Downgrade Halo 3 to Fibre 2.

[outlaw123]

My contract is up in a few weeks time. I am currently on Halo 3 but dont use the benefits and i is becoming increasingly expensive. Is it possible to downgrade to Fibre 2? Or will BT not allow a downgrade?

[Kodikid]

Once your contract is up you can do whatever you want. It's unlikely though you'll find a lower price being on Halo so be prepared to move..

[imjolly]

when you say downgrade what package do you have bearing in mind Halo is an add on on not part of your package.  if on Fibre 2 then you can just renew without halo but you will have to be insistent and persistent to get rid of halo but halo is an expensive extra.  if you don't use your home phone then you can just renew broadband only and save another £3/5 pm

[outlaw123]

I currently have Halo 3 + a call package. Small house so dont need the wifi in every room add on. I dont use my laptop a great deal. No gaming. No films etc. So the " extra" that Halo offers is not of use to me. We have a copper connection to our local box and fibre from then on. Halo has never sped up the system.

[iniltous]

As stated Halo isn’t a ‘speed’ , whereas Fibre 2 is , so a downgrade to F2 is probably not the correct description, you want to remove the Halo add on ,  as chances are you are already on F2 (upto 80Mb ) and not downgrade that to F1 (upto 55Mb )  or Fibre Essential (upto 40 Mb ) …if your line isn’t capable of the higher profiles then arguably you should never have been on F2 .

Halo isn’t a speed increase but can come with a whole home WiFi so if the WiFi signal is poor in some parts if the property that can be improved with WiFi ‘extenders’ , obviously this may be unnecessary if the router WiFi provides satisfactory WiFi without these extenders….you also have an unbreakable guarantee which is basically if your landline service fails the 4G service kicks in so you still have service , but if the landline never fails , then obviously you never actually use the 4G .

It does seem that many folks purchase Halo without fully understanding what it is and if it’s likely to be worth the extra expense 

[outlaw123]

Yes I think I was " conned " into taking Halo. We have great coverage throughout the house. Have no mobile phone signal so would not get any advantage with the SIM. We have a problem explaining to BT that we have no mobile service and they continue to try to push the advantages of 4G !!

[dwatki]

I fully sympathise. As a BT Pensioner I am having the same problem. BT are less than helpful.
I will post a more comprehensive reply as soon as I can gather the facts.

[dwatki]

A more complete reply.

I am currently on BT FIBRE HALO 3 with a Digital Phone, paying £55.07 per month.

My contact ends this year in November.

BT inform me it CANNOT ( and will not ) be renewed. I will be required to upgrade.

The only offer available from BT Broadband is £49.00 plus £3.43 for the Phone, £52.43 p/m.

EE have a special offer through the BT website £53.65 plus enhancements at extra cost.

Both BT and EE will be increased by £4.00 annually during a 24 month contract.

I am on Part-Fibre Technology so the best I can expect is 39-51 Mbps Download and 4-5 Mbps Upload with a “Guaranteed” 35 Mbps Download. (at present it is 42 Mbps and 4.2 Mbps).

There is no prospect of FULL Fibre upgrade in the near future in my locality.

My conversation with the BT Adviser on 0330 1234 150, (Option Leaving BT), was most educational. No offer was made to opt for BT Fibre 2, only an “Upgrade” at less per month until the next £4.00 increase next year. It was confirmed if I could find a deal with EE or Plus-net, I could retain my and my wife’s @btinternet,com addresses. Otherwise they and the phone service would be lost.

I could pay £7.50 per month to retain the email addresses, but not the Phone Line that I have had since 1971.

I now face a dilemma. Stay loyal to BT or take my custom elsewhere.

U switch and Ofcom websites offer many alternatives for my location. Amongst the listings is BT Fibre 2 Broadband claiming an average of 67 Mbps D/L for £27.99 per month, increasing £4 per year.

Plus-net Fibre, 68 Mbps for £25.99, increasing £4 pa.

Virgin Media has many packages ranging from 132 Mbps to 1000Mbps with prices from £23.99 to £36.99, increasing £3.50 pa. Virgin also say they can port a digital phone line.

Prices correct at 13 September 2025.

I am a BT Pensioner having retired some 25 years ago. I am 83 years old and an internet connection is important to keep in touch with Family and increasingly so for Banking and Doctors Services, to say nothing of Government websites. I retired as a Middle Manager in Technical Support in Business Systems. During my time we valued the quality of service provided to our Customers.

[gg30340]

If you were to "migrate" to EE Broadband you would not lose your email addresses or have to pay £7.50 to retain it. Your email will remain exactly as it is at present.

If you move to Plusnet or Virgin, your email account will be downgraded to a free BTMail Basic account which can only be used on a web browser. If you want to be able to use it with an email client or an email app such as you may use on a mobile device you would need to "upgrade" your email account to a BT Premium email account at £7.50 per month.

It may be that depending on your circumstances you may qualify for BT Home Essentials which could help with the cost of BT Broadband and phone.

See link

BT Home Essentials Broadband | Universal Credit Broadband

It may be the case that EE, Plusnet and Virgin have something similar.

Only you can decide which is the best deal for your circumstance. You may find that if you wait until nearer your end of contract you will be offered better deals from BT but that is by no means certain.

There is no reason that you can not downgrade your Halo package to just a standard BT Broadband package if that is what you want to do. Halo is an add on to the Broadband package not a package in its own right. 

There seems to be a lack of knowledge regarding that from the BT customer service reps. 

I will advise the moderators regarding your post and they may be able to advise you in how to best obtain the BT Broadband package that suits your needs.

[dwatki]

Thank you for your quick reply.
Even as an experienced internet user I am finding the BT Website extremely difficult to navigate. It is one of the most user unfriendly sites I have encountered in more than 40 years of computing.
My attempt to communicate through messaging tonight resulted in the reply requesting me to ring the BT Team on 0800 783 1401.
I despair.