TalkTalk Broadband Review 2024

Author: Emma Davenport

Last updated: 17 April 2024

TalkTalk broadband review 2024

TalkTalk can save you money with cheap fibre optic broadband deals, including full fibre broadband using FTTP (fibre to the premises). If you're keen to sign up to a phone and TV service, you can save time and money with its low-cost bundle deals, too.

The provider should be an option for most homes, as most TalkTalk broadband packages use the BT Openreach network which most have access to. However, not all will be able to sign up to its faster full fibre deals just yet, as the rollout of FTTP networks is ongoing.

Let’s take a dive into TalkTalk’s products and services. For a real user insight, we’ve asked Broadband Genie team member and long-term TalkTalk customer, Charlotte, to let us know how she’s been getting along with her service.

• All about Charlotte - TalkTalk customer reviewer

  "I've been with TalkTalk broadband for several years are recently renewed my contract as I'd been happy with the service I'd been receiving.

  I live in a 2-floor terraced house and there are two of us at home.

  I work remotely, so regularly need uninterrupted internet access throughout the day for video calls. My parter is also a keen gamer and is online most evenings.

  I'm currently signed up to TalkTalk Fibre 150 on an 18-month contract and pay £33 per month. When I originally signed up, I was paying £29.95 per month, but this has got more expensive due to mid-contract prices rises.

  The fastest broadband available at my home is Virgin Media Gig1 (gigabit broadband)."

• What is Openreach?

  Openreach is the company that maintains the former British Telecom Network used for the majority of broadband and phone services. If a repair or installation is required, it’s Openreach who will send an engineer, not your provider.

  More than 650 service providers using the Openreach network. That’s the majority of the UK’s broadband providers. This includes Sky, TalkTalk and BT. The exception to this is Virgin Media - it uses its own, separate cable network.

• What’s FTTP broadband?

  Full Fibre broadband is also known as ‘Fibre To The Premises’, ‘Fibre To The Home’. This is often shortened to FTTP or FTTH. They’re all the same thing!

  Instead of copper telephone wire making up the final part of the journey from that green cabinet on the street, fibre optic cables are installed right up to your home.

  It’s amazing the difference in speed this small data journey can have. With full-fibre broadband you can expect to receive speeds of 1Gb+.

  The downside is full-fibre is only available to a small percentage of homes in the UK, and it’s taking a good while to get everyone up to speed.

How fast is TalkTalk broadband?

TalkTalk offers a wide choice of broadband speeds, from the Superfast Fibre 35 or Fibre 65 packages, up to the ultrafast Full Fibre 900. The TalkTalk broadband deals available to you will depend on your location. To check this, you can type your address into our deals checker.

TalkTalk Fast Broadband

• Download speed: 11Mb
• Upload speed: 1Mb

A basic broadband service with average download speeds of just 11Mb. This is pretty slow by today’s standards, so we don’t recommend it for most homes. It might be suitable for individuals where the broadband is only used occasionally, but it’ll struggle if the connection is shared. 

This package isn’t the best value for money. It’s often more expensive than the much quicker TalkTalk Fibre 35, and there are cheaper equivalents from other providers.

TalkTalk Fibre 35

• Download speed: 38Mb
• Upload speed: 9Mb

This is the entry-level TalkTalk fibre service and is usually the cheapest TalkTalk package in general.

This is our recommended minimum for most households, it’s fast enough for an individual or small shared home. But it may struggle if you’ve got a busier home where everyone is trying to do video streaming or downloading at the same time.

TalkTalk Fibre 65

• Download speed: 67Mb
• Upload speed: 19.5Mb

Fibre 65 is the fastest TalkTalk service available to most homes. It’s also a great option for bigger families who may find the Fibre 35 package too restrictive. It's also not much more expensive.

TalkTalk Full Fibre 65

• Download speed: 77Mb
• Upload speed: 20Mb

The cheapest full fibre deal from TalkTalk offers a very respectable 77Mb average download speed. If you can get full fibre, this is a great value deal.

TalkTalk Full Fibre 150

• Download speed: 152Mb
• Upload speed: 30Mb

If Fibre 65 isn’t enough, you can step up to an average download speed of 152Mb with this service. This kind of speed can cope with multiple high-definition video streams and allows you to download large files very quickly.

TalkTalk Full Fibre 500

• Download speed: 525Mb
• Upload speed: 72Mb

TalkTalk Full Fibre 900

• Download speed: 925Mb
• Upload speed: 110Mb

Ultrafast broadband is for the busiest homes with the most demanding requirements. Fibre 900 is currently the quickest TalkTalk package available, although few homes will take full advantage of it. Fibre 500 will be more than enough for the vast majority.

