By BT Halo gives you unbreakable wi-fi, home tech experts, a Smart Hub 2 router, the full fibre promise and double data on BT Mobile.
In the UK, BT’s flagship price plan is now known as BT Halo. Giving you a number of benefits across both BT Broadband and BT Mobile, you can currently choose between BT’s Halo 3 and Halo 3+ plans.
On Halo 3, you’ll get access to home tech experts along with BT’s Keep Connected Promise and their end of contract price promise. You’ll also benefit from double data on all BT Mobile plans and exclusive access to BT’s unlimited data plan.
On Halo 3+, you’ll get everything on the Halo 3 plan with the addition of “unbreakable wi-fi” through Hybrid Connect, Complete Wi-Fi and the Smart Hub 2 router. You’ll also get a free upgrade to BT’s full fibre broadband as soon as it’s available at your address.
In this article, we’ll review the BT Halo service. We’ll start by looking at the BT Halo plans and how the Halo 3 package compares to Halo 3+. We’ll then look at each of the BT Halo features in more detail, before looking at the plans available and at alternatives from other internet providers.
Contents
What is BT Halo?
In the UK, Halo is BT’s flagship price plan. It promises to give you “the UK’s only unbreakable wi-fi connection” along with a number of added benefits across your BT Broadband and BT Mobile plans.
If you’re an existing BT Broadband customer, you might be able to upgrade to Halo 3 from as little as £1 extra per month (this will be more expensive if you want the full Halo 3+ package). Meanwhile, if you’re a new BT Broadband customer, you can get full fibre broadband together with Halo 3+.
At present, BT offers a choice of two different Halo packages: BT Halo 3 and BT Halo 3+. The following table shows a side-by-side comparison of the features available on each one:
| Feature | BT Halo 3 | BT Halo 3+ |
|---|---|---|
| Hybrid Connect | ✘ | ✔ |
| Complete Wi-Fi | ✘ | ✔ |
| Smart Hub 2 | ✘ | ✔ |
| Full Fibre Promise | ✘ | ✔ |
| Home Tech Experts | ✔ | ✔ |
| Keep Connected Promise | ✔ | ✔ |
| Price Promise | ✔ | ✔ |
| Double Data on BT Mobile | ✔ | ✔ |
For more information about each of the features, read on or tap the feature you’d like to learn more about.
Other BT Halo Plans
If you signed up to BT Halo before the 5th February 2021, you may have one of their older packages instead:
- The BT Halo 2 package includes the Smart Hub 2 router, access to Home Tech Experts, the Keep Connected Promise, the Price Promise and Double Data on BT Mobile.
- The BT Halo 1 package (previously known as BT Plus) gives you access to the Keep Connected Promise, the Price Promise and Double Data on BT Mobile.
Both BT Halo 2 and BT Halo 1 also included the promise of customer support based in the UK or Ireland. However, this is now available as a standard feature to all BT customers, as all of their customer support teams have been brought back as of January 2020.
If you’re signing up to a BT business broadband plan instead, things will work a little differently with BT’s Halo for Business. Instead of getting the regular BT Halo benefits for consumers, you’ll get added business-orientated features such as 4G Assure, business IT support and a static IP address.
BT Halo Features
In the following section, we’ll look at each of the BT Halo features in more detail.
Hybrid Connect
If you choose a Halo 3+ package, you’ll get Hybrid Connect included in your plan. This gives you ‘unbreakable home wi-fi’ with a backup for your fibre broadband connection, powered by EE’s 4G network.
The Hybrid Connect device works with your BT Smart Hub 2 router. Should a fault be detected with your fibre broadband connection, the Hybrid Connect backup will kick in automatically in less than 90 seconds. This keeps all of your devices connected to the internet without the need to change Wi-Fi networks or the need to sign in again from your other devices. You can also use Hybrid Connect when you’re moving home to get online before your fibre broadband service is installed.
