TalkTalk Broadband Review
TalkTalk is known for its low-cost broadband, phone and TV services. It offers significantly cheaper broadband plans and TV packages than BT, Virgin Media and Sky.
Is TalkTalk the right provider for you? Learn everything about TalkTalk and the important details so you can decide if it’s the right choice for you.
Pros
- Good value deals for broadband and TV, great for people on a budget.
- With a 30-day Great Connection Guarantee, new customers can cancel service within the first month without paying a cancellation fee.
- Flexible TV and calls packages to suit your needs.
- Free extras like HomeSafe protection for online safety.
Cons
- Poor customer service, many customers complain about it.
- More broadband complaints than other providers, could be a worry.
- Free extras like cloud storage or public wifi offered on BT, Virgin Media or Sky are not available with TalkTalk.
Speed
TalkTalk offers a variety of internet speeds to suit different needs. The provider offers some of the cheapest fibre broadband deals on the market, with speeds ranging from 38Mbps to 944Mbps.
| Plan | Download speed | Upload speed |
|---|---|---|
| Fibre 35 | 38Mbps | 9Mbps |
| Fibre 65 | 67Mbps | 18Mbps |
| Full Fibre 150 | 152Mbps | 30Mbps |
| Full Fibre 500 | 525Mbps | 72Mbps |
| Full Fibre 900 | 944Mbps | 110Mbps |
First, we have the TalkTalk Fast package, an ADSL package which offers an average download speed of 11Mbps and an average upload speed of 1Mbps. You consider this plan if you don’t use the internet a lot. You can do basic activities like browsing websites and online shopping. But, it’s not ideal for watching HD videos or downloading large files quickly.
Next is the TalkTalk Fibre 35 package. With this package, you get download speeds of 38Mbps and upload speeds of 9Mbps. It is perfect for a small household with a few users. You can do activities like streaming videos and downloading files. It is faster than the TalkTalk Fast package but may not be the best for households with many users or devices.
TalkTalk Fibre 65 package offers download speeds of 67Mbps and upload speeds of 18Mbps. Fibre 65 is great for watching HD videos on 2 to 4 devices at the same time. It is a good choice for families who like to stream videos or play online games together.
TalkTalk full fibre broadband
TalkTalk also has three full fibre options: Full Fibre 150, Full Fibre 500 and Full Fibre 900. These plans are great for very busy homes.
- TalkTalk Fibre 150 package has download speeds of 152Mbps and upload speeds of 30Mbps. You can connect 5 to 8 devices. You can enjoy 4K streaming, which is super high-quality video, and connect 5 or more users at the same time.
- TalkTalk Full Fibre 500 has a 525Mbps download speed and a 72Mbps upload speed. It’s perfect for homes with more than 15 users. You can watch ultra HD videos, download files super fast, and play online games.
- TalkTalk Full Fibre 900 is the fastest option. It has a 944Mbps download speed and a 110Mbps upload speed. You can connect over 25 devices at the same time. It’s great for very large families or lots of devices.
TalkTalk TV
TalkTalk has TV bundles that include Netgem TV. These bundles come with a 4K Netgem TV box. You can watch more than 200 channels with this box. There are 88 Freeview channels and 15 of these channels are available in HD.
You can also add more channels to your TV package. TalkTalk lets you subscribe to Now TV, BT Sport, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video.
You can watch these extra channels using the Netgem TV app. With a Now TV membership, you get even more channels. You can watch Sky Sports, Sky Cinema, and other popular Sky channels.
Routers
TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub Black is supplied with Fibre 35, Fibre 65 packages. It is a dual band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) router with 4 Gigabit connections and 7 antennas.
TalkTalk WiFi Hub can connect up to 50 devices and has advanced security features such as WPS and WPA/WPA2.
TalkTalk offers advanced WiFi routers with full fibre packages – Amazon Eero 6 and Amazon Eero Pro 6.
Amazon Eero 6 is an advanced router compared to WiFi Hub Black. Amazon Eero 6 is dual band Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) router with 2 Gigabit ethernet ports. This router comes with advanced WPA3 security to keep your internet safe. It supports mesh Wi-Fi, which helps your Wi-Fi reach every corner of your home. It also connects with Amazon Alexa and has a Zigbee smart home hub. This means you can control your smart home devices with your voice.
