How to Help Someone Get Online for the First Time
This guide is written for the person doing the helping: an adult child sorting out a parent, a support worker, a neighbour, a volunteer. If you are the one getting online, it will still tell you where the free data, free devices and free training are. It starts with the uncomfortable finding that most people who are offline are not waiting for a cheaper deal, then sets out what does move the needle, where to get free mobile data and free refurbished devices, the collection rule that trips helpers up, and the point at which a home broadband contract actually makes sense.
The short version
- Lead with one specific thing they want, not with the internet in general. Ofcom's numbers are blunt about why.
- The money argument that works is theirs, not yours. Buying offline cost about 25% more across a tested basket of six purchases.
- Free mobile data exists. The National Databank is, in its own words, like a foodbank but for mobile data.
- Free refurbished devices exist too, through local organisations rather than direct.
- Buy the broadband last. A 24 month contract for someone not yet convinced is the classic expensive mistake.
First, the thing nobody tells you
Direct answer: cost is the third most cited reason, and people could give more than one.
Ofcom's Adults' Media Use and Attitudes research, published on 2 April 2026, found that "Six per cent of all adults do not have internet access at home." It then asked them why, and the ranking is the most useful thing on this page.
| The barrier | How many say it | What does not help | What does |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Not interested, no need" | 68% | Explaining how useful the internet is. They have heard it, and it is abstract | One concrete, personal thing, and it has to be theirs. Whatever they actually miss: a person, a place, a hobby, a cheaper renewal, a GP appointment without the 8am phone queue |
| "Too complicated" | 38% | A tour of everything the device can do, delivered at speed by a relative | One task at a time, until it feels routine. Text size set to whatever suits them. The steps written down. Free beginner training from someone who is not family |
| Cost | 25% | Assuming it is the only barrier, or the only one worth solving. It overlaps with the other two rather than replacing them | Free data from the National Databank, a free refurbished device, and a social tariff later if they qualify |
One important caveat on that table. This was a multi answer question, so the three figures overlap rather than competing: somebody can say both that they see no need and that it is too expensive, and plenty do. The point is not that money does not matter. It is that money alone is rarely the whole story, so solving only the cost usually does not shift someone on its own.
One more number, and it deserves care rather than despair. Ofcom found that "The majority (82%) say that nothing would prompt them to go online."
Read carelessly that sounds like a closed door. Read properly, it is a comment on the offer rather than on the person. Nobody in that 82% was asked "would you like to see the photographs from Saturday", or "shall we find out what that plant in the garden is". They were asked about the internet, which is not a thing anybody wants. The whole art of this is replacing the abstract offer with a specific one.
It is also worth knowing who this group is, because it changes how you approach it. Ofcom: "This offline group is disproportionately older: 17% are aged 65-74 and 66% are aged 75+", and "Most (81%) live in C2DE households."
The argument that actually lands
Direct answer: buying offline generally costs more, and there is a credible number for it.
The Centre for Social Justice worked this out in August 2023, and the government repeated it in December 2025. Its finding: "consumers could pay 25 per cent more for an illustrative series of transactions" if they buy offline rather than online.
Be precise about what that is, because it is often quoted loosely. It is not a measurement of what offline households actually spend. It is a constructed basket of six purchases, car insurance, home contents insurance, a phone contract, a SIM only contract, train travel and food, priced online and then offline. The gap varied enormously across the six, from a couple of per cent on car insurance to well over 100% on a SIM only deal. 25% is the average across that basket, not a rule.
Used honestly, it still inverts the conversation. You are not asking someone to take up a hobby. You are pointing out that the same insurance, the same train ticket and the same phone deal are often cheaper to the person who can buy them online. For a lot of people that is the sentence that changes the answer.
The right order, and it is not the obvious one
Most people helping a relative do this backwards: buy a tablet, sign a broadband contract, then try to generate enthusiasm. That order produces an unused device and a monthly bill. This one works better.
1. Find the reason. Not a reason, the reason.
Ask what they miss, what annoys them, or what they used to enjoy. You are looking for one thing, and it is almost never email. If nothing comes, wait. Starting without a reason is how devices end up in drawers.
2. Get a device into their hands, ideally for nothing.
The National Device Bank supplies free refurbished laptops, phones and tablets through local organisations. A spare family tablet works just as well. Do not buy new at this stage.
3. Use free mobile data to prove it works, before any contract.
The National Databank gives out free data SIMs through local hubs. This is the step almost everyone skips, and it is the one that lets someone try being online without anybody committing to anything.
4. Get someone who is not you to teach them.
This is not a comment on your patience. People accept help from a stranger more easily than from their own children, because there is less to lose face over. Libraries, Age UK and local digital inclusion hubs all run free sessions.
5. Only now, sort the home connection.
Once it is clear the thing is being used, a home broadband connection is worth paying for. Check social tariff eligibility first, because for a qualifying household that is usually the cheapest option available.
