Help and Support

1. What's a home page?

A home page is quite simply the first page that is loaded when you start your web browser and the page that loads when you click the Home button.

The home page set in your browser will generally depend on which browser you are using and whether it has been customised. Some computer manufacturers will set the home page to point you to their own website. Some internet providers will set the home page to point to their website.

It's possible to set your home page in all browsers.

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2. What should my home page be?

It's completely up to you, you can set any page you like. We'd advise choosing a site that you visit a lot or want to keep an eye on (e.g. www.johnlewisbroadband.com, johnlewis.com or www.bbc.co.uk).

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3. How do I change my home page?

Click the image for your browser to see the appropriate instructions.

Internet Explorer Safari Mozilla Firefox Google Chrome
Internet Explorer Apple Safari Mozilla Firefox Google Chrome

Changing the home page in Internet Explorer 7 and 8

The screenshots shown are from Windows 7. The steps also apply to Windows XP and Windows Vista.

  1. Open Internet Explorer. Click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options.

    Open Internet Explorer. Click on the Tools menu and select Internet Options.

  2. The Internet Options window will appear. The Home page box should be the first thing you see on the General tab.

    There are 4 different ways to set a new home page.

    Enter the homepage address you want to use and click OK.
    • Fill in the address yourself. For multiple home pages, put each address on a separate line as shown.
    • Click Use current to use the page (or pages) you're currently looking at
    • Click Use default to change back to your original home page
    • Click Use blank if you don't want to load up a home page at all

  3. Click OK when you've finished. From now on, whenever you open a new Internet Explorer window, you'll see your new home page(s).

Changing the home page in Safari

  1. Open Safari. Click on the Safari menu and select Preferences.

    Open Safari. Click on the Safari menu and select Preferences.

  2. Click on the General tab if it's not already selected.

    Click on the General tab if it's not already selected.

  3. To change your home page, you first need to decide what happens when you open a new browser window.

    Under New windows open with choose Home Page.

    Under New windows open with choose Home Page.

  4. Now enter the address of the website that you want to be your Home page. Click Set to Current Page if you want to use the website you have open at the moment.

    Enter the homepage address you want to use and close the window.

  5. When you've finished, Close the window. The next time you open a new Safari window or Tab, your new home page should appear.

Changing the home page in Firefox

These screenshots are from Windows 7. The steps also apply to OS X and older versions of Windows.

  1. Start Firefox, click the Tools menu and select Options.
    OS X users will need to click the Firefox Menu and select Preferences...

    Start Firefox, click the Tools menu and select Options.

  2. Click the General button if it's not already selected.
    Click the General button if it's not already selected.

  3. To change your home page, you first need to decide what happens when you open a new browser window.

    Under When Firefox starts choose Show my home page.

    Under When Firefox starts choose Show my home page.

  4. Now enter the address of the website that you want to be your home page.

    There are 4 different ways to set a new home page.

    Enter the homepage address you want to use and click OK.
    • Fill in the address yourself. For multiple home pages, separate the addresses with a semi-colon.
    • Click Use Current Page to use the page or pages currently open in Firefox
    • Click Use Bookmark if you want to select your home page from your bookmarks
    • Click Restore to Default to change back to your original home page settings

  5. Click OK when you've finished. From now on, whenever you open a new Firefox window, you'll see your new home page(s).

Changing the home page in Google Chrome

These screenshots are from Windows 7. The steps also apply to OS X and older versions of Windows.

  1. Open Google Chrome. Click the Spanner and select Options from the menu.
    OS X users will need to , click the Chrome Menu and select Preferences...

    Open Google Chrome. Click the Spanner and select Options from the menu.

  2. To change your home page, you first need to decide what happens when you open a new browser window.

    Select Open the homepage from the On startup options.

    Select Open the homepage from the On startup options.

  3. Select Open this page (if it isn't already selected) and enter the address of the website that you want to be your home page.

    Select Open this page (if it isn't already selected) and enter the address of the website that you want to be your home page.

  4. When you've finished, click Close. The next time you open a new Chrome window or Tab, your new home page should appear.

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For your information

John Lewis Broadband is provided by Plusnet plc.

John Lewis Broadband is a trading name of John Lewis plc, but the services are provided by Plusnet and the contract for these services is between you and Plusnet plc.

Broadband and Fibre Broadband

To sign up to one of John Lewis Broadband's services, you will also have to sign up to John Lewis Broadband Phone, both on a 12-month contract. John Lewis Broadband Phone includes the Evening and Weekend† call plan as standard. You can choose to take one of our other call plans at an additional monthly charge.

