John Lewis Broadband Review 2022

Author: Matt Powell

Last updated: 06 August 2024

John Lewis broadband - the Broadband Genie review

John Lewis broadband speed

John Lewis average download speeds vs BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media

John Lewis upload speeds vs BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media

John Lewis is essentially a rebranded Plusnet, so it offers the same speeds as that provider. And since Plusnet uses the BT Openreach telephone network, download and upload speeds are similar to almost every other provider.

John Lewis broadband value for money

John Lewis broadband cheapest package vs BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media

John Lewis broadband fastest package vs BT, Sky, TalkTalk, and Virgin Media

Last checked August 2022. The prices displayed above are the initial contract cost for new customers; charges may increase after renewal. The cheapest price is the lowest monthly cost regardless of speed. The fastest price is the fastest service available on Broadband Genie for the lowest monthly cost, excluding TV bundles.

John Lewis has some good value entry-level deals; not the very cheapest, but less than some of the major providers. The same can't be said of its fibre optic packages, which are beaten on price by almost all the big names, except the much faster Virgin Media.

However, it's worth noting there are no setup costs with John Lewis, and you get free evening and weekend calls included as standard.

John Lewis broadband features and extras

As well as the free evening and weekend calls, John Lewis also gives every customer free Bullguard antivirus. Aside from that, there aren't any other notable extras included.

John Lewis does run regular free gift reward offers for new customers. It often gives away gadgets such as Google Home smart speakers, and you can sometimes find exclusive deals on Broadband Genie.

John Lewis broadband Wi-Fi router

John Lewis ADSL broadband deals include a Netgear WNR1000 Wi-Fi router. It's easy to use but only offers the older 802.11n (aka Wi-Fi 4) standard and 4x 100Mb wired network connections. Perfectly sufficient for many homes, but if you have more advanced requirements, you may find it lacking.

The ZyXEL VMG8924 included with John Lewis fibre deals is significantly better. It supports the faster 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5), has gigabit network ports, and provides more advanced features.

John Lewis broadband home phone plans

As well as the free evening and weekend calls included in all John Lewis deals, you can also add the following call plans to your package:

• Anytime: £5 per month. Free landline calls at any time.
• Anytime and international: £7 per month. Free UK landline calls at any time. 300 minutes to 35 international destinations.

There is also a mobile bolt-on available for £5 per month, which provides free anytime calls to UK mobile.

John Lewis broadband review conclusion

Our John Lewis broadband rating: 3.5 / 5

While not overburdened with features and free extras, John Lewis offers reasonably good value for money. You get a generous free call package, free setup, decent Wi-Fi router, transparent pricing, and benefit from Plusnet's award-winning customer service.

You could save a few quid by going with Plusnet instead as they are essentially the same service. But where John Lewis differs is its lack of geographical pricing; the cost is the same no matter where you live. If you've been told that your preferred provider will cost more because of your location, then John Lewis broadband is a safe choice as it does not apply such policies.

John Lewis does use traffic management, though if you dig into the small print, it appears to only apply in exceptional circumstances. But if you'd rather not ever worry about being restricted in this way, there are numerous providers which have truly unlimited service.

More broadband reviews

We review every provider we list on Broadband Genie. Check out the following reviews for our thoughts on other ISPs: