Help and Support

This article explains what cookies are and how to enable/disable them for your web browser.

  1. What are cookies?
  2. Managing cookies in Internet Explorer 7
  3. Managing cookies in Safari
  4. Managing cookies in Firefox

1. What are cookies?

A cookie is a piece of information that is stored on your PC in order for information from websites to be stored. These are saved as small text files that are kept in a cookies folder on your hard drive. Cookies themselves are not harmful and cannot contain viruses or spy on the contents of your hard drive.

These text files normally contain the following information:

  • The web server the cookie originates from
  • The lifespan of the cookie (this can be permanent or expire after a specific amount of time or when the browser is closed)
  • A unique reference, which allows the cookie to be recognized by the web server

Cookies are used for various purposes, from authenticating users to maintaining specific information, for instance when using online shops.

Some sites require cookies to be turned on in order to function correctly, typically if using online banking or online shopping.
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2. Managing cookies in Internet Explorer 7

Click the Tools menu and select Internet Options:

Tools - Internet Options

 

Click the Privacy tab:

Tools - Internet Options - Privacy
  1. Click the Privacy tab.
  2. Select the level of protection you wish to use, the default setting of Medium is ideal for most users.
  3. If you want to edit settings for individual sites, click the Sites button. (More information provided below)
  4. If you want to edit the advanced settings, click the Advanced button. (More information provided below)

The settings range from blocking all cookies to allowing all cookies. The default setting on this is medium. We recommend leaving your setting at medium.

Click the Sites button to allow you to specify settings for individual sites:

Tools - Internet Options - Privacy - Sites
  1. Add the address of a site you wish to add individually.
  2. Choose if you are wishing to allow or block the site.
  3. A list of your individually specified websites and their settings will be shown here.
  4. You can select individual sites and remove them or remove all the individual settings as required.

 

To see more settings click the Advanced button:

Tools - Internet Options - Privacy - Advanced
  1. Choose whether you wish to override Internet Explorer 7's own handling of cookies.
  2. Choose how you wish to deal with first-party cookies. These are cookies which are being sent from the website you are viewing.
  3. Choose how you wish to deal with third-party cookies. These are cookies sent from a site other than the one you are looking at. For instance, if a company runs several websites, they may have a central server which looks after cookie requests or allows you to retain preferences between multiple websites.
  4. Choose whether you wish to allow session cookies. These are typically used to store information such as your location or colour preferences you may have selected.

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3. Managing cookies in Safari

Click the Safari menu and select Preferences:

Preferences

Click on the Security tab:

Preferences - Options

In the Security tab you can control how Safari deals with cookies:

Preferences - Security
  1. Choose whether you wish to accept all cookies, no cookies or just those relating directly to the site you would be viewing.
  2. If you wish to see more information on currently stored cookies click this option. (See diagram below)

The Show Cookies button will show you information about those cookies already in place on your computer:

Preferences - Security - Show Cookies
  1. Select an individual cookie if you wish to delete it.
  2. Click Remove if you have highlighted a single cookie.
  3. Click Remove All to remove all cookies stored.
  4. Click Done once you have finished with this screen.

 

 

If you choose never to accept cookies and then find that you need one in order for a site to correctly work, you will need to allow the cookies, by selecting allow. Once you have finished with the page, you will need to change the settings back to never and remember to delete the cookies that have been stored.
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4. Managing cookies in Firefox

Click Tools and select Options:

Tools - Options

Select the Privacy tab:

Tools - Options - Privacy
  1. Tick this option to allow cookies by default.
  2. Choose how long a cookie remains valid.
  3. If you wish to specify exceptions to the general setting you selected in option 1, click here to make changes.
  4. Click the Show Cookies button to see the cookies stored in your browser. See the next screenshot for more information.

 

In here you can choose to manage how the browser handles cookies. By selecting the 'keep until' option, you can set cookies to be allowed until they expire, until Firefox is closed or request Firefox asks before accepting cookies

When a cookie notification is raised, there is an option to always allow cookies for this site. This is useful for sites that you trust, i.e. our web portal or eBay etc.

You can see a list of cookies that have been accepted by selecting the Show Cookies option. If there is a cookie in here that is not required this can be removed individually or all cookies can be removed.

Tools - Options - Privacy - Cookies
  1. Click on a site to see the cookies stored for it.
  2. Here is a preference cookie stored from google.co.uk.
  3. This section shows the content of the cookie and the expiration date.
  4. You can select Remove Cookie to remove a single cookie.
  5. You can select Remove All Cookies to remove all stored cookies.
  6. Click the Done button once finished.

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Service Status

For full details of our current issues or any maintenance work that could be affecting your service please visit our Service Status site.

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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.