Vodafone offers 4G Broadband Backup on their Pro Broadband plans. It gives you an automatic 4G backup in case your fibre broadband goes down.
In the UK, Vodafone now offers 4G Broadband Backup with all of their Pro Broadband plans. Making use of Vodafone’s hybrid hub technology and 4G network, it provides you with an automatic 4G-based backup for when your fibre broadband service goes down. This means all of your devices will stay connected to the internet without any disruption.
You can get a Vodafone Pro Broadband plan from £34/month with the 4G Broadband Backup service included in the price. You’ll also get Vodafone’s Super WiFi service on Pro Broadband along with a number of other benefits like WiFi Xperts and faster FTTP plans.
In this article, we’ll review Vodafone’s 4G Broadband Backup including what it is, how it works and how you can use it. We’ll also look at how it differs from 4G mobile broadband and the other benefits of signing up to Pro Broadband on Vodafone.
Contents
What is 4G Broadband Backup?
In the UK, 4G Broadband Backup is a new service from Vodafone. Included as standard on all of their Pro Broadband plans, it gives you a more resilient home broadband service by ensuring you’ll stay connected to the internet whatever happens.
With the 4G Broadband Backup service, you’ll get a 4G-based broadband connection to support your fibre broadband connection. Normally, the fibre broadband connection will be the one that’s in use. However, in the event of disruption (e.g. due to a damaged phone line, a fault at the cabinet, or poor weather disrupting your service), the 4G connection will kick in automatically to keep you online. This happens automatically and seamlessly at the hub so all of your devices will stay connected to the internet. As soon as the problem is resolved, it will then switch back to using the fibre broadband connection.
Vodafone’s 4G Broadband Backup service is powered by their 4G mobile network. This offers 99% population coverage across the UK with average download speeds of 23-35Mbps. You can use Vodafone’s online map to see the coverage that’s available where you live.
To start with, you’ll be given a 50GB data allowance to use with 4G Broadband Backup. This should easily cover most broadband disruptions (50GB is equivalent to more than 5 days of typical use as the average household consumes 9GB of data per day on their home broadband service). If additional data is required, you simply need to contact Vodafone’s WiFi Xperts team and they can add additional data at no extra cost as required.
Plans with 4G Broadband Backup
The 4G Broadband Backup service is included on all of Vodafone’s Pro Broadband plans. At present, these start from £34/month.
The following table shows Vodafone’s Pro Broadband plans:
Service | Average Speed | Contract Length | Upfront Price | Monthly Price |
---|---|---|---|---|
![]() Pro Fibre 2 | 67Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £34/month |
![]() Pro Fibre 1 | 38Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £34/month |
![]() Pro Full Fibre 100 | 100Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £42/month |
![]() Pro Full Fibre 200 | 200Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £49/month |
![]() Pro Full Fibre 500 | 500Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £52/month |
![]() Pro Full Fibre 900 | 910Mbps download | 24 month contract | £0 | £58/month |
Check Vodafone Pro Broadband Plans & Speed →
Not all of the Pro Broadband plans may be at available at your address. The most widely available plans are Fibre 1 and Fibre 2, both of which are available in 91% of UK homes. The faster Full Fibre plans are only available in homes with access to full fibre (FTTP) broadband from Vodafone.
You can check to see which of the Pro Broadband plans are available where you live by entering your address on the Vodafone website. You’ll also be given a personalised estimate of the download speeds available where you live.
If you like, you can upgrade to Pro Xtra Broadband for an additional £8/month. With Pro Xtra, you’ll get an Apple TV 4K box for streaming movies and box sets on your TV. You’ll also get anytime phone calls on your landline and no mid-contract price rises.
4G Broadband Backup VS 4G Mobile Broadband
Vodafone’s 4G Broadband Backup is very different from their regular 4G mobile broadband. Although they both use Vodafone’s 4G network, there are three important differences when using the 4G Broadband Backup service:
- 4G Broadband Backup is designed for home usage and is compatible with Super WiFi. With Vodafone’s 4G Broadband Backup, you can continue using the features of your home wi-fi hub, even when the connection switches to 4G. This includes your Super WiFi Boosters. Meanwhile, Vodafone’s 4G mobile broadband works as a separate connection, with the flexibility that you can use it on the go.
