Switching Between BT & Virgin Media Broadband: Step-By-Step Guide

You can follow the instructions below if you're switching from BT to Virgin Media Broadband.

Are you switching from Virgin Media to BT instead? Tap for instructions.

Step 1: Check your BT cancellation fee

To start with, check whether a cancellation fee will apply for ending your BT broadband service.

If you’re already outside the minimum term of your contract with BT, there will be no cancellation fees for ending your BT broadband service. You’ll simply pay for your usage of the BT broadband service up until the date that the service is cancelled.

If you’re still within the minimum term of your contract with BT (i.e. the initial 12 months, 18 months or 24 months you signed up for), an early exit fee will apply for ending your BT broadband service. This is typically 82.5% of the remaining monthly charges for the rest of your contract. You can get a quote for what this exit fee will be by calling BT customer services on 0800 800 150. Alternatively, there’s more information on how to calculate it within our guide to cancelling BT.

If you’re not sure when your current BT broadband contract comes to an end, you can check by logging in to My BT and going to the My orders section. You’ll find the contract end date within the terms of your previously signed BT Broadband contract.

If you have a BT TV subscription, this will be cancelled automatically along with your BT Broadband service. Meanwhile, if you have a BT Mobile plan, you can keep this but you’ll lose the £5 monthly discount for being a BT Broadband customer.

Step 2: Order your Virgin Media Broadband service

To progress with your broadband switch from BT to Virgin Media, go to Virgin Media’s website to order your new Virgin Media broadband service.

For more information, select the type of broadband service you're planning to switch to on Virgin Media:

• Broadband Plans
• Volt Broadband Plans
• TV and Broadband Packages
• Gig1 Fibre Broadband
• Business Broadband

At present, Virgin Media offers a range of home broadband plans including the following:

Service	Broadband & TV	Monthly Cost (will rise each April by RPI inflation plus 3.9%)
M125 fibre broadband only M125 Fibre Broadband	132Mbps average download	£26.99 per month No upfront fee 18 month contract	See deal
M50 fibre broadband + phone M50 Fibre Broadband Weekend Chatter	54Mbps average download	£28.00 per month No upfront fee 18 month contract	See deal
M250 fibre broadband only M250 Fibre Broadband	264Mbps average download	£28.99 per month No upfront fee 18 month contract	See deal
M125 Broadband + Flex M125 Fibre Broadband Virgin Media Stream	132Mbps average download 100+ channels	£31.99 per month plus £10.00 upfront 18 month contract	See deal
M500 fibre broadband only M500 Fibre Broadband	516Mbps average download	£33.99 per month No upfront fee 18 month contract	See deal
M350 fibre broadband only M350 Fibre Broadband	362Mbps average download	£35.99 per month No upfront fee 18 month contract	See deal
Bigger Combo Bundle M250 Fibre Broadband Virgin TV 360 box	264Mbps average download 190+ channels Sky TV channels (exc. Atlantic)	£39.99 per month No upfront fee 18 month contract	See deal
Gig1 fibre broadband only Gig1 Fibre Broadband	1130Mbps average download	£40.99 per month No upfront fee 18 month contract	See deal
Bigger Sports Combo Bundle M500 Fibre Broadband Virgin TV 360 box	516Mbps average download 195+ channels Sky TV channels (exc. Atlantic) Sky Sports channels	£69.99 per month No upfront fee 18 month contract	See deal

See all Virgin Media Broadband Deals →

During the online order process, Virgin Media will give you an expected download speed as well as a minimum guaranteed speed for your service. Both of these will be specific to your address. Virgin Media will also give you a go-live date for your new broadband service. To minimise any overlap in service, you should time the cancellation of your old BT broadband service so it ends on the date your new Virgin Media service starts.

If you'd like to keep your current home phone or landline number, remember to provide this phone number when ordering your broadband package from Virgin Media. As long as you do this, Virgin Media will arrange for your phone number to be moved over to their service. Note that Virgin Media doesn’t always provide a landline with their service so this will only be possible if your package includes a home phone service.

Once you've ordered your service from Virgin Media, remember to contact BT to cancel your old home broadband service. If you forget to contact BT, your old BT broadband service will continue to run and you'll continue paying the bill for both services at the same time.

Step 3: Plug in your Virgin Media Hub on the go-live date

In advance of your broadband service switching over, Virgin Media will send you a new Virgin Media Hub through the post. Most Virgin Media customers will receive a Hub 3 router. Alternatively, you’ll get a Hub 4 if you sign up to Gig1 fibre broadband.

On the go-live date for your Virgin Media broadband service, you can expect your broadband service to stop working for a couple of minutes. When this happens, it'll be time to plug in your new Virgin Media Hub. There'll be instructions inside the package on how you can set up the new Virgin Media Hub.

Your new Virgin Media Hub will initially be configured with a different Wi-Fi network name (SSID) and password. On all of the devices that were previously connected to your BT router, you'll therefore need to sign in again to the Wi-Fi network using the new details provided by Virgin Media. For instance, you may need to log in again on your laptop, tablet, smartphone, smart TV and other smart home devices.

Alternatively, if it's too much hassle setting up Wi-Fi again on all of your devices, you can log in to Virgin Media Hub administration screen to change the Wi-Fi network details back to what you had before on BT.

If you’re using a Wi-Fi repeater or a mesh networking solution such as BT Whole Home Wi-Fi or Google Nest Wi-Fi, you’ll need to set it up again at this point to work with your new Virgin Media Hub.

Step 4: Return or recycle your old BT router

Once your Virgin Media broadband service goes live, you should ensure your old BT broadband service has been cancelled. You’ll receive a final bill from BT following the cancellation, which will reflect your usage of their service up until cancellation.

After the transfer of your service to Virgin Media, you may need to return your old hub to BT:

• If you signed up to BT Broadband after the 13th December 2019, you’ll have 60 days to return your old BT Broadband Hub. A fee of around £50 will be charged if you fail to return it.
• If you signed up to BT Broadband before the 13th December 2019, you can decide what to do with the old hub. You’re encouraged to return it or recycle it if possible to minimise electronic waste.

Alternatively, if you bought your own equipment through BT’s online store, it’s yours to keep and there’s no need to return it.

If you’re still using a BT-provided e-mail address, this will stop working 60 days after you cancel your BT Broadband service. If you’d like to keep it, you’ll need to pay for BT’s Premium Email service which costs £7.50/month for up to 11 email addresses. Email addresses provided by BT end with @btinternet.com, @btopenworld.com or @talk21.com.

Virgin Media also offers an e-mail service for their broadband customers. However, we'd typically recommend signing up for a free email provider instead (such as Gmail or Outlook.com). These free email services aren’t linked to your broadband provider so you can easily change your broadband service again in the future with a lot less hassle.

Start your switch from BT to Virgin Media →

More Information

Please see the Virgin Media website for more information about switching to their broadband service.