Not sure which is the right deal for you? Visit our 'easy guide to broadband speeds' for more help.

• TalkTalk broadband extras

  TalkTalk TV

  TalkTalk TV is available as a TV and broadband bundle with any TalkTalk broadband package.

  It includes a YouView box that supports Freeview broadcasts and streaming TV. Many streaming apps are available in the electronic program guide (EPG), so you can switch to them like any other live channel.

  Unlike most other TV services, the TalkTalk TV box doesn't include a hard drive for recording. However, it does offer up to 30 minutes of live pausing and rewinding.

  The basic package doesn’t include additional channels, but you can add a variety of sports, entertainment, movie, and kids TV channels using NOW TV passes.

  TalkTalk TV is a flexible alternative to the premium Sky TV and Virgin Media TV. While there are fewer channels overall, you have the freedom to choose from a variety of the most popular ones.

  That said, if you plan on signing up for more than a single NOW TV pass at once, it would be worthwhile spending some time comparing TV and broadband deals. You might find the competition can deliver the same content for less.

How well does TalkTalk perform when it comes to speed?

TalkTalk customers seem slightly underwhelmed by the performance of their home broadband service, according to the results of our 2024 home broadband survey, with a 67% satisfaction rate. 

Unfortunately, while TalkTalk's full fibre deals offer excellent download performance, the upload rates aren't as impressive. You’ll see the same thing with high-speed broadband from other providers, too, including BT, Sky, and Virgin Media.

Does TalkTalk offer good customer service?

In Ofcom's April 2024 Report: Complaints about broadband, landline, mobile and pay-TV services, TalkTalk had a higher than average level of complaints than the industry standard. Between October and December 2023, it received 13 complaints per 100,000 subscribers. To put this into perspective, the industry average was 12 per 100,000 subscribers. However, this was an improvement on the last report.

While TalkTalk doesn't offer a 24/7 customer support line, its telephone call centres are open daily between 8am and 10pm, so you can get help at peak times. If you need help outside of that, it does offer some online resources, including a forum.

For more information and other contact methods, visit our guide to TalkTalk customer service.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, and important to note, the majority of TalkTalk customers should experience no issues. For example, our real reviewer has had a more favourable experience:

Our Genie says...

“I’ve very rarely had to get in touch for help with my TalkTalk service. However, when I have I’ve chosen to use its Live Chat service rather than call. TalkTalk were quick to get back to me within the same day and the customer service representatives were friendly. I recently needed help when moving house and I was happy with the help I received. TalkTalk customer services were good at sorting the logistics of the move.”

Does TalkTalk offer good value for money?

TalkTalk offers low-cost broadband services. The best value package is usually Fibre 65, which is often available for just a little more than Fibre 35.

Less attractive is the TalkTalk Fast Broadband ADSL package. This costs about the same, or sometimes even a little more than the much quicker Fibre 65. 

Unless there's an especially good special offer, Fast Broadband is one to avoid. If you can’t get fibre, then there are cheaper ADSL deals with other providers. And if fibre is available, then any of the TalkTalk fibre deals offer a lot more for your money.

TalkTalk rewards

Although it’s a budget provider, TalkTalk doesn’t usually have the cheapest broadband deals you’ll find listed on Broadband Genie. But you can often get great rewards to boost up the value.

Often, a TalkTalk reward deal will include an Amazon voucher worth around £50-£70. When comparing deals, don’t forget the offer details section. You can check the effective monthly cost for a price breakdown, including any one-off fees and rewards.

You can compare the latest TalkTalk offers on our TalkTalk rewards page. For general help with rewards, visit our guide to claiming free gifts and vouchers.

Does TalkTalk increase prices mid-contract?

Yes. TalkTalk customers were affected by a mid-contract price increase in 2023 of 14.2%

Another rise of 7.7% will be applied to all customers from the 1st April 2024. This has been calculated as the CPI rate + 3.7%.

• 'Broadband price increases in 2024: price rises from BT, Virgin, TalkTalk & more'

Does TalkTalk offer a social tariff?

TalkTalk doesn't offer a social tariff to customers who are receiving benefits. However, it does offer six months, free and unlimited 35Mb home broadband to jobseekers. This is only available via Jobcentre Plus.

For more information, visit our guide to social tariffs and cheaper broadband deals if you’re on benefits.

Does TalkTalk offer a reliable internet service?

In our 2024 Broadband Awards, TalkTalk ranked below many other popular broadband providers for reliability, including BT, Three, Vodafone, NOW Broadband and Sky. It tallied in with a total of 72% satisfaction. Although this was a slight improvement on the year before.

In Ofcom's 2023 customer service report, TalkTalk had a higher number of complaints than the average and generally, customers were less satisfied with how their complaint was handled.

