you already signed, and the offer they will actually sell. OneTouchSwitch can show a mock catalogue and explain the switching process. We do not send the One Touch Switch messages, we do not set exit fees, and we do not decide social-tariff eligibility.

Before you act, write down four things. The premises, including the flat number. The early-termination figure in pounds if you are still in a minimum term. Whether a television package, a phone number, or a care alarm depends on the line. And the date you can be at home if an engineer is required. If any of those is unknown, you are not ready to order, however clear the guide feels.

Then compare at the address. Look at the opening monthly price and, separately, the minimum-term cost: later months, setup, and a confirmed exit fee. A first-year figure is useful and it is not the whole term when the contract is longer. Order with the gaining provider only when you have decided the numbers work. Do not cancel the old service first. Keep the confirmation and the old router until the new line has worked. If the situation in “Returning your router after a broadband switch” does not match what the provider just told you, use the provider’s written answer.

If you are helping someone else, you need their authority. Paying a bill is not authority. A parent, a landlord, or a housemate cannot One Touch Switch a contract that is not theirs. Sit with the account holder, or get the provider to note an authorised contact, before a date is agreed.

Related reading on this site is there to stop a second mistake. Full fibre is a way of building, not a speed. A social tariff is a provider’s discount for people who qualify, not a promo code. An exit fee is a number you ask for. Availability is the premises, not the town. If you only remember one of those, remember the premises.

When the new service is up, return borrowed kit to the address the old provider named and keep proof of postage. Check the first bill against the price you were told, including the month the introductory rate ends. If it does not match, query it while the order email is still easy to find. A comparison is finished only when the bill matches the promise.