once you’re with earth

24 hours a day, seven days a week, answered by a person rather than a recorded menu, and it’s a uk team. no premium rate numbers and no menu maze. 01403 214069, or through the app.

yes. it’s the home telecom app, because earth is part of home telecom, so that’s the right one to download even though the name is different. the earth app page has the download links for both stores. it runs a proper speed test, tells you whether your line is up, shows a known problem in your area, and holds your bill, your payments and your plan.

if your router came from us it should already be linked to your account, so it connects on its own when you log in. if it hasn’t connected, or you’re using a router from a previous provider, you can add it yourself.

download the my home telecom app and register, and once your account setup is done you’ll land on the add your router screen. enter your router’s serial number, which is on the back of the router, and make sure it’s the serial number rather than any other code on the label. then tap "add router now" and we’ll run a few checks in the background.

if we can’t find it that way, which happens more often with routers we didn’t supply, the app asks you to pick your router brand and then shows you step by step how to log into it through a web browser. if your brand isn’t listed, ring us and we’ll help.

the last screen takes a few minutes, usually around five, to confirm everything. if it works the app refreshes and shows your router. if it doesn’t, it’ll prompt you to check the steps and try again.

when your earth router arrives, set that one up instead. it’s the one we monitor, and it’s what the app is built around.

it depends which kind of line you are on. on full fibre your router plugs into the fibre box, the ont, that sits on a wall inside your home. on an older copper line it plugs into your master socket, using the microfilter that came in the box. we tell you which one you have before your go live date.

the guide below covers both, with pictures of the cabling for the zyxel and technicolor routers we supply. it also shows how to check the lights on the ont, and how to use the test socket behind the master socket faceplate to rule out your own extension wiring.

ont and master sockets turn up in the usual places: a utility cupboard, under the stairs, the living room, a home office. if you cannot find yours, ask your landlord, letting agent or building manager. if that draws a blank, tell us and we will sort it out, including arranging an installation if one is needed.

if everything is connected the way the guide shows and it has gone midnight on your go live date, reply to our email with a photo of your router and how it is plugged into the ont or master socket, and we will get you live.

start with a wired test, because it’s the only way to tell your line apart from your wi-fi. plug a laptop straight into the router with an ethernet cable, there’s a spare one in the box for exactly this, turn everything else in the house off, and run a speed test.

that number is your actual connection. if it’s where it should be, your line is fine and the problem is between the router and wherever you were sitting. move the router: up high, out in the open, away from the tv and the microwave. it sounds too simple and it fixes more than anything else. if one room still won’t behave, ring us and we’ll send an extender.

if the wired number comes in lower than we estimated, raise it with us and our technical team will pick it up. the quickest way is through the app, because it sends your test results along with the case and nobody has to describe anything twice.

and if the numbers all look fine but it still doesn’t feel right, ring us anyway. we’d rather look than leave you wondering.

open the app if you can get online another way, and it’ll tell you whether there’s a known problem in your area. if there’s nothing showing, check the router has power and restart it, leaving it off for a full thirty seconds.

if that doesn’t fix it, ring 01403 214069. earth answers 24 hours a day and we can check your line from our end, so you don’t need the app to get this sorted.

if a fault is going to take a while to clear, we will send you a mobile dongle to keep you online while we sort it. it is free, and it comes with a return bag and a prepaid label, so sending it back once your line is working costs you nothing either.

usually yes. ring us as soon as you know, on 01403 214069. earth will check what’s available at the new address, line up the dates so you’re not without wi-fi in between, and tell you exactly where you stand on your contract before you commit to anything.

the earlier you tell us, the more room we have to get it right.

if you’re moving to another provider, you don’t cancel with us at all, and you don’t need to ring. your new provider tells us through one touch switch, we close your account down and write to confirm it. there’s no notice period to serve and you’re not billed past your switch date. because we bill a month ahead, anything you’ve already paid for beyond that date comes back to you as a credit.

there’s no disconnection fee for switching either. your line is handed over to your new provider rather than switched off, so there’s nothing to disconnect.

if you’re stopping altogether rather than moving to someone else, ring us on 01403 214069 and give us 30 days notice. your line does get switched off in that case rather than handed on, so there’s a £50 disconnection fee.

either way, if you’re still inside your term there’s an early termination charge. it’s £10 including vat for each month you have left, and we knock one month off. so six months to run costs £50, and twelve months costs £110. it goes on your final bill, and there are no percentages and nothing to work out from your monthly price.

if you want your exact figure before you decide anything, ring us and we’ll work it out with you, along with what else is possible, including moving to a different plan if that suits you better.

we’ll also ask for the router back. everything earth sends you is loaned rather than sold, including anything we lent you while sorting out a fault, so it all comes back to us. you have 14 days from cancelling to return it, and there’s a £50 charge for anything that doesn’t arrive. returning it costs you nothing, and we’ll send you instructions for posting it back free of charge.

you have 14 days from the day you order to change your mind, whatever your installation date turns out to be. cancel in that window and there’s nothing to pay, because you haven’t had the service yet.

the one thing to watch is the appointment. change or cancel your installation more than two working days before it’s due and it costs you nothing. inside two working days the slot and the engineer are already committed, and there’s a £150 fee, so if you’re having second thoughts it’s worth ringing sooner rather than sleeping on it.

if the fibre has already been installed at your property when you cancel, there’s a £120 charge. the work is done by then and it can’t be undone, so that one covers the installation itself rather than the service.

ring 01403 214069 and we’ll stop it. if your service has already gone live you’ll also pay for what you’ve used, and if the router has arrived we’ll ask for it back within 14 days, with a £50 charge if it doesn’t come back.

ring 01403 214069 or email earthbroadband@hometelecom.co.uk and we’ll try to sort it there and then. if we can’t, ask for it to be escalated and we’ll tell you where it sits and who has it.

if we haven’t resolved it after eight weeks, or we’ve told you we can’t take it further, you can take it to cisas free of charge. cisas is the independent adjudication scheme we’re a member of, it’s approved by ofcom, and its decision binds us, not you.

our complaints code of practice sets the whole thing out in full: every stage, the timescales we work to, how to escalate and what happens if you’re still not satisfied at the end of it.