Amazon Eero Pro 6 is another advanced router. It is triband Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) router with 2 Gigabit ethernet ports, WPA3 security, and mesh Wi-Fi support. Just like the Eero 6, it connects with Amazon Alexa and has a Zigbee smart home hub. With the additional band (6Ghz), Amazon Eero Pro 6 can provide more reliable WiFi with minimum interference.
Features
- TalkTalk broadband is totally unlimited. You can download as much as you want without worrying about hidden limits. Speeds remain consistent, even when many people are using the internet. TalkTalk doesn’t slow down your internet during peak times.
- TalkTalk broadband includes a 30 Day Great Connection Guarantee. This guarantee helps you cancel the service within 30 days if you’re not happy with the service.
- TalkTalk fibre broadband plans include a WiFi Black Hub router. If you choose a full fibre package, you get an advanced Amazon Eero 6 or Amazon Eero Pro 6 router. These mesh routers give you fast and reliable internet connections.
- TalkTalk also helps you protect your family online. It offers free HomeSafe parental controls to help you keep your family safe from harmful online content and protect all devices in your home, like phones, tablets, and computers from viruses.
- TalkTalk also offers SuperSafe to help you protect your devices from viruses, malware, and phishing attacks.
Is TalkTalk broadband any good?
TalkTalk is a great option for those looking for affordable broadband and TV deals. Its offer a range of packages to suit different needs and budgets. It also offers free setup and vouchers to new customers.
Additionally, TalkTalk has launched a full fibre ultrafast service, which is available in selected areas.
A big problem with TalkTalk is its poor customer service. Many customers complain about this.
TalkTalk TV service doesn’t have as many nice features as Sky or Virgin Media. So, it might not be the best choice if you want premium channels and features.
Reliability
We compared TalkTalk Fibre performance based on advertised speeds to average 24 hour download speeds (Ofcom Broadband Speed Report October 2022) – we found that actual download speeds were very good and close to advertised speeds
| Fibre 35 | Fibre 35 | Full Fibre 150 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Download Speed (advertised) |
38 Mb/s | 67 Mb/s | 158 Mb/s |
| Download Speed (actual) |
36.6 Mbps | 63 Mb/s | 159.9Mb/s |
| Latency | 12.1 | 12.1 | 10 |
Value for money
Big discounts on new subscriptions and other incentives make TalkTalk one of the cheapest broadband providers in the UK market.
In addition to discounts, TalkTalk deals include free setup and gift vouchers to provide customers with the best value. While customer service is decent, TalkTalk is still a budget provider for UK families looking for good value for money.
Customer Service
TalkTalk’s customer service has mixed reviews. The latest Ofcom report 2022 says its customer satisfaction is lower than the average. TalkTalk has some problems with handling complaints, but there’s good news too – its call waiting time is shorter than most.
On average, 78% of TalkTalk broadband customers are happy, but the average for all providers is 83%. About 21% of TalkTalk customers have had a reason to complain, which is close to the 20% average. For handling complaints, 43% of customers are satisfied, while the average is 50%. TalkTalk gets 75 complaints for every 100,000 customers, but the average is 49. Customers wait 1 minute and 2 seconds on the phone, which is better than the 2 minutes and 16 seconds average.
TalkTalk gives customer help on the phone and in a community forum. Telephone support: 8am to 10pm. They also have online help, like a forum and resources for internet issues.
Over the past two years, TalkTalk has been working hard to improve its service and its prices are also more competitive than other providers, especially BT and Sky. They offer good service and reliable service, but their support team isn’t always easy when you’re having connectivity issues. They’re not going to fix every problem you might have anytime soon, you’ll have to live with it. However, it does offer great value for money for budget-conscious users, but not everyone will agree that because its plans are a bit pricey compared to smaller providers like Onestream and Hyperoptic.
TalkTalk Fibre Broadband has decent download speeds, but disconnects frequently every day. I have a fiber 65 connection with a guaranteed speed of 56Mbps and a router with a speed of 54Mbps – 62Mbps.
But even after the online test, the problem of drops still exists. I was told there was no fault with the line and maybe engineer visit could solve the problem. I’m asking for a router replacement, hopefully they’ll do it soon.