Hybrid Connect is only included on Halo 3+ plans. However, you can choose to add it to any BT Broadband plan for an extra £7/month on a standalone basis.
Complete Wi-Fi
On BT Halo 3+ plans, you’ll also get BT’s Complete Wi-Fi service included. This gives you a guaranteed Wi-Fi signal in every room of your home with a minimum download speed of 10Mbps.
Complete Wi-Fi is provided using mesh networking technology and consists of a Smart Hub 2 router and up to 3 Wi-Fi Discs from BT. If you’re unable to get the minimum speed of at least 10Mbps in every room of your home, you can get £100 back from the Complete Wi-Fi Guarantee.
The Complete Wi-Fi service isn’t included on BT Halo 3, BT Halo 2 or BT Halo 1 plans. However, you can add it on a standalone basis to any BT Broadband plan for an extra £10/month. See our BT Complete Wi-Fi review for more information.
Smart Hub 2 Router
If you have BT’s Halo 3, Halo 3+ or Halo 2 plan, you’ll receive a Smart Hub 2 router instead of BT’s regular BT Smart Hub.
The Smart Hub 2 router has improved Wi-Fi performance compared to the original Smart Hub. It also supports BT’s Wi-Fi Controls feature which allows you to pause the internet for certain devices at specific times of the day (e.g. pausing the internet for your children during mealtimes or after bedtime).
As an alternative to upgrading to Halo, you can also buy the Smart Hub 2 on a standalone basis for £100. Alternatively, customers signing up for BT’s Hybrid Connect or Complete Wi-Fi service will also receive a Smart Hub 2 instead of the regular Smart Hub router.
The Smart Hub 2 is not available on BT Halo 1 (previously known as BT Plus).
Full Fibre Promise
At present, BT’s full fibre broadband service is available in around 4 million UK homes. This is where BT’s fibre optic cable goes all the way into your home using fibre-to-the-premises (FTTP) technology. This differs from regular fibre broadband, where the fibre optic connection stops at a cabinet near your home (this is known as fibre-to-the-cabinet or FTTC broadband).
Compared to regular fibre broadband, the benefit of FTTP is it gives you faster download speeds of up to 900Mbps. You’ll also benefit from more capacity and a service that’s more reliable than traditional fibre broadband.
BT is currently rolling out full fibre broadband across the UK, with a further 3.2 million homes due to get it by the mid-2020s. If you’re a BT Halo 3+ customer, you’ll get an upgrade to Full Fibre 100 as soon as it’s available where you live. This will be available at no extra cost and with no need to sign up for a new contract.
Home Tech Experts
On the Halo 3, Halo 3+ and Halo 2 plans, you’ll have access to home tech experts provided by Qube and Enjoy. The experts will come to visit you in your home in three situations, helping with the set-up of your BT products:
- When you join BT Broadband with Halo, or when you upgrade to a Halo plan.
- When you add certain products from BT, such as BT TV and BT Complete Wi-Fi.
- Every 12 months when you have your annual BT Home Health Check. The tech expert will visit your home to make sure the BT products are set up correctly and to see whether improvements can be made (e.g. repositioning your router or improving your internal wiring).
In some cases, a home tech expert may also be sent out to you if there’s an issue with your home broadband service.
Appointment slots with home tech experts are available 7 days per week and you’ll be given a two-hour window to minimise any waiting.
Access to Home Tech Experts is not available on BT Halo 1 (previously known as BT Plus).
Keep Connected Promise
On all BT Halo plans, you’ll benefit from the keep connected promise. This will keep you connected when your broadband service goes down or when you’re moving home and waiting for your broadband service to be transferred.
Depending on which plan you have, the Keep Connected Promise can either work through your Hybrid Connect or a 4G Mini Hub:
- On BT Halo 3+, the Keep Connected Promise is provided by your Hybrid Connect device. This will kick in automatically if there’s a fault with your fibre broadband service so it isn’t necessary to request a 4G Mini Hub.
