The rest of this guide shows the working behind that answer. All prices were checked in November 2026; several are marked for re-checking because sources disagree or the product is changing.
If you are new to the subject, the complete guide to broadband backup explains the basics first.
The short answer: who should pick what
| If this describes you | Choose | Why |
|---|---|---|
| EE, BT or Vodafone customer, not technical, working from home | The provider's backup | Nothing to configure; one bill; someone to call |
| With Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Plusnet or a smaller full-fibre provider | DIY 4G router and SIM | Those providers do not sell an automatic backup to households (see below) |
| Likely to switch provider at the end of your contract | DIY | Your kit comes with you |
| Rare outages, tight budget | DIY with a pay-as-you-go data SIM | Lowest two-year cost |
| Whole household must carry on as normal | DIY with an unlimited SIM, or 5G home broadband as a second line | No data rationing; 5G speeds where available |
| Weak or no mobile signal indoors | External antenna first; satellite if that fails | Mobile backup cannot work without signal |
| Good signal, flexible work, nothing that must stay online | Phone hotspot | It costs nothing |
Provider backup, brand by brand
Three large consumer brands sell automatic mobile backup for home broadband.
| Provider | Product | Mobile network | Data | Price | What it needs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EE | Connectivity Backup | EE 4G 3 | Unlimited-data SIM inside the device 3 | £10 a month as an add-on 1; included in the Ultimate Fibre plan, but not listed for Ultimate Full Fibre 2 | An EE Smart Hub 3 |
| BT | Hybrid Connect | EE's mobile network 4 | Not stated in the sources checked | BT values it at £7 a month; a comparison site updated in August 2026 lists £10 a month. Included in Halo 3+, and new customers with a good 4G signal can add it when ordering 526 | BT Smart Hub 2 45 |
| Vodafone | 4G Broadband Back-up | Vodafone 4G 6 | 100 GB a month; more may be added on request 6 | Included with Pro plans. Vodafone's site lists Pro 4 from £34.50 a month against £21.50 for standard broadband 6; its 5 November 2026 press release says Pro 4 starts at £32 7. Check the price for your speed and postcode | Vodafone Pro router with the 4G dongle plugged in 6 |
EE. The Connectivity Backup unit is a separate box containing a SIM. EE says the Smart Hub detects a problem with the broadband and connects through the unit to EE's 4G network 3. It can also get you online before your broadband is installed 3. Do not confuse it with EE's "Keep Connected Promise", which is included on Standard, Premium and Ultimate plans: that sends you a Mini Hub when you have a qualifying fault or move home 2. A Mini Hub that arrives after the fault has been reported is a different thing from a backup that switches by itself.
BT. Hybrid Connect is the same idea: a unit that works with the Smart Hub 2 and connects to EE's mobile network when the line goes down or while you move home 4. The switch has been reported to take two to three minutes 5, and one reviewer found it slow 13. It works only with the Smart Hub 2 13. BT now sells much of its home range under the EE brand, so check what is on offer to new customers.
Vodafone. The backup is a dongle that plugs into the Pro router and switches to Vodafone's 4G network automatically, then back when the line returns 6. Vodafone's terms say it is for a total loss of fixed-line service, that it is not a direct replacement for the line, and that it must not be used for roaming 6. Because it comes only with Pro plans, you are buying a bundle that also includes upgraded Wi-Fi equipment, not the backup alone.
Who offers nothing for households. Sky and Virgin Media both have 4G backup products, but for business customers. A market review published by BT when it launched its own product listed Sky's and Virgin Media's equivalents as business-only, and listed TalkTalk, Plusnet, Zen and dozens of smaller providers as having no such product 8. More recent threads on Sky's and Virgin Media's own customer forums say the same 910. When we checked in November 2026, the home broadband pages of Sky, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Plusnet and Zen listed no 4G backup add-on 2728293031; Zen's 4G backup is sold to business customers. If you are with one of these providers, the DIY route is your automatic option.
What you gain with a provider backup: no hardware to choose, no configuration, a single bill, and a large or unlimited data allowance.
What you give up: choice of mobile network (it uses the provider's own, so that network's signal at your address is what counts), portability (it stops working if you leave 3), and in practice the freedom to use your own router.
