It's easy changing your broadband provider between Shell Energy and Virgin Media. Find out how in our step-by-step guide.
Whether you're changing your broadband provider from Shell Energy to Virgin Media, or from Virgin Media to Shell Energy, it's a straightforward process. Start by letting us know in which direction you'd like to change your provider:
Are you switching from Shell Energy to Virgin Media, or from Virgin Media to Shell Energy?
You can follow the instructions below if you're switching from Shell Energy to Virgin Media Broadband.
Are you switching from Virgin Media to Shell Energy instead? Tap for instructions.
Step 1: Check your Shell Energy cancellation fee
To start with, check whether a cancellation fee will apply for ending your Shell Energy broadband service.
If you’re already outside the minimum term of your contract with Shell Energy, there will be no cancellation fees for ending your Shell Energy broadband service. You’ll simply pay for your usage of the Shell Energy broadband service up until the date that the service is cancelled.
If you’re still within the minimum term of your contract with Shell Energy (i.e. the initial 12 months, 18 months or 24 months you signed up for), an early exit fee will apply for ending your Shell Energy broadband service. This cancellation fee is plan-dependent and is between £6.50 and £18.50 per month. You may also need to pay a £15 cease charge when you end your Shell Energy Broadband service. You can get a quote for what this exit fee will be by calling Shell Energy customer services on 0330 094 5801. Alternatively, there’s more information on how to calculate it within our guide to cancelling Shell Energy.
If you have other services from Shell Energy like electricity and gas, these are separate from your Shell Energy broadband service. You’ll need to contact Shell Energy separately if you’d like to cancel these services at the same time.
Step 2: Order your Virgin Media Broadband service
To progress with your broadband switch from Shell Energy 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:
At present, Virgin Media offers a range of home broadband plans including the following:
| Service | Broadband | Television | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|
 M125 Fibre Broadband Only | 132Mbps average download | No TV | £26.50/month for 18 months |
M50 Fibre Broadband + Weekend Calls | 54Mbps average download | No TV | £28/month for 18 months |
Big Bundle | 132Mbps average download | 100+ channels Mixit TV | £29.99/month for 18 months |
M250 Fibre Broadband Only | 264Mbps average download | No TV | £30.50/month for 18 months |
M350 Fibre Broadband Only | 362Mbps average download | No TV | £34.50/month for 18 months |
Big Bundle + Drama & Docs | 264Mbps average download |  Mixit TV + Drama Pick | £37.99/month for 18 months |
M500 Fibre Broadband Only | 516Mbps average download | No TV | £38.50/month for 18 months |
Gig1 Fibre Broadband Only | 1000Mbps average download | No TV | £45/month for 18 months |
Bigger Bundle + Movies | 132Mbps average download |  Maxit TV + Sky Cinema | £62/month for 18 months |
Bigger + Sports | 516Mbps average download |   Maxit TV + Sky Sports | £65/month for 18 months |
Biggest TV Bundle | 132Mbps average download |  Maxit TV + Sky Sports + Sky Cinema + Netflix | £87/month for 18 months |
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 Shell Energy 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 Shell Energy to cancel your old home broadband service. If you forget to contact Shell Energy, your old Shell Energy 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 Shell Energy 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 Shell Energy.
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 Shell Energy router
Once your Virgin Media broadband service goes live, you should ensure your old Shell Energy broadband service has been cancelled. You’ll receive a final bill from Shell Energy following the cancellation, which will reflect your usage of their service up until cancellation.
After the cancellation of your Shell Energy Broadband service, you’ll need to return your old router to Shell. If you don’t return your router at the end of your contract, an additional charge of £35 will be added to your final bill.
Start your switch from Shell Energy to Virgin Media →
More Information
Please see the Virgin Media website for more information about switching to their broadband service.
You can follow the instructions below if you're switching from Virgin Media to Shell Energy Broadband.
Are you switching from Shell Energy to Virgin Media instead? Tap for instructions.
Step 1: Check your Virgin Media cancellation fee
To start with, check whether a cancellation fee will apply for ending your Virgin Media broadband service.
If you’re already outside the minimum term of your contract with Virgin Media, there will be no cancellation fees for ending your Virgin Media broadband service. You’ll simply pay for your usage of the Virgin Media broadband service up until the date that the service is cancelled.
If you’re still within the minimum term of your contract with Virgin Media (i.e. the initial 12 months, 18 months or 24 months you signed up for), an early exit fee will apply for ending your Virgin Media broadband service. This early cancellation fee will depend on your Virgin Media plan and what products you have. However, you can expect it to be in the region of £30.54 to £50.46 per remaining month on your contract (capped at a maximum of £240 across all of your Virgin Media products). You can get a quote for what this exit fee will be by calling Virgin Media customer services on 0345 454 1111. Alternatively, there’s more information on how to calculate it within our guide to cancelling Virgin Media.