- On BT’s Halo 3, Halo 2 and Halo 1 plans, the Keep Connected Promise is provided by a 4G Mini Hub. This is a pocket-sized mobile broadband dongle, allowing you to connect up to 20 devices to the internet through a 4G mobile broadband connection. When required, the 4G Mini Hub will be sent out to you free of charge through the post, normally arriving on the next day. You’ll get unlimited data for use on the 4G Mini Hub until your regular fibre broadband service is fixed.
If you’re a BT Mobile customer, you’ll also receive unlimited data on all of your BT Mobile SIM cards until the problem is resolved. This will be applied to your account within one hour of the fault being reported.
Price Promise
At the end of your BT Broadband contract, there’s normally an £8/month price increase unless you re-contract onto a new plan (i.e. signing up for another 24 months).
For customers with BT Halo, this £8/month increase doesn’t apply. Instead, you’ll benefit from the price promise which keeps your bill at the same level without the £8/month increase. When you re-contract onto a new plan, BT says you’ll never pay more than a new customer would.
It’s important to note that this BT Halo price promise only applies to the £8/month increase at the end of your contract. It doesn’t affect the annual price increase of CPI+3.9% that BT normally applies to their broadband and mobile bills each year.
Double Data on BT Mobile
As a BT Halo customer, you’ll get double data on all SIM cards and handsets on contract from BT Mobile. In addition, you’ll be able to access an exclusive BT Mobile unlimited data SIM card which gives you unlimited data with 5G from . This will also give you unlimited UK calls from your BT landline.
The following 24-month SIM cards are available on BT Mobile if you’re a BT Halo customer:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No price plans could be found matching this criteria. | ||||
For extra flexibility, you can choose a 12-month contract instead. Plans start from £7/month on a 12-month contract:
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No price plans could be found matching this criteria. | ||||
For more information, see the BT Mobile website or read our full BT Mobile review.
BT Halo Plans
Broadband Plans
If you’re an existing BT Broadband customer, you can upgrade to a BT Halo price plan from £1/month (the price will vary depending on your plan, and whether you want Halo 3 or Halo 3+). When you upgrade to Halo, you’ll normally need to re-contract for another 24 months.
If you’re not already a BT Broadband customer, you can see a list of price plans here with BT Halo included. At the time of writing, you can get BT’s full fibre broadband with Halo 3+ from £69.99/month.
See BT Broadband Plans with BT Halo →
Mobile Plans
As a BT Halo customer, you’ll have access to exclusive BT Mobile deals including unlimited data from :
| Network | Minutes | Texts | Data | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No price plans could be found matching this criteria. | ||||
If you choose a BT Mobile price plan costing £15/month or more, you’ll get inclusive access to the BT Sport app on your mobile phone.
The £20/month unlimited data plan on BT Mobile also give you unlimited UK calls on your BT landline (worth £12/month). This is an exclusive deal for customers with BT Halo broadband.
Alternatives
As a cheaper alternative to BT Halo, you can also consider the following fibre broadband plans from £23/month:
| Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price (may rise during contract) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Super Fibre | 63Mbps download | 12 month contract | £10 | £23/month |
 Fibre | 66Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £24.99/month |
 Fibre 2 | 67Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £25/month |
 Superfast Fibre Plus | 67Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £25.99/month |
 Sky Superfast | 61Mbps download | 18 month contract | £5 | £27/month |
 Fibre 65 | 67Mbps download | 18 month contract | £15 | £31/month |
Fibre 2 | 67Mbps download | 24 month contract | £31.99 | £36.99/month with £50 reward card |
 EE Fibre 67 | 67Mbps download | 24 month contract | £31.99 | £36.99/month |
Alternatively, if you’d like added benefits on your package, there are numerous other providers also offering similar benefits to BT Halo:
Sky Broadband Boost (£5/month): For an extra £5/month on top of the cost of any Sky Broadband plan, you can get a Wi-Fi Guarantee of 3Mbps in every room of your home (similar to BT’s Complete Wi-Fi service). You’ll also get the Sky Broadband Buddy parental controls app, free engineer visits from the Sky Broadband Tech Team and 2GB of mobile data for broadband outages (available only to Sky Mobile customers).- Virgin Media Oomph: On Virgin Media’s Oomph bundles, you’ll get unlimited data on all of your Virgin Mobile SIM cards should there be a fault with your home broadband service.