The DIY route: total cost and effort
A do-it-yourself backup has two parts: a router that can fail over to a SIM, and the SIM.
| Component | Options and indicative prices, November 2026 |
|---|---|
| Router | 4G router with a failover port, such as the TP-Link Archer MR600: about £89 to £99. 5G models from about £180 14 |
| SIM, occasional use | Pay-as-you-go data pack with long validity. Three sells packs valid for up to 24 months 15; retailers list a 24 GB, 24-month pack at roughly £35 to £45; Three's own shop did not show a price when we checked |
| SIM, heavy use | Rolling one-month unlimited-data SIM at about £16 to £18 a month 16 |
| Alternative: a second line | Three's unlimited 5G Home Broadband at £13 a month on 24 months, router included 17, joined to your main line with a dual-WAN router at about £49 18 |
Effort: about an hour for the router-and-SIM version, following the step-by-step setup guide. A second line with a dual-WAN router takes longer.
What you gain: it works with any broadband provider; you choose the mobile network with the best signal at your home; you can use 5G; and the kit stays yours when you switch provider.
What you take on: you are your own support desk. You will need to test the failover, manage a data allowance if you choose a capped SIM, and keep an eye on SIM expiry dates. Sitting a second router behind your provider's router also adds a layer of address translation (double NAT) that can bother online games.
How to choose the network, the router and the SIM is covered in 4G and 5G backup broadband.
Satellite as a backup: Starlink standby and Roam, Amazon Leo status
Satellite broadband reaches you from low-orbit satellites through a dish at your home. Its attraction as a backup is independence: it does not use the cables in your street or the local mobile masts. It does need a clear view of the sky and mains power.
Starlink is the service on sale in the UK. Prices listed on 2 November 2026 11:
| Plan | Monthly price | Up-front |
|---|---|---|
| Residential 100 | From £40 | £19 shipping and handling |
| Residential 200 | From £60 | £19 shipping and handling |
| Residential Max | From £80 | £19 shipping and handling |
| Roam 100 GB | From £55 | Mini kit £179, plus £19 shipping |
| Roam Unlimited | From £100 | Mini kit £179, plus £19 shipping |
Contracts are monthly 11. Starlink also has a Standby Mode, which keeps the dish connected at about 0.5 Mbps with unlimited data. It replaced the old free pause option and doubled in price in May 2026, from £4.50 to £9 a month 12. Half a megabit is enough for messages and email but not for a normal working day, so in a real outage you would move back to a full-price plan.
Three cautions before you plan around Standby:
- Terms have changed often. A £10 monthly kit fee for new customers appeared in June 2026 and was reported removed in July 19.
- Standby may not be available on every kit. It has been reported as unavailable to customers on a free rental kit 20, and Starlink has said it is not available on its newer V5 dish 32. Check current eligibility with Starlink before relying on it.
- Resuming may cost extra in busy areas. Starlink's policy has been reported as saying Standby does not waive demand surcharges 20.
Amazon Leo (formerly Project Kuiper) is not yet an option. As of 9 November 2026 Amazon had published no UK launch date and no UK price 21.
Who should consider satellite? Homes where mobile backup cannot work. Ofcom's Spring 2026 update counted about 39,000 UK premises that cannot get decent broadband from fixed or fixed-wireless networks, and noted that cheaper satellite plans now give many of them an affordable service 22. If you are in that position, satellite may be your main connection, and the question becomes what backs it up. For a typical home with a usable 4G signal, satellite is an expensive way to solve a problem that a £10-a-month add-on or a £90 router already solves.
Head-to-head comparison
Two-year costs are calculated from the prices cited above. They exclude a battery and exclude annual price rises unless stated.