The free help that exists, and where to find it
Direct answer: free data, free devices and free training all exist, and all three usually run through the same local organisations.
| What | What it actually is | Who it is for | How to get it |
|---|---|---|---|
| National Databank | In its own words, "Like a foodbank but for mobile data", providing free mobile SIM cards. Virgin Media O2, Vodafone and Three donate the data | Its own wording: "18+ years old AND from a low income household AND/OR have no access or insufficient access to the internet at home AND/OR ... cannot afford an existing monthly contract or top up". That "AND/OR" is genuinely ambiguous about whether low income is required, so ring the hub and ask before travelling | In person at a local digital inclusion hub. The person themselves must collect it, see the warning below |
| National Device Bank | Refurbished "laptops, mobile phones and tablets" donated by public and private sector organisations | People who do not have access to a suitable device | Not direct. Local community organisations receive stock and gift it on, so ring round and ask who has any |
| Learn My Way | A website of "free online learning for beginners", covering the basics of using the internet | Complete beginners, at their own pace | Online, free. Works best alongside a person, at a library or hub |
| Your local library | Free computers, free wifi, and in many areas staff or volunteers who will sit with someone | Anyone. No qualifying criteria, no forms | Walk in and ask. The most underrated option on this list |
| AbilityNet | Free IT support from disclosure checked volunteers, remotely or in person at home. The answer for someone who cannot travel | "older people and disabled people of any age, anywhere in the UK" | Online request form, or the helpline on 0300 180 0028 |
| Funded local training | In England, the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund, over 80 local projects. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland had separate allocations run by their own governments, so provision differs. The Age UK project the government names is specifically about using the NHS App | Older people, people out of work, and others at risk of being left behind | Varies locally. Ask at the library or search for a digital inclusion hub near you |
The rule that catches helpers out, every time
The National Databank's own wording: "Individuals must access the National Databank for themselves and are unable to collect on behalf of anyone else." So you cannot pick up a SIM for your mother and take it round. She has to go. If travel is genuinely difficult, ring the hub first and ask what they can do rather than making a wasted journey. And for someone who cannot get out at all, AbilityNet provides free IT support to "older people and disabled people of any age, anywhere in the UK", including volunteers who help at home. Its helpline is 0300 180 0028.
What not to do
- Do not buy a brand new tablet as a surprise. It creates an obligation to be enthusiastic about something they did not choose, and the guilt makes it harder to admit it is not being used.
- Do not sign a 24 month broadband contract before there is any evidence it will be used. Prove it on free mobile data first.
- Do not set everything up with your own details. Accounts in your name, your email as the recovery address and your card on file all become a problem later, and it quietly makes them dependent on you.
- Do not teach ten things. Teach one thing well rather than ten badly, and then leave them to use it. Write the steps down, in whatever size they find easy to read.
- Do not argue with "I am too old for this". Ask what specifically puts them off instead. Sometimes it is a fear of breaking something expensive, sometimes it is not wanting to look foolish, and sometimes they simply do not want it. Those need three different responses, and arguing works for none of them.
When to sort the broadband, and what it should cost
Direct answer: last, and probably on a social tariff.
Once a device is genuinely being used, a home connection stops being a gamble and starts being worth paying for. At that point the question is simply what it should cost, and for a household on a qualifying benefit the answer is usually a social tariff.
Our guide to social tariffs covers who qualifies and how to apply, and cheap broadband for pensioners covers the options where a social tariff is not available. If the household is already behind on a bill, start instead with what to do when you are struggling to pay.
One practical note worth carrying. Ofcom found that "One in five online adults (20%) rely solely on a smartphone to go online, without access to other devices such as a computer or tablet", up from around 12% in 2019. A phone is a real connection and a fine place to start. But form filling, job applications and price comparison are all harder on a small screen, which means someone who is smartphone only may still be missing the savings that come with being properly online. That is a good reason to get to a larger screen eventually, not a reason to rush.
When they are ready for a connection of their own
Check social tariff eligibility first. If the household does not qualify, a short contract at a fair price beats a long one at an introductory rate, and it takes about a minute to see what is available at the address.
Frequently asked questions
How many people in the UK are not online?
Ofcom's Adults' Media Use and Attitudes research, published on 2 April 2026, found that six per cent of all adults do not have internet access at home. The group is heavily skewed by age and income: 66% are aged 75 or over, a further 17% are 65 to 74, and most, 81%, live in C2DE households. There is also a larger group who are technically online but barely use it.
Why do people choose not to go online?
Mostly because they see no reason to. Ofcom found that 68% of adults without home internet say they are not interested or feel no need to be online, 38% think it is too complicated, and 25% cite cost. Cost is the third most cited reason, and because people could give more than one answer those groups overlap rather than compete: money is a real barrier for a quarter of this group, it is just rarely the only one. That is why offering someone a cheaper deal on its own often does not work. The more useful approach is to solve the cost and find one specific thing they actually want to do.
Is it true that being offline costs you money?
Often, yes. The Centre for Social Justice found in August 2023, in a figure the government repeated in December 2025, that consumers could pay 25 per cent more for an illustrative series of transactions if they buy offline. It is an average across six tested purchases including insurance, train travel and food, not a measurement of what offline households really spend, and the gap varied hugely between items. Used honestly, it is still the most persuasive answer to someone who says they do not need the internet.