- EE Smart Wi-Fi (£10/month): On EE broadband, you can add the Smart Wi-Fi service for an extra £10/month. This gives you an EE Smart Router (based on the BT Smart Hub 2) and a Wi-Fi Disc to boost Wi-Fi in your home (similar to BT Complete Wi-Fi). You’ll also get a 4GEE WiFi Mini hotspot with the promise of 250GB of mobile data when your broadband service goes down.
Switching to BT Broadband
If you’re currently using another broadband provider, it’s a straightforward process to switch to BT Broadband with BT Halo.
Start by ordering your new BT Broadband plan with Halo. When you do this, you’ll be given the option to keep your current home phone or landline number during the online order process.
Once you’ve ordered your BT Broadband service, you’ll be given a switchover date which will normally be in around 2 to 3 weeks time.
In advance of the service switching over, BT will send you a Smart Hub 2 router. You’ll need this to set up your service once you’ve switched over. In the meantime, if you have the Hybrid Connect device from BT Halo 3+, you can use this to get online even before your BT fibre broadband service goes live.
For a step-by-step guide on switching to BT Broadband, please select your current broadband provider from the drop-down menu below:
Switch to BT Broadband
Your step-by-step guide to switching
For more information, see our full guide to switching broadband provider in the UK.
If you’re also switching your mobile phone service over to BT Mobile, a different process applies for switching your service and keeping your current phone number.
Frequently Asked Questions
| What is BT Halo 3? | BT Halo is BT’s flagship fibre broadband service. If you have the latest BT Halo 3+ package, you’ll get “unbreakable wi-fi” through Hybrid Connect, Complete Wi-Fi and the Smart Hub 2 router. You’ll also get a free upgrade to BT’s full fibre broadband when it becomes available at your address.
Customers with BT Halo 3 will also get the following benefits as standard:
|
|---|---|
| Is BT Halo worth it? | According to BT, their Halo 3+ package includes services that are worth £468 over a 24 month contract. Whether this is a worthwhile really depends on how much you’d use the inclusive services like Hybrid Connect and Complete Wi-Fi.
If you like, there are cheaper alternatives available. For example, Vodafone’s Pro Broadband service starts from £37 per month and comes with a very similar range of features. Alternatively, you can get other home broadband services without the added benefits for as little as £23/month. |
| What are the BT Mobile benefits with BT Halo? | If you’re a BT Halo customer, you’ll get double data on all BT Mobile plans. In addition, you’ll have access to an exclusive unlimited data SIM card for . This also includes unlimited UK calls on your BT landline and access to the BT Sport app. |
| What broadband speeds will I get with BT Halo? | You’ll get the following download speeds and upload speeds on BT Halo:
For more information, see our guide to BT’s fibre broadband plans. |
| How much does BT Halo cost? | If you’re an existing BT Broadband customer, you can upgrade to a BT Halo price plan from £1/month.
If you’re not an existing BT Broadband customer, you can see a list of price plans with BT Halo included. At the time of writing, BT’s full fibre broadband is available with Halo 3+ from £69.99/month. |
More Information
For more information about BT Halo, please see the official BT website. You can also read our full BT Broadband review and our BT Mobile review.
george arthur hamilton said:
BT total broadband is not what it says. i have installed their 900 total broadband and have never been able to get more than 400/450 Mbps download speed NEVER 900.
Complained to them and was told that the speed into the router may be 900 but that my soeed was acceptable to them ….. But it is not acceptable to me so if you want the 900 speed good luck…
They should be more open with their advertising and explain the problems that should be expected.
