Switching Internet Provider: What to Check Before Signing, How to Switch Without Days Offline and Why Wi-Fi, the TV and Cameras Often "Break" After the New Provider Connects You

There are plenty of reasons to switch provider: constant evening dropouts, speeds below what's promised, a better offer from a competitor, a move, or simply poor support. In Tbilisi many buildings have several providers available, and competition pushes them to offer attractive plans. But switching isn't just "call and get connected". Without planning, you can end up offline for several days, lose access to cameras and smart devices, find the old contract can't be ended without a penalty — and discover that the new "gigabit" in your flat actually works worse than the old plan. Let's look at how to switch provider properly.

What to check before signing

• The connection technology in your building. Fibre to the flat, fibre to the building with copper cable up the stairwell, or wireless access — these differ hugely in quality, even if the plan has the same name.
• Neighbours' real experience. Speed and stability depend on how loaded the equipment is in your particular area and building. Reviews from neighbours in your block are worth more than advertising.
• Upload speed and latency. For remote work, video calls and gaming, download megabits aren't all that matters.
• The old contract's terms. The term, early termination fees, the need to return the router and TV box, and how disconnection works.
• The new contract's terms. The connection fee, equipment rental, the promotional price and the price after the promotion ends.
• A static address, if you need remote access to cameras, an office or a server — not every provider offers one, and some charge for it.
• Support and call-outs — how quickly problems get fixed in your area.

How to switch with no downtime

The best approach is to connect the new provider first, make sure everything works, and only then disconnect the old one. A few days of paying twice usually costs less than a week without internet for a family with someone working from home, or for an office. When the new provider's installer arrives, it's important to know where the router should go: it's often put by the front door because that's easier for the cable, and then the Wi-Fi doesn't reach the far rooms. It's worth planning the router's location in advance.

Your own router or the provider's

The provider usually offers its own router — basic, sometimes outdated, with limited settings. If you already have a good router or mesh system, you can keep it and connect it to the new provider's line. Sometimes this means putting the provider's router into bridge mode, or configuring the connection type and login details on your own router. The key thing is not to leave two routers handing out addresses in a chain unless necessary: it creates double NAT and problems with gaming, cameras and remote access.

What most often "breaks" after switching

• Wi-Fi with a new name and password. Every device in the house — phones, TV, printer, cameras, robot vacuum, smart plugs — has to be reconnected. The easiest fix is to give the new network the old name and password, so most devices reconnect on their own.
• Cameras and remote access. The public address changes, forwarded ports may disappear, and the new provider may use shared NAT.
• IPTV and the TV box. The old provider's box won't work with the new one; the new provider has its own service and possibly its own router requirements.
• Provider email addresses. If you used email on the provider's domain, it may disappear after disconnection — think about this in advance.
• Network drives and printers with fixed addresses from the old range.

Offices: special requirements

For an office, switching provider is a small project. You need to account for the VPN for remote staff, router rules, a static address if external services rely on it, tills and payment terminals, and a backup line. The switch is best planned for a weekend, with the new settings prepared in advance, so that everything works on Monday.

What our technician does

1. Helps you weigh up providers' offers for your address and your needs.
2. Is present at the connection, or agrees where the cable comes in and where the router goes.
3. Connects your router or mesh system to the new line and, if needed, puts the provider's equipment into bridge mode.
4. Keeps the old Wi-Fi name and password and reconfigures cameras, printers, TVs and smart devices.
5. Tests speed, latency and stability, and helps prepare the old equipment for return.

A real example

A family in Didi Dighomi switched to a new provider for a cheaper gigabit plan. The installer put the router in the hallway, and from that day the Wi-Fi barely worked in the children's room and the kitchen, the entrance cameras stopped opening on their phones, the TV and printer "disappeared", and their old mesh system sat in its box. Our technician connected the mesh system to the new line, putting the provider's router into bridge mode, gave the network the old name and password — most devices reconnected by themselves — switched the recorder to cloud access and fixed the printer's address. Now the new plan really works throughout the flat.

Call a technician

If you're switching provider, or something stopped working after the switch, we'll come to any district of Tbilisi around the clock. Learn more on our internet setup, router setup and network cable installation pages.