| Option | Cost over 24 months | Automatic? | Data | Any provider? | Commitment | Effort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone hotspot | £0 extra | No | Your mobile plan's allowance | Yes | None | None |
| EE Connectivity Backup | £240 (£10 × 24) 1 | Yes | Unlimited 3 | EE only | Minimum term set in your EE agreement 3 | Minimal |
| BT Hybrid Connect | £168 to £240 (£7 to £10 × 24) 526 | Yes | Not stated | BT only | 24 months 5 | Minimal |
| Vodafone Pro | £312 more than standard broadband on Vodafone's listed prices (£13 × 24) 6; buys the whole Pro bundle | Yes | 100 GB a month 6 | Vodafone only | 24 months 6 | Minimal |
| DIY 4G router with pay-as-you-go data | About £125 to £144, if retailer SIM prices hold 1415 | Yes | 24 GB in total | Yes | None | About an hour |
| DIY 4G router with rolling unlimited SIM | About £473 to £483 (router plus £16 × 24) 1416 | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | 30 days | About an hour |
| Three 5G Home Broadband as a second line | £312 before annual rises, plus about £49 for a dual-WAN router 171823 | Yes, with the dual-WAN router | Unlimited | Yes | 24 months | Half a day |
| Starlink Mini kept on Standby | About £414 (£179 kit, £19 shipping, £9 × 24), plus full-plan charges in any month you need speed 1112 | Only with a dual-WAN router | Unlimited at about 0.5 Mbps | Yes | Monthly | Half a day, plus siting the dish |
On power cuts, no row wins by default. Every option needs a battery behind your home equipment. Mobile options also depend on the local mast having power, and Ofcom's guidance sets no fixed number of hours for that 24. Satellite does not depend on local masts but still needs power at your end.
On speed of switch-over, the only published figure in the sources is two to three minutes for BT's product 5. With your own router the time depends on its settings, and you can measure it yourself.
Six households, six answers
1. A renter in a city flat with full fibre and strong 5G indoors, working from home two days a week. Spend nothing. A phone hotspot on a plan with a healthy allowance covers the occasional outage, and the office is there on a bad day.
2. A full-time home worker on EE broadband who does not want to touch router settings. Take EE's Connectivity Backup at £10 a month 1. Over two years it costs £240, which buys automatic switching, unlimited data and no configuration.
3. A full-time home worker on Sky, Virgin Media or a smaller full-fibre provider. Build it: a 4G router with a failover port and a SIM on whichever network tests best at the desk. Choose pay-as-you-go data if outages are rare, an unlimited rolling SIM if a week offline would otherwise be a week of lost income.
4. A rural household with a weak mobile signal and frequent power cuts. Solve power first with a battery for the router and fibre box. Then test mobile with an external antenna on the best available network. If no network gives a workable signal, satellite is the remaining option, and Starlink's entry plan at £40 a month 11 may deserve consideration as the main connection.
5. A family with smart heating, cameras and two people working upstairs. Automatic failover matters here because the network must keep running when nobody is watching it. Use a provider backup if you have one, otherwise a DIY router with an unlimited SIM, and move the smart devices on to the network that fails over. If someone at home relies on a telecare alarm, speak to the alarm provider and your broadband provider about battery cover.
6. Someone running a business from home, taking card payments and client calls. The household options above are the starting point, but phones, payment terminals and fixed IP addresses add requirements. Read Business broadband backup before buying.
When paying for no backup is the right call
A backup is insurance, and insurance is poor value when the loss is small. Spend nothing if all of these are true:
- You have a reliable mobile signal indoors and a data allowance that could carry a day or two of work.
- You can work somewhere else, or do something else, if the line is down.
- Nothing in the house needs the internet while you are out.
- Your line has given you little trouble.
Be wary of buying on fear. If your connection has dropped twice in three years for an hour each time, a £10 monthly add-on 1 costs £360 over that period to save two hours. Keep the hotspot plan, make sure your phone plan permits tethering, and revisit the decision if your job, your household or your line's reliability changes.
Contract traps to check before you commit
- Minimum terms. BT's Hybrid Connect has been sold on a 24-month term 5. EE says Connectivity Backup is subject to a minimum term set out in your agreement 3.
- Router lock-in. BT's unit works only with the Smart Hub 2 13, Vodafone's dongle must be plugged into the Pro router 6, and EE's works with the Smart Hub 3. If you prefer your own router, a provider backup is probably not for you.
- It leaves when you do. EE's backup stops working if you no longer have an eligible EE broadband plan, and the equipment must be returned 3.
- Limits on use. Vodafone's backup is for total loss of service, carries 100 GB a month, and must not be used for roaming 6.
- Annual price rises. Vodafone's broadband plans rise by £3.50 each April 6. EE's advertised full-fibre deal rises by £4 each March 25. One Three 5G broadband deal was due to climb from £16 to £19.50 and then £23 over two Aprils 23.
- Bundles. With Vodafone you pay for the whole Pro package to get the backup. Compare the Pro price with the standard plan and decide whether the difference is worth it to you.
- Satellite terms move. Starlink raised UK prices in May 2026 and introduced, then reportedly withdrew, a kit fee within weeks 1219. Do not assume today's Standby price will hold.