.
D Clark said:
The one thing which is not mentioned anywhere, is your old phones will not work with this.
That is all very well, except I have four phones in various parts of the house, as my wife is disabled and would never get to just one phone. On top of all that, there is no answer phone, which again because of above is essential.
So if you are like me, you will have to renew all your phones and purchase and answer phone.
So I am not impressed and am asking for extra phones, otherwise they can uninstall it all.
Paul Davies replied:
I changed to smart hub 2 both plug in phones don’t work, so I complained to bt and got 2 free WiFi phones
Dave Clark replied:
Paul, I did the same, and received three phones to cover my supposedly reductant ones.
However, in the meantime, I researched further. On the back of the router, there is a phone connection, in green. I connected my old phones to this and all seems to be working OK.
I then also connected the phone provided and this works as well. So now I have all my own old phones plus the new one from BT. So either the information given is incorrect or there is a catch, which I am still waiting to find out.
Tony Game said:
I’m paying £61.50 a month for Halo 3, looking around on the web that seems to be a little expensive.
Charles Robertson said:
I have just signed up to Halo 3+ Full Fibre 100, from Full Fibre 100. The Halo 3+ is one pound a month, cheaper, which is strange, but I was happy to upgrade.
The reason I upgraded, is not for the hybrid connect feature, but for the 3 free mesh discs. We only get 3G around here, so the hybrid connect part would be useless?
I presume that I don’t need to set up the EE router?
Ian Aitken-Kemp said:
Upgraded to Halo 3. Getting 500mbps into the router, according to BT engineer check but only approx 110 at my PC, using an ethernet cable. Wasted my money upgrading. Apparently need to buy a new computer !
Beth said:
Had to bin 3 phones plus answering machine to get 1 more complicated phone. Thought I was just upgrading my wifi so was shocked to have to replace my phones. Would like to go back to old system but is this possible?
D Clark replied:
Beth, if you see my post today. I am in the same situation, there was no indication that my old phones would work with this. Otherwise, I would not have gone for it.
I have demanded extra phones or they can uninstall the lot.
agnes mcmillan said:
So what happens when I have power outage. Does ee take over?.
Ken replied:
Hi Agnes,
Sadly, the Hybrid Connect will also require a power supply so this won’t help you in case of a power outage. Instead, you’ll need something like a uninterruptible power supply (UPS) or a battery backup unit (BBU) if you want to protect against power outages.
Ken
Eileen said:
Would this help in a rural area where we don’t yet have a fibre service?
Ken replied:
Hi Eileen,
Sadly, not. It’s still a fibre-based service so you won’t be able to get BT Halo unless you’re able to get fibre broadband.
Hope this helps,
Ken
Putney London said:
I have truly rubbish wifi through BT. Only copper wiring is available in my area. My internet is rubbish every morning, dropping me out of meetings between 9am and 11 – and then streaming netfix or amazon in the evening it often drops out for quite a while.
BT are suggesting that I move to Halo 3+ with an uplift in monthly fee of 25%. What I am not sure of is if this is going to help with my terrible internet – surely this can’t be improved until they upgrade the infrastructure in the area? everyone in my street complains about the wifi and some have switched to a 5g cube instead.
Do you have any idea of BT’s system would work for me?
Thanks
Ken replied:
Hi Putney,
Thanks for your comment. Unfortunately, the Halo service doesn’t change your underlying fibre broadband connection so you’ll experience the exact same issues even if you move to a Halo plan. However, there might be a little bit of benefit from the Hybrid Connect feature on Halo as this will switch you over automatically to 4G if there’s a disruption to your fibre broadband connection.
Hope this helps,
Ken
D Clark replied:
Most of your problem is due to copper cable. I have my PC connected via ethernet cable.
