Broadband service gaps: What really happens on switching day

Dan Howdle • December 1st, 2025

Switching broadband should be straightforward – your old provider switches you off, your new one switches you on, with no gaps. But the reality is that handovers aren’t perfectly seamless, and most of us will experience some kind of service gap on the day. It might be brief, or it might last several hours, but it almost never feels as smooth as providers want you to believe.

And it isn't usually because something's gone wrong either. Different networks, installation requirements and the timing of engineer visits can all affect how the day itself plays out. The key is understanding what actually happens behind the scenes so you can plan around it, temper expectations, and be as prepared as you reasonably can be.

What actually happens on switching day

Behind the scenes, switching day is a bit of a dance between your old provider, your new provider and the network provider (most providers are on Openreach, Virgin Media and some 'altnets' have their own networks). One order tells the old line to switch off, another tells the new line to switch on – couldn't be simpler, right?

In practice though, those orders don’t always fire at the exact same moment. Your old service might switch off in the morning and the new one activated later in the day, an engineer may be delayed getting to you because of other jobs dragging on, or there may be complications at your own property. Ofcom’s rules on one-touch switching say any loss of service during a switch should not exceed one working day, but that still leaves a bit of a chasm, potentially.

Same day therefore does not mean zero downtime for most people. On a smooth Openreach-to-Openreach switch (BT to Sky, say), you might only be down for a few minutes while the line is being reconfigured. When you move between different networks, or change technology at the same time (switching from Standard Fibre to Full Fibre), a gap of a few hours is much more likely.

Here’s a rough, estimated view of what you can expect with the major UK providers on switching day, depending on whether you’re staying on the same network or moving to a different one.

*Estimated typical downtime based on Ofcom rules and provider guidance. Individual experiences can vary more to the top end of the timescale where a new Full Fibre lines is required.

Case study: A real-world Virgin Media installation

Here’s a real example from our own experience of switching to Virgin Media at a property that had never been connected to Virgin before. We're outlining it here not because it's the norm – far from it – but because it shows just how far the process can drift from the smooth, same-day setup providers often talk up.

• Pre-install work (something Virgin Media themselves say nothing at all about till you're facing it) was a two-week wait, including bringing new cabling from nearby telegraph poles and installing a breakout box on the property
• The final installation couldn’t be booked until the pre-install was finished, adding in this case another two-week wait
• On installation day, routing the cable to the correct entry point took around three hours due to the size and layout of the house, and the fact the engineer didn't have a long enough cable in his van and had to fetch a new one
• This was an unusual case, but it shows that 'quick setup' promises quickly fall apart when a provider has anything tricky to deal with
• For homes that have never had Full Fibre, or any new network before, wait time can be weeks, and downtime can be up to half a day

This is far from the norm, but we put this here as a reminder that switching to a provider where the network is new or you're getting a Full Fibre line for the first time can be far more complicated and time-consuming than many providers suggest.

Potential delays

Even when a switch looks simple on paper, a handful of behind-the-scenes issues can knock it all out of whack. These aren’t problems you’ll see other comparison sites or providers being particularly honest about, but they’re very real, and why, sometimes, a smooth same-day switchover on paper can become a multi-day outage.

Some delays can even come down to conflicting orders, engineering bottlenecks or mismatches in the databases used to identify your property. The switch does, after all, require competing companies to work together. None of that's your fault, and such delays aren't obvious until they happen. But understanding them goes a long way toward explaining why switching day isn’t always as seamless as it should be.

Engineer availability and missed appointments

Even on Openreach, where most providers share the same engineering workforce, appointment slots can be scarce. Demand is usually high, and sometimes extremely high, cancellations happen, and a single missed appointment can push your installation back by days or even weeks. Providers rarely volunteer this information, but it’s one of the most common causes of switching delays.

Cease orders and takeover conflicts

When you switch broadband, one provider issues a 'cease order' and the new one issues a 'takeover order'. If the timings don’t line up, or if one provider drags its heels, your existing service may stop before the new one is ready to start. It’s a coordination problem that shouldn’t happen but often does, leaving you with an unexpected service gap.

Address database errors

Rarer, but this still happens from time to time. For Full Fibre installations, your address must match the national databases that tracks installed fibre equipment, specifically the 'ONT' (a small breakout box inside your home). If the records are wrong, missing or duplicated, your new provider may not be able to activate your service. Fixing these mismatches can take days, and such problems are widely reported.

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How to avoid going offline on switching day

While some downtime is always going to be out of your hands, there’s a lot you can do to minimise it during a switch. A bit of planning is key, and knowing where things typically go wrong can make the difference between a seamless switch and a frustrating day without broadband.

Here are the simplest, most reliable steps to keep your switch as smooth as possible:

• Confirm your activation date in writing and make sure it matches the cease date from your old provider
• Avoid cancelling your current service manually – let your new provider handle the dates and times but do check them yourself
• Choose a same-network switch (Openreach to Openreach) if continuity is essential, as these usually come with less downtime
• Keep a temporary backup option ready – your phone hotspot will be invaluable. O2 has an excellent guide on how to set it up
• Ensure someone is home for any required engineer visits to avoid missed appointments and multi-day delays

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The bottom line

Switching broadband is usually straightforward, but it’s not the perfectly seamless handover providers (and comparison sites) usually imply. Even with the best planning, there can be service gaps, especially when moving between networks or when activation and cease orders don’t line up cleanly behind the scenes.

The key is to know what to expect and prepare. If you understand the risks, check your dates carefully and keep a simple backup option ready, switching day is far more likely to be a mild inconvenience than a major disruption, but be aware that major waits do happen.

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