Do I have to return my router?

You have switched, the new line is working, and a box you never really thought about is sitting on the floor by the skirting board. Do I have to return my router, and what happens if it stays in the cupboard instead? It is the last loose end of a switch, and the one most likely to come back as a charge months after you thought the account was closed.

The short answer is that the router was almost certainly never yours. The longer answer matters more, because what goes back, what stays screwed to the wall and how long you have are separate questions with separate answers, and the gap between them is where people get billed.

Who owns the router?

Your provider does, in nearly every case. The standard arrangement across UK broadband is a loan for the length of the service rather than a sale, which is why the kit arrives without an invoice and why the terms have a clause about getting it back. That clause is the whole basis of any charge, so it is the thing to read rather than anything written here.

There are exceptions in both directions. Some providers hand the router over and never ask again. Some want it back only if you leave inside the minimum term. A few tell movers to leave it behind for whoever lives there next, which is the opposite instruction to posting it anywhere. So there is no single market rule to lean on here, and assuming the generous version is the expensive way to find out which one you are under.

Do I have to return my router if nobody asks?

If nobody asks, you generally do not have to do anything, but the silence is worth testing rather than trusting. Providers arrange returns themselves: the usual pattern is an email or a letter after the service ends, with a prepaid bag posted out or a label and a code to print. No instruction usually means no return is wanted, and plenty of accounts close without one ever arriving.

The trouble is that silence looks identical to a request that went astray. Read any provider forum and the same complaint comes round: no return bag ever arrived, the customer asked for one more than once, and the charge landed anyway. So if you are leaving and nobody has told you either way, ask. Ask somewhere that leaves a record, too. A one line answer saying no return is needed is worth far more in six months than the memory of a phone call.

What stays on the wall

The small box the fibre runs into is not part of any return, and it should not be unscrewed. On an Openreach line that is the optical network terminal, and it belongs to Openreach rather than to you or to the provider whose name is on your bill. Openreach publishes what should be left alone in the home, and its equipment is on that list. The next provider to serve the address uses the same box, so removing it creates work for somebody and occasionally a bill for you. Our guide to the ONT box on your wall covers what it actually does.

Alternative networks work the same way with their own equipment. The network side of the installation, the cable through the wall and the box it terminates in, stays where the engineer put it. Only the router plugged into that box is ever the subject of a return, along with any TV box, voice adapter or power supply that came in the same delivery.

How long do you get?

Return windows are longer than most people assume, and they vary more than you would expect. The ones published by UK broadband providers run from around a fortnight after the service ends at the shorter end to a couple of months at the longer end, and they are counted from different starting points as well: sometimes the date the service stopped, sometimes the day the return bag was posted to you. Two providers can give you the same headline number and mean different deadlines.

Moving home is the case that catches people out, because the instruction can be the reverse of the one you expect. Hyperoptic, for one, publishes guidance for leavers about old routers rather than assuming everything is posted back. If you are moving rather than switching in place, check which instruction applies before you pack anything, since the router that should stay in the flat is no use to you at the new address.

What does it cost if you do not send it back?

A non return charge is tens of pounds rather than hundreds, in most cases. The figures UK broadband providers quote publicly cluster around the £50 mark for a router on its own, and climb where a TV box or more than one piece of kit is involved. There is no regulated maximum, because this is a term in your own contract rather than a rule anyone sets across the market, so the only figure that binds you is the one written in your terms.

Two things soften it. Several providers say a non return charge is credited back once the equipment reaches them, so a deadline that has already passed is still worth acting on rather than paying. And a charge for kit you did send is a billing dispute like any other, handled first as a complaint to the provider and then, if that goes nowhere, through the independent scheme they belong to. Our guide to getting a complaint taken seriously covers the route.

There is a real trade off here, though, and it does not flatter the kit. A router you are allowed to keep is worth very little to you. It is configured for a network you have left, full fibre routers are not swappable between providers the way old modems were, and the resale value of a two year old provider box is close to nothing. So the case for posting it back is not that you lose something valuable by keeping it. It is that the charge is real and the router is not worth it.

What to do in the week your service ends

Four things, and none of them takes longer than the postage queue.

• Find the clause before you need it. Search your contract terms for equipment or returns. It tells you what goes back, how long you have, and what the charge is if it does not.
• Ask in writing if nothing arrives. A message asking whether a return is needed, sent through an account inbox or by email, is the record that settles a charge later.
• Send everything that came in the box. Power supply, cables and any TV or voice kit from the same delivery. A partial return is treated as a missing item by most terms.
• Keep the proof. A free proof of postage receipt, or a tracking number where the label provides one, is the only evidence you will have if the parcel is later said not to have arrived.

None of this is a reason to be nervous about leaving a provider. It is a reason to spend ten minutes on the last step of a switch rather than none. If you would rather not be sent a router at all next time, using your own hardware is a decision to make when you order, and the cost of leaving early is the other charge worth checking before you commit to anything. When you are ready to see which networks can actually reach your address, start with the availability checker.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to return my router when I switch provider?

Usually yes, if the provider asks for it. Nearly every UK broadband provider lends you the router for the length of the service rather than selling it to you, and the terms you agreed to are what decide whether it goes back. Some providers never ask, and a few tell you to keep it or pass it on. The safe assumption is that it is a loan until your provider tells you otherwise in writing.

What happens if I do not return my router?

You get charged. The amount is set in your provider’s terms rather than by any rule, and the figures quoted publicly tend to sit in the tens of pounds for a router alone, with more added where a TV box is part of the return. Several providers say they will credit the charge back if the equipment turns up late, so a missed deadline is worth acting on rather than writing off.

Do I have to return the white box on the wall as well?

No. The box fixed to your wall that the fibre runs into is network equipment, not yours and not your provider’s to collect. On an Openreach line it belongs to Openreach and stays put for whoever connects next, and alternative networks treat their own equivalent the same way. Only the router that plugs into it is ever part of a return.

Can I keep my old router and use it on my new provider?

Rarely worth trying, even when you are allowed to keep it. A provider’s router is usually configured for that provider’s network, and full fibre routers are not interchangeable in the way old broadband modems were. If you want to run hardware you chose rather than the box you were sent, that is a decision to make at the start of a service and not at the end of one.

What if I was charged for a router I did send back?

Treat it as a billing dispute, because that is what it is. Proof of postage and any tracking number are the whole of your case, which is why the return is worth doing in a way that generates both. Raise it as a formal complaint with your provider first, and if it is not resolved it can go to the independent scheme your provider belongs to.