Lynda Robinson said:
If I upgrade to halo 3 with digital voice will I have to have a new phone number
Ken replied:
Hi Lynda,
Thanks for your comment. I believe your phone number should be moved over to the Digital Voice service for you, though it’s worth making sure you’ve chosen the option to keep your number!
Ken
J Lamb said:
BT PRICE PROMISE: I spoke with a BT representative about the BT Price Promise (“When renewing never pay more than new customers”). I asked them to give me the new customer contract pricing for stepping up from Halo 1 to a Halo 3 package, complete with 2x SIM cards. For a new customer, the package was £9.82 LESS per Month than for me to upgrade from my expired plan. In addition, existing customers have to pay a one-off £9.99 set-up fee (it’s free for new customers). BT rep said the BT Price Promise ONLY applies if existing customers keeping the exact same plan — the Price Promise does NOT apply to switching to a different Halo package! To my knowledge, the fine print doesn’t say that; go figure.
D Clark replied:
I am also looking into this. As I can gather, the Government introduced a new law last month, in which these sort of offers are not allowed.
Mrs I Hanson said:
As a senior surfer, I really hate it when these so-called improvements are forced upon me. And BT’s ‘warning letter’ & email come over as more like a threat., as if I’ve only a few days to decide OR ELSE…
Price is much increased, of course–for all the bells & whistles I neither need nor want (& I’ve only FTTC so ‘broadband speed’ is an oxymoron). Heaven help all the customers with reduced income during lockdown. Last thing we need.
And I hate the awful big Hub that came with fibre upgrade last year (whatever version it is)–I have to turn its face to the wall to plug everything in & that suits me just fine.
J S Matthews said:
Hi Ken,
I have Halo 1, ct ends March. Currently pay £35.94, BT want £47.94 for recommended Halo 2. Recently had a new hub, because constantly buffering when streaming tv, I don’t believe my service is better, but has been getting worse for months. Upgrade price seems really expensive compared to vodafone offer of £21 for 63Mbps as existing mob user. I stream telly on TV / Ipad & browse internet on laptop / Ipad & mobile. I am the only user in the home. What would you recommend?
Hywel Davies said:
I’m currently on Halo 1 but due to recent broadband issues was sent out a new home hub and extra discs. Having issues signing into Home hub manager now so can’t set up new discs. Seriously considering changing provider.
Steve Thorne said:
Not as good as BT infinity 1 which I had previously. All my devices around the house are much slower. Will be cancelling my order and going back to Infinity 1.
Steve said:
I have over 20 smart bulbs, 10 smart plug sockets, ring doorbell, 5 cameras, 3 smart televisons, harmony hub plus other stuff. To disconnect them all and then reconnect would probably take a whole day or longer as a lot of the bulbs take half a dozen attempts. To alleviate that I changed the SSID and password to the same as my Hub one so most things are now connecting without the hassle of re-installing. Problem is on the hub one the SSID names for 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz were slightly different (there was a -5 added to the 5Ghz one), on the two I can’t seem to find a way of giving the 5Ghz a separate name. I’ve temporarily disabled the 5Ghz signal to force all my smart equipment on to the 2.4Ghz signal but it would be nice to have the 5Ghz option available (with a different SSID. Anyone know if that’s possible?
Ken replied:
Hi Steve,
Thanks for your comment. Sadly, I believe the ability to have a separate Wi-Fi SSID/network name for 2.4GHz and 5GHz was removed in the Smart Hub 2 🙁 Would definitely welcome any further comments/feedback however, if anyone has found a way.
Ken
Roger said:
quickinstallation but no discs sent to have broadband connected throughout house as promised. Left to attach my laptops to new router. No security advice so not the full works really. Spoke to very helpful Lady in Newcastle who arranged disc to be send and another tech visit. I await with anticipation!
James Booker said:
Halo 2
I just purchase waste of money
If the service wires are copper to the house, then the service is just about the same
Don’t be foolish like me 24 months to punish.
Can’t connect to ring devices .
Rich replied:
14 day cooling-off period. cancel it