*Broadband speed is described as 'average download speed of 10Mb' and 'average upload speed of 1Mb' as it is based on speed available to at least 50% of customers at peak time (8-10pm). Your actual speed will be dependent on your location, phone line, home wiring, wifi connection and time of day. Find out why speeds vary. Check your speed and products available at your location at www.johnlewisbroadband.com.

*Fibre broadband speed is described as'average download speed of 36Mb' and 'average upload speed of 9Mb' on Fibre and 'average download speed of 66Mb' and 'average upload speed of 18Mb' on Fibre Extra as it is based on speed available to at least 50% of customers at peak time (8-10pm). Your actual speed will be dependent on your location, phone line, home wiring, wifi connection and time of day. Find out why speeds vary. Check your speed and products available at your location at www.johnlewisbroadband.com.

Our broadband contracts: You must sign-up to a 12-month contract for one of the broadband services (John Lewis Broadband Unlimited, Fibre or Fibre Extra) and John Lewis Broadband Phone. If you choose to end either or both services within the minimum period, you will have to pay an early termination charge by way of compensation for ending your service(s) early. This charge depends on your monthly price and the length of time remaining in your minimum term. How we calculate these charges is set out in the Price Guide.

Phone

To sign up to the John Lewis Broadband Phone service, you will also have to sign up to one of the broadband services (John Lewis Broadband Unlimited, Fibre or Fibre Extra), both on a 12-month contract. If you choose to end either or both services within the minimum period, you will have to pay an early termination charge by way of compensation for ending your service(s) early. This charge depends on your monthly price and the length of time remaining in your minimum term. How we calculate these charges is set out in the Price Guide.

John Lewis Broadband Phone includes the Evening and Weekend† call plan as standard. You can choose to take one of the other call plans at an additional monthly charge. If you need a new phone line installing at your property, there is a £49.99 installation charge (excluding external construction charges). Details on the available call plans are set out below:-

†Call Plans

Evening and Weekend calls: Means calls to UK landlines beginning with 01, 02, 03, 0845 and 0870 made Monday-Friday 19:00-07:00 and anytime Saturday or Sunday (except calls to indirect access numbers (which include calling cards), dial-up Internet access and calls longer than 60 minutes). Calls must be started and finished within these times to be inclusive (non-chargeable) and any call that lasts more than 60 minutes will be chargeable. A fair usage limit of 150 calls or 1000 minutes a month (whichever is reached first) applies to calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers. (if you exceed this limit, we have the right to charge you for further calls made, suspend and/or terminate your service in accordance with our terms and conditions). Our Evening and Weekend call plan is included as standard when you take John Lewis Broadband Phone.

Anytime calls: Means calls to UK landlines beginning with 01, 02, 03, 0845 and 0870 at anytime (except calls to indirect access numbers (which include calling cards), dial-up Internet access and calls longer than 60 minutes). Anytime also includes a 25% discount on calls to the top 35 international destinations. A fair usage limit of 150 calls or 1000 minutes a month (whichever is reached first) applies to calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers. (if you exceed this limit, we have the right to charge you for further calls made, suspend and/or terminate your service in accordance with our terms and conditions). Our Anytime call plan costs £6.86 a month.

Anytime and International: Means calls to UK landlines beginning with 01, 02, 03, 0845 and 0870 at anytime (except calls to indirect access numbers (which includes calling cards), dial-up Internet access and calls longer than 60 minutes). Hang up and re-dial before 60 minutes (local) and you won't be charged. Anytime and International also provides 300 inclusive minutes per month to the top 35 international destinations and a 25% discount on any further calls made to those 35 destinations over this amount within the month. Hang up and re-dial before 30 minutes on international calls, whilst in your inclusive minutes, and you won't be charged. A fair usage limit of 150 calls or 1000 minutes a month (whichever is reached first) applies to calls to 0845 and 0870 numbers. (if you exceed this limit, we have the right to charge you for further calls made, suspend and/or terminate your service in accordance with our terms and conditions). Our Anytime and International call plan costs £9.15 a month.

Mobile Bolt-on: Unlimited calls to UK mobile and 070 personal numbering services, hang up and re-dial before 60 minutes and you won't be charged. Mobile Bolt-on is available only to Anytime and Anytime and International call plan customers. A fair usage limit of 150 calls or 1000 minutes (whichever is reached first) a month applies to calls to 070 personal numbering services. If you exceed this limit, we have the right to charge you for further calls made, suspend and/or terminate your service in accordance with our terms and conditions. A Mobile Bolt-on costs £5.00 a month.

Service calls outside of your inclusive minutes: The charge for calls to service numbers beginning 084, 087, 09 and 118 consists of a 9.58p per minute access charge from John Lewis Broadband, plus a service charge set by the company you called. For all John Lewis Broadband Phone pricing, please see our Price Guide.