TalkTalk is signed up to Ofcom's voluntary Broadband Speed Code of Conduct. This means if report you're having problems with your internet, but it can't be fixed within 30 days, you must be able to leave your contract without paying an early exit fee.

Our Genie says...

“My partner regularly plays games in the evening and has been happy with our internet connection. We haven’t experienced any throttling. In a spot speed test during the afternoon, I was receiving a download speed of 110Mb. As a reminder, I’m currently signed up to TalkTalk Fibre 150 and have an estimated speed of 145Mb. My guaranteed minimum is 110Mb, so I feel like I'm getting a fair service.”

Does TalkTalk come with a good router?

TalkTalk offers a few different Wi-Fi routers: the TalkTalk Wi-Fi Hub Black, Amazon Eero 6, or Amazon Eero Pro 6.

Router installation

Setting up your TalkTalk router shouldn't be difficult and, unless you need to have a line installed, you'll be able to do this yourself. However, if you do need technical support, you can make calls to TalkTalk's technical support line between 8am-10pm every day. There are clear online instructions and a video to talk you through all the installation steps.

An accessories store is available should you want to buy any extra extension cables direct from the provider.

TalkTalk router review: In a nutshell

All bundled TalkTalk Wi-Fi routers, including the Wi-Fi Hub, Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6 are easy to use and offer reliable connectivity. Although you're free to use third-party devices with TalkTalk, it's highly unlikely you'll need to, especially if you're on a full fibre deal.

As a bonus, the Amazon Eero 6 and Eero Pro 6 will work with Alexa and smart home devices. These routers also use the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology. This is capable of 500Mb download speeds, and can connect 75 devices at once.

For more information on TalkTalk hubs, including full specifications, you can read our full TalkTalk router round-up.

Are there any other perks with TalkTalk?

Refer a friend

TalkTalk has a refer a friend scheme in place. For each friend that signs up, you’ll both receive a £50 Gift Card once they’ve paid their first bill.

To make use of this, you’ll need to register first, though. You can do this by calling 0800 049 1160. You’ll then be sent an email with a unique link to share. There’s no limit to how many times you can use this.

Do we recommend TalkTalk?

Broadband bargain hunters will be pleased with TalkTalk’s low prices. The bundled routers for new customers are decent, and its broadband services are totally unlimited. There’s the option of full fibre broadband, too. But it's a shame that the FTTP upload speeds lag far behind the download rates.

However, we can't avoid the topic that TalkTalk suffers from a poor reputation when it comes to customer service.

TalkTalk has made changes, including the closure of a controversial Indian call centre, new online repair tools, and the ability to send messages through the MyTalkTalk app. But this remains an area of concern, and it continues to be rated poorly in the Ofcom customer satisfaction report and our own broadband survey.

For the latest deals and more general information about TalkTalk, check out our TalkTalk hub.

TalkTalk user reviews summary

Here are a few customer reviews that wrap up the experiences of recent TalkTalk customers. Unfortunately, there are a lot of customer service grievances:

"Coming up to the end of an 18-month contract with TalkTalk and it has worked superbly throughout. Speeds are as advertised for my area, and dropouts I can probably count on one hand."
Sam, North Yorkshire - April 2023

"The customer service is awful. The online chat does not help at all. If you have a simple question, it will take at least a 30-minute call to get some unclear answer. I'm really frustrated with them."
Mahmood - February 2023

"Absolutely rubbish service. Going around in circles constantly. I live in a small bungalow and have constantly been online to the chat trying to resolve the slow internet. They tried to make me pay £85 for an extender. I've had engineers out and their resolutions made zero difference. I have now requested a call back to close the account. I even upgraded my mobile phone to try to resolve the issue, but this has made no difference at all. There are two mobile phones only in the house that use the Wi-Fi. No gaming consoles or smart TV. Would not recommend."
S Gibson, Singleton - January 2024

Switching broadband providers

Check which TalkTalk deals are available to your home by popping your postcode or address into our deals checker. Don't forget to use our filters, so you can sort by price, speed or contract length. Our tables will also show you if there are any great reward offers available, too. You'll be able to see how much money these can save you in the long-run with our clear 'Effective Monthly Price' summary.

If you’re out of contract, switching between any provider is a quick and easy process. You shouldn’t even need to speak to your current provider - your new one should do all the admin for you.

Read our guide on ‘how to switch broadband and get an amazing deal’ for more hints and tricks, learn how to save money and upgrade your home's internet connection with little fuss.

More broadband reviews

Searching for the best broadband service for your needs? We have thorough reviews for many other internet providers. Have a read through to help find your perfect ISP.

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