There are different ways of installing fibre broadband, depending on what kind of property you live in or whether there's an Openreach modem already installed.
Coronavirus: Delivery, installation and repair information >
'Fibre to the Home' means we'll install fibre cables all the way to your home.
There are different ways of installing fibre broadband, depending on what kind of property you live in or whether there's an Openreach modem already installed.
An Openreach modem is a white box that looks something like this:
We'll let you know which scenario applies to you when you place your order. Click on the links to find out more.
In this case, there's no need for an engineer to do any work but we may need to send you a new BT Hub. Your fibre broadband service will be live on the third working day after placing the order.
Make sure you power up your Openreach modem the day before we’re due to switch you on.
To set up your BT Hub:
- Plug the Openreach cable (red end) into the Port/LAN1 socket of your Openreach modem
- Connect the other end to the red WAN port on the back of your BT Hub
Find out more about your BT Hub >
Read more about buttons and sockets on the Openreach modem >
There are various ways that Openreach can connect your Fibre to the Home service depending on what's available for your property.
When you place your order we'll let you know exactly what will happen.
The external work may have already been completed to your house, so all that remains is to complete the fibre installation in your home. You'll need to be at home to let the engineer in. The appointment will last up to four hours.
Depending on the complexity of the installation to your property, Openreach may need you to be there for the whole day (8am to 6pm) while they complete all the necessary work. We'll let you know if your order needs such an appointment when you're placing your order.
Lastly, for the most complex of orders, we may need two stages to install fibre. First we'll do some work outside your property, then complete the installation inside your home.
Stage 1 - External work to bring a fibre cable to your property
This stage may involve a survey.
Reasons why you might need a survey to get Fibre to the Home >
First of all, we'll connect a fibre cable to a small box that we'll fix to your outside wall, close to where your phone line enters your home. We'll drill a small hole in your wall to push the cable through, before covering it tidily with the box.
You don't need to be in for this stage if we can access the outside of your property. Whether you decide to be there or not, the engineer will ring ahead and may knock on your front door.
Your phone and broadband service may stop working briefly during this work, so it's a good idea to have a mobile handy.
If you've got an alarm linked to your phone line, please let your provider know that this work might trigger a false alarm.
Stage 2 - Work to complete the fibre installation in your home
This stage usually happens seven working days after stage one, and you'll need to be at home to let the engineer in. The appointment will last up to four hours.
Your BT Hub should arrive by post two days before your installation date. Please have it ready to hand when the engineer arrives. The engineer will bring the other bit of new equipment you need - an Openreach fibre modem.
The good news is that we should have already run the fibre service into your building and we'll just have to extend it into your flat or apartment. It'll mean just one visit from our installation engineer.
You'll need to be at home to let the engineer in. The appointment will last up to four hours.
Your BT Hub should arrive by post two days before your installation date. Please have it ready to hand when the engineer arrives. The engineer will bring the other bit of new equipment you need - an Openreach fibre modem.
If we need to visit, the engineer will recommend where to put the equipment, but it will speed up your installation if you think about where you want it to go.
Things to bear in mind when considering where's best for your equipment:
- We recommend you connect your computer using wires to get the best speeds
- The Hub and the Openreach fibre modem need to be next to each other, and both need a power socket
- The Openreach fibre modem needs to be wall mounted, and can't be moved once it's installed
- It's good to have the equipment close to your TV to make the most of broadband TV services. Or in the room next to your main computer
- We can use a 30m extension cable, but it can only go along walls - not under carpets or floors - so please move any furniture that's in the way
Before leaving, the engineer will reconnect one of your computers to demonstrate that it's working OK. The engineer will also help you install the set-up disk on your computer. They'll leave you with this disk so that you can install the software on any other computers you've got.
If you have EE TV, the engineer will reconnect your box, but your service won’t be live until the next day (you'll still be able to use Freeview). You'll need to reconnect any other devices such as laptops and wireless printers yourself.