It's the right question to ask, and the timing matters, so here's the short version: don't cancel yet. Wait until we've told you your switch is sorted, then talk to your old provider.

There are two reasons, and the second one surprises people.

You'd be without internet in the gap. Cancel first and your house goes offline for however long sits between the two. Nobody wants to spend a week tethering off their phone.

It can actually break the switch. Where your address already has fibre, moving to Plio is a transfer of the existing connection. If your old provider closes the account first, there's nothing left to transfer, and the whole thing has to start again. Cancelling early doesn't just risk a gap, it can create one.

So stay put until we confirm your switch is done.

Mostly us, and this is the bit worth understanding.

When your address is already connected, we handle the transfer itself. The connection moves across to Plio, and your old provider's service on that line ends as part of it. You don't need to arrange that, and you shouldn't try to.

But you should still get in touch with them. Most NZ providers have a notice period, often around 30 days, and a transfer doesn't waive it. If you don't tell them, you can end up paying for a month of service on a line that's already moved to us.

So: let us do the switch, and let them know it's happening so the paperwork side is closed off properly.

Then there's no transfer involved. Your Plio connection is a fresh install, completely separate from whatever you have now, and the two don't touch each other.

That's actually the easy version. Keep your old service running right up until your Plio connection is live and tested, then cancel it yourself in the normal way. No risk of the two interfering.

Once you're connected and happy. Plug in, run a speed test, stream something, get through a normal evening with everyone home. If it all holds up, that's your moment.

Not sure whether yours is a transfer or a fresh install? Message us and we'll tell you which one you're on, and exactly what you need to do.

This is the one we'd really like you to do, because it's the mistake that costs people money quietly.

When a connection transfers, your old provider's billing should stop on its own. Usually it does. Sometimes it doesn't, and an account that should have closed keeps ticking over in the background because nobody at their end noticed.

So about a month after you've moved to us, have a quick look at your bank statement. If they're still charging you for a line you're no longer using, get in touch with them and ask them to close the account and refund it. You're well within your rights to.

It takes two minutes to check and it's a lot easier to sort out after one month than after six.

Most providers want their equipment back and will charge you if it doesn't turn up. Worth asking when you speak to them: where it goes, and by when. It's an easy thing to shove in a cupboard and forget about until a fee appears.

Your email address. If your email ends in your provider's domain, you may lose access to it when the account closes, along with anything that's ever been sent there. If that's you, it's worth setting up a personal address first and moving your important accounts across. It's a bit of a job, but it's much harder to fix afterwards, and it's one we can't help you recover.

Any bundle. If your internet is tied to a mobile plan or a TV service, ending one part can change the price of the rest. Worth a quick check so the saving you were expecting doesn't quietly disappear somewhere else.

Possibly, for a short stretch, depending on your old provider's notice period. We know that stings a bit.

The thing that keeps it small is that Plio doesn't charge you for your service until your connection is actually live. So you're never paying us for internet you can't use yet, and the overlap is as short as it can reasonably be.

Anything longer than that is worth querying with them, using the check above.