- "Promise" is not "automatic". A commitment to send you a mobile hub after you report a fault 2 is useful, but it is not failover.
FAQ
Which broadband backup is cheapest?
Is EE's Connectivity Backup worth £10 a month?
Do Sky or Virgin Media offer broadband backup?
Can I use Starlink as a backup?
Can I keep my backup if I switch broadband provider?
Do any of these work in a power cut?
Only with a battery keeping your equipment on. Mobile-based backups also need the local mast to have power, which is not guaranteed for any set period 24. Satellite avoids the mast but still needs power at home.
Should I wait for Amazon Leo?
No. There was no UK launch date or price as of 9 November 2026 21. If you need a backup now, choose from what is on sale.
Sources
Checked 13 November 2026.
- EE, "EE Home Price Guide" (add-on prices, April 2026): ee.co.uk
- EE, "Core, Standard, Premium and Ultimate broadband plan terms and conditions", 31 July 2026: ee.co.uk
- EE, "Connectivity Backup" terms and conditions, December 2025: ee.co.uk
- BT, "BT Halo 3+" (Hybrid Connect): bt.com
- Broadband.co.uk, "What is hybrid broadband?": broadband.co.uk
- Vodafone, "Pro Broadband" (prices and 4G Broadband Back-up terms): vodafone.co.uk
- Vodafone, "Vodafone launches Pro 4", press release, 5 November 2026: vodafone.co.uk
- BT, market review supporting its "unbreakable" claims (provider-by-provider list): bt.com
- Sky Community, "Creating a backup network for internet like EE hybrid connection": helpforum.sky.com
- Virgin Media Community, "Is it possible to have a backup connection via 4/5G": community.virginmedia.com
- Broadband.co.uk, "Starlink broadband deals" (prices checked 2 November 2026): broadband.co.uk
- ISPreview, "Starlink Unexpectedly Hikes UK and Global LEO Satellite Broadband Prices", 17 May 2026: ispreview.co.uk
- Trusted Reviews, "BT Hybrid Connect Review": trustedreviews.com
- PriceSpy UK, TP-Link 4G/5G router listings (viewed November 2026): pricespy.co.uk
- Three, "Contract summary: Pay As You Go Mobile Broadband SIMs": three.co.uk
- Ken's Tech Tips, "Unlimited data SIM plans" (listings viewed November 2026): kenstechtips.com
- ISPreview, "Three UK cuts unlimited 5G Home Broadband plan price to just £13pm", 6 November 2026: ispreview.co.uk
- Mighty Gadget, "Best dual WAN routers" (TP-Link ER605 listing): mightygadget.co.uk
- ISPreview, "Confusion as Starlink Remove £10 Monthly Kit Fee for UK Broadband Service", 20 July 2026: ispreview.co.uk
- ISPreview, "Starlink Hits Some Standby Mode Users with Congestion Charge to Resume", 8 April 2026: ispreview.co.uk
- Broadbandswitch.uk, "Amazon Leo in the UK: where things stand", 9 November 2026: broadbandswitch.uk
- Ofcom, "Connected Nations update: Spring 2026", 13 May 2026: ofcom.org.uk
- ISPreview, "Three UK Mobile Launch Summer 5G Home Broadband Deals from £18pm", 2 June 2026: ispreview.co.uk
- Osborne Clarke, "Telecoms: UK Regulatory Outlook July 2026" (Ofcom resilience guidance update), 29 July 2026: osborneclarke.com
- EE, "Everything you need to know about EE home broadband" (advertised price and annual rises): ee.co.uk
- BT, "BT Halo" (Hybrid Connect value and eligibility): bt.com
- Sky, "Broadband" (home broadband add-ons): sky.com
- Virgin Media, "Broadband" (home broadband add-ons): virginmedia.com
- TalkTalk, "Broadband" (home broadband add-ons): talktalk.co.uk
- Plusnet, "Broadband" (home broadband add-ons): plus.net
- Zen Internet, "Broadband" (home broadband add-ons): zen.co.uk
- ISPreview, "Starlink Confirm No Standby Mode on New V5 Satellite Broadband Dish", 6 August 2026: ispreview.co.uk
General information for UK households and small businesses, not legal, financial or technical advice. Facts checked on 13 November 2026; prices, coverage and rules change, so confirm the details with a provider before you buy.