This topic

Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

docdunning — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 15:49:08 GMT

I'll be leaving BT in a couple of months, and I know that I will need to return the devices that are effectively on loan to me.

I'd like to check in advance that I agree with BT about the items in question, and to be prepared.

Is there a page in My BT that lists the devices that will have to be returned?

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

gg30340 — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:21:08 GMT

See link

https://www.bt.com/help/tv/how-to-return-and-recycle-your-bt-broadband-hub-and-bt-tv-box-fo

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

licquorice — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 17:25:06 GMT

If you send everything back you can't be wrong.

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

docdunning — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 18:30:39 GMT

@licquorice

Thanks - and of course you're right, but I would prefer to know what they expect, rather than what I think is "everything".

@gg30340

Thanks - the link takes me to a page which talks in general about the devices they'll want back. I'd like to know specifically which of the devices I've got will need to be returned.

The linked page says:
So you know what you need to return and when, we'll be in touch with details. Or you can find the same information by logging into My BT and clicking on Return equipment.

I can't see anywhere to click on "Return equipment". Will that only show up when I actually switch?

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

iniltous — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 18:50:11 GMT

Why don’t you state what you have , as a guide if you pay rental for it or it were supplied after December 2019 then it needs returning , so the router , and then depending on what you may or may not pay as extras , tv box or boxes , whole home WiFi devices , ‘unbreakable broadband’ 4G MiFi , it’s seems a little unclear if DV handsets or DV adapters need to be returned, I’d assume not .

As far as knowing in advance, what possible difference can it make , if you leave you are advised what needs returning ,

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

gg30340 — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 19:04:41 GMT

It's not hard to work out. If you have any of the equipment in the link and you got them after the date mentioned in the link you will need to send them back when requested,which will happen after you have informed BT you are leaving.

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

andydenyer — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 20:19:32 GMT

@docdunning

When I was sent a new hub as part of the switch to Digital Voice last year (as my existing hub didn't have the telephone socket), I was sent an email advising me what I needed to return, with the following text:

If you can, please return the kit below and we'll recycle it for free:
Item
Smart Hub

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

docdunning — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 20:27:32 GMT

Well, no-one seems able to answer the question that I posed, in good faith, in my opening post:

Is there a page in My BT that lists the devices that will have to be returned?

I'm guessing that the answer is "no, that info is only provided by email when the switch completes", or maybe "that info will be shown in My BT when your switch completes".

Let's leave it at that.

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

WSH — Thu, 24 Sep 2026 20:44:13 GMT

I'm not so sure even BT know the answer.

When I moved to FTTP last year I was asked to return a Hub 5. I'd been on a Smart Hub 2 for over two years, since the switch to DV. When I queried it I was told, as the Hub 5 was issued prior to Dec'19, I only needed to return it if I wanted to.

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

iniltous — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 07:13:32 GMT

Asking you to return equipment that you don't contractually need to return (because its was supplied prior to 2019 , like old routers ) is a requirement BT are others are obliged make , so they are environmentally responsibly dealt with , rather than potentially ending up in landfill if the customer disposed of it themselves, there is a difference between this request to return old electronics for disposal and being charged for non return of loaned equipment.

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

WSH — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 07:23:49 GMT

@iniltous Yes, I appreciate that but in this case the letter implied I would be charged, which is why I raised a complaint.

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

iniltous — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:17:01 GMT

I can understand why getting a request to return equipment that doesn’t need to be legally returned may be unsettling, but at the same time , the pre paid means to return is provided and even if a trip to the Post Office is an imposition, you can get equipment collected , and why would anyone want to keep old electronic equipment anyway .

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

Kimberlin — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:22:47 GMT

This is yet another thread that’s getting ludicrous. The OP is overthinking the whole thing. They’ll get a email or letter telling them what to return, hopefully a returns bag and they send what they’ve been told to send back, it’s really that simple!

If in doubt, send the lot back. Just make sure you keep your proof of postage, take a photo of the receipt from the post office and move on with life.

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

WSH — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:28:19 GMT

@iniltous I didn't say it was unsettling. I still had a use for the hub and, let's face it, I've certainly paid for it over the years.

The point I was making was that this request popped up out of the blue, a couple of years after I'd been given an SH2, so it suggests a certain degree of chaos in the system.

Anyway, as @Kimberlin says, the thread has past it's best before date, so I'll leave you all to it.

Re: Finding out which devices BT will want me to return

gg30340 — Fri, 25 Sep 2026 08:33:01 GMT

I can believe I am saying this but I agree with @Kimberlin in his message.

The question had been answered more than once.

I will ask the moderators to lock the thread.