- With 4G Broadband Backup, your connection will seamlessly switch between fibre and 4G. There’s no need to manually change between a fibre connection and a 4G connection. This is because Vodafone’s WiFi Hub router does it for you automatically. There’s also no need to manually change Wi-Fi networks or to sign in again to another network on your devices. With 4G mobile broadband, it’s a totally separate connection where you’ll need to sign in separately again.
- With 4G Broadband Backup, there’s no need to have a separate data plan. Your Pro Broadband plan already includes the cost of your 4G Broadband Backup device and any data you’ll use through the service. Furthermore, you can get additional data added at no extra cost as required when you contact a Vodafone WiFi Xpert.
If you want to use 4G mobile broadband on-the-go, you can get Vodafone’s 4G mobile broadband service instead. As a Vodafone mobile broadband customer, you’ll also benefit from a Vodafone Together discount on Pro Broadband.
It isn’t possible to use your 4G Broadband Backup service when you’re away from home.
Other Pro Broadband Features
Alongside Vodafone’s 4G Broadband Backup, there are also a number of other features included on their Pro Broadband plans:
- Super WiFi: All Pro Broadband customers are supplied with a Vodafone Super WiFi Booster (with the ability to get two more boosters at no extra cost if required). The Super WiFi Boosters use mesh networking technology to give you whole home wi-fi connectivity with better speeds and reliability.
- WiFi Guarantee: Vodafone guarantees that you’ll be able to get a WiFi connection in every room of your home with download speeds of at least 10Mbps. If you’re unable to get this, they’ll allow you to cancel the service without incurring any early exit fees.
- WiFi Xperts: If you’re a Pro Broadband customer, you’ll have access to Vodafone’s WiFi Xperts support team. This is a dedicated UK-based team that can help with any issues you have related to your broadband or wi-fi. They’ll also contact you proactively if they find a problem with your connection or setup.
- Access to Ultrafast & Gigafast plans. If full fibre technology (FTTP) is available in your home, you’ll get access to Vodafone’s Ultrafast plans and Gigafast plans when you choose Pro Broadband.
- Faster Fibre Promise. If full fibre technology isn’t yet available where you live, you’ll benefit from the Faster Fibre Promise instead. This gives you an upgrade to FTTP broadband at no extra cost when it becomes available at your address.
- Norton Anti-Virus Security. You’ll get a 12 month subscription to Norton 360 Premium with Pro Broadband. This gives you anti-virus software to use on up to 10 devices at the same time. It also has a number of other security features built-in including a secure VPN and parental controls.
- Vodafone Together Discount. If you’re a Vodafone Pay Monthly mobile customer, you can get a Vodafone Together discount of up to £3 per month on Pro Broadband.
For more information, read our in-depth Vodafone Pro Broadband review.
Switching to Vodafone Broadband
If you’re switching your home broadband provider to Vodafone, it’s easy to do this.
Start by ordering your Vodafone Pro Broadband plan online. When you do this, you’ll be given the option to keep your current phone number. During the online order process, you’ll be given a date for when your broadband service will go live (this will typically be in around 2 weeks time).
Whilst you’re waiting for your new Pro Broadband service to go live, you’ll continue receiving broadband from your old provider. In the meantime, Vodafone will send you a new WiFi Hub in the post. You’ll need to plug this in on the switchover date to complete the transfer of your broadband service to Vodafone.
In most cases, there’s no need to contact your old provider as Vodafone can normally do this for you automatically. The main exception is if you’re a Virgin Media customer. If this is the case, you’ll need to contact Virgin to cancel your old service.
For step-by-step instructions on switching to Vodafone Broadband, please select your current provider from the drop-down menu below:
Switch to Vodafone Broadband
Your step-by-step guide to switching
More Information
For more information about Vodafone’s Pro Broadband and 4G Broadband Backup, see the official Vodafone website. You can also read our full Vodafone Pro Broadband review.
George said:
I switched to Vodafone Pro II Full Fibre 900 with backup 4G ..The SIM that was sent with the order got thrown out by accident, so they sent a new one. When I put it in the 4G device and plug it into the router, the device LED continuously flashes red. I can’t find anything on the website or app about how to activate it. Any ideas Ken?
Andy said:
Yes Vodafone charging you extra to cover them when they mess up, if should be a standard feature of their service, and not charge more because you cannot promise a good service that have outage once a month.
Vince said:
Can you leave the broadband back up dongle in the router all the time?
Ken replied:
Hi Vince,
Thanks for your comment. Yes, the 4G broadband backup dongle is designed to be left in the router 🙂
Ken