If you’re unsure when your Virgin Media service comes to an end, log in to your Virgin Media online account and go to My Bills followed by View Contract. Alternatively, this information should also be listed on your bills from Virgin Media.
If you also want to cancel other Virgin Media services like TV and mobile, you should tell them you’d like to do this when talking to them on the phone.
Step 2: Order your Shell Energy Broadband service
To progress with your broadband switch from Virgin Media to Shell Energy, go to Shell Energy’s website to order your new Shell Energy broadband service.
For more information, select the type of broadband service you're planning to switch to on Shell Energy:
At present, Shell Energy offers a range of home broadband plans including the following:
| Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Fast Broadband | 11Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £18.99/month with 1 months free |
Superfast Fibre | 35Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £21.99/month with 1 months free |
Superfast Fibre Plus | 63Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £23.99/month with 1 months free |
Full Fibre 100 | 100Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £31.99/month with £100 reward card |
Full Fibre 200 | 200Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £34.99/month with £125 reward card |
Full Fibre 300 | 300Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £38.99/month with £150 reward card |
Ultrafast Fibre | 140Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £41.99/month |
Full Fibre 500 | 500Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £41.99/month with £175 reward card |
Full Fibre 900 | 900Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £45.99/month with £175 reward card |
Ultrafast Fibre Plus | 290Mbps download | 18 month contract | £0 | £46.99/month |
See all Shell Energy Broadband Deals →
During the online order process, Shell Energy 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. Shell Energy 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 Virgin Media broadband service so it ends on the date your new Shell Energy 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 Shell Energy. As long as you do this, Shell Energy will arrange for your phone number to be moved over to their service.
Once you've ordered your service from Shell Energy, remember to contact Virgin Media to cancel your old home broadband service. If you forget to contact Virgin Media, your old Virgin Media 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 Technicolor router on the go-live date
In advance of your broadband service switching over, Shell Energy will send you a new Technicolor router through the post.
On the go-live date for your Shell Energy 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 Technicolor router. There'll be instructions inside the package on how you can set up the new Technicolor router.
Your new Technicolor router 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 Virgin Media router, you'll therefore need to sign in again to the Wi-Fi network using the new details provided by Shell Energy. 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 Technicolor router administration screen to change the Wi-Fi network details back to what you had before on Virgin Media.
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 Technicolor router.
Step 4: Return or recycle your old Virgin Media router
Once your Shell Energy broadband service goes live, you should ensure your old Virgin Media broadband service has been cancelled. You’ll receive a final bill from Virgin Media following the cancellation, which will reflect your usage of their service up until cancellation.
Once you’ve changed your broadband service to Shell Energy, you’ll need to return your old Virgin Media equipment. This inclues your Virgin Media Hub, along with your Virgin TV set-top box if you have one.
If you’re using a Virgin Media email address, this will be closed 90 days after you cancel your Virgin Media broadband service. It isn’t possible to keep your email address after cancelling your service. Email addresses provided by Virgin Media may end in @virginmedia.com, @blueyonder.co.uk, @ntlworld.com or @virgin.net.
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 Virgin Media to Shell Energy →
More Information
Please see the Shell Energy website for more information about switching to their broadband service.
Alternatively, for further information, read our in-depth guides to switching broadband provider or cancelling your home broadband service in the UK.
Andy said:
I moved from BT to Vodafone. I have a high end Asus modem/router. the linespeed is great both as reported by router and when device attached by Lan Cable. yet the WiFi speed now way down about 1/3 to 1/2 of linespeed. yet same hardware as with bt when drop was 10% at most.
How can this be?
Nik said:
hi Ken, THANK YOU SO MUCH! this little nugget of info is going to save me so much time: “Alternatively, if it’s too much hassle setting up Wi-Fi again on all of your devices, you can log in to BT Smart Hub administration screen to change the Wi-Fi network details back to what you had before on Plusnet”.
I’ve just switched from plusnet to BT and was googling possibilities of daisy chaining my old router to the new 1 when it arrives, as i have a whole smart home set up. Due to being disabled the smart home is a NEED but an utter pain in the backside to have to re set up. normally id bite the bullet and just do it, but health issues are having a flare at the moment so finding out that i can just “clone” my existing details on the new router is amazing news!
Anne said:
Hi, I hope you can help me. I have a BT home hub 2 broadband and would like to move to NOW broadband. Would I need an engineer, or could this be done remotely with us just connecting a NOW router? Thank you
Ken replied:
Hi Anne,
Thanks for your comment. In the vast majority of cases, yes, this will be done remotely for you and you’ll simply need to plug in your new NOW router on the day the service switches over 🙂
Ken