Where can someone get free mobile data?
Through the National Databank, run by Good Things Foundation, which describes itself as being like a foodbank but for mobile data, providing free mobile SIM cards for people who cannot access the internet. Virgin Media O2, Vodafone and Three donate the data. You collect it from a local digital inclusion hub. The published criteria are that you are 18 or over and from a low income household, and/or have no or insufficient internet access at home, and/or away from home, and/or cannot afford an existing contract or top up. The and/or wording leaves it genuinely unclear whether low income is required, so ring the hub and check before making a journey.
Can I collect a free data SIM on someone else's behalf?
No, and this catches helpers out constantly. The National Databank's rule is explicit: individuals must access the National Databank for themselves and are unable to collect on behalf of anyone else. So the person who needs the data has to go in person. If they cannot travel, that is worth raising with the hub when you ring ahead, rather than turning up and being sent away.
Where can someone get a free laptop or tablet?
The National Device Bank provides laptops, mobile phones and tablets to individuals who may not have access to a device. It does not send devices directly to individuals. Instead it supplies local community organisations, which then gift them on, so you need to find a local organisation and ask whether it has stock. The devices are refurbished and donated by public and private sector organisations, and they are free.
Where can someone learn basic digital skills for free?
Learn My Way is a website of free online learning for beginners, run by Good Things Foundation, covering the basics of using the internet. Many public libraries also run free sessions and have staff or volunteers who will sit with someone. The government has separately funded community organisations to deliver free digital training, through the Digital Inclusion Innovation Fund in England, with separate allocations for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland run by their own governments, so what is available differs depending on where you live.
What is the right order to do things in?
Reason first, then device, then connection, then skills, then the home broadband contract last. Buying someone a tablet before they want to use one is the most common and most wasteful mistake. Find the one thing they want, get a device in their hands, use free mobile data to prove it works, build a little confidence, and only then think about a home connection and what it should cost.
Should I just buy them broadband?
Not as the first step. A home broadband contract is a 12 or 24 month commitment for someone who may not yet be sure they want it, and an unused connection is a monthly bill that quietly builds resentment. Prove the value first on free mobile data, then sort a connection. When you do, check social tariff eligibility first, because that is usually the cheapest option for a qualifying household.
What if they say they are too old to learn?
Ask what specifically puts them off, rather than arguing with the sentence. It can mean a fear of breaking something expensive, or of looking foolish, or it can mean they genuinely do not want it, and those need different responses. Small and concrete beats a tour of everything a device can do. Handing over to a library session or a volunteer often helps too, because accepting help from a stranger can feel easier than accepting it from your own family.
How do I find local help near me?
Good Things Foundation runs the National Digital Inclusion Network, and publishes a postcode map of local hubs at goodthingsfoundation.org/find-support. That is the single most useful starting point, because the same organisations often hold free data, free devices and free training together. Public libraries are the other reliable route, and Age UK operates in many areas.
Does a smartphone count as being online?
Partly, and it is worth knowing the limits. Ofcom found that one in five online adults, 20%, rely solely on a smartphone for access, up from around 12% in 2019. A phone is a genuine connection and it is often the easiest starting point, but form filling, job applications and comparing prices are all harder on a small screen, so someone who is smartphone only may still be missing out on the savings that come from being properly online.
References
- Ofcom. (2026, April 2). Adults' media use and attitudes report 2026. https://www.ofcom.org.uk/media-use-and-attitudes/media-habits-adults/adults-media-use-and-attitudes
- GOV.UK. (2025, December 10). Thousands to get free digital training so everyone has the chance to shop around for cheaper deals online. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thousands-to-get-free-digital-training-so-everyone-has-the-chance-to-shop-around-for-cheaper-deals-online
- GOV.UK. (2026, March 24). More than one million helped get connected and get online thanks to government digital inclusion action plan. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-than-one-million-helped-get-connected-and-get-online-thanks-to-government-digital-inclusion-action-plan
- Good Things Foundation. (n.d.). National Databank. https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/our-services/national-databank
- Good Things Foundation. (n.d.). National Device Bank. https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/our-services/national-device-bank
- Good Things Foundation. (n.d.). Learn My Way. https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/our-services/learn-my-way
- The Connection Project. (n.d.). Digital inclusion UK and cross-sector collaboration. https://www.connectionproject.co.uk/
- Centre for Social Justice. (2023, August). Left out: How to tackle digital exclusion and reduce the poverty premium. https://www.centreforsocialjustice.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/CSJ-Left-Out.pdf
- AbilityNet. (n.d.). Request free IT support at home. https://abilitynet.org.uk/free-tech-support-and-info/request-free-it-support-home
- Good Things Foundation. (n.d.). Find digital inclusion support near you. https://www.goodthingsfoundation.org/find-support
Written by Adrian James, Broadband Editor. Reviewed by Dr Alex J. Martin-Smith.
Published 15 August 2026. Ofcom figures are from research published 2 April 2026. Scheme eligibility and local availability change, so confirm details with the organisation before travelling.