Here’s How Long It Takes to Install Internet (After You Order)

How long you wait comes down to one thing: whether the fiber is already in the ground outside your house.

If it is, you’re usually looking at one to two weeks. If your neighborhood is still being built out, it takes longer. Here’s what both timelines look like, what happens on install day, and what can move your date.

The short answer

If Race fiber is already built to your address, installation typically happens within one to two weeks of placing your order. You pick your install day and time window during checkout.

If your home is newly built, or your neighborhood is still finishing utility construction, plan on longer. Delays in those cases run anywhere from several days to several weeks.

Same company, same crews, two very different timelines. The difference is infrastructure.

If fiber is already at your address

Enter your address at race.com. If you see that Race is available, you’re on the shorter track.

You pick your window at checkout. Toward the end of the order process, you’ll see available install days and arrival time slots. Choose what works for you and place the order.

We confirm. Within one to three days, our customer service team processes your order and reaches out to confirm the services you selected and go over what happens next.

A technician comes out. Most installations land within one to two weeks of your order date.

One requirement worth knowing before you pick a slot: an adult 18 or older needs to be home for the appointment. They’ll grant access and confirm where the equipment goes.

If Race is still building in your area

Race is actively building fiber across California. If you check your address and see that Race is coming soon, you can still get on the list. What we won’t do is give you a date we can’t keep.

Building a fiber network means permits from multiple agencies, coordination with local utilities, and crews laying and splicing miles of cable before a single home gets connected. Permit reviews run long. A new requirement from a city can shift a schedule by weeks. Weather moves things.

That’s why we don’t promise installation dates for communities still under construction. We’d rather be straight with you than pick a date and miss it.

What you can do in the meantime: fill out the contact form for your area and we’ll keep you posted on construction progress. When your street is ready, ordering opens up and you’re back on the one to two week timeline above.

What happens on install day

There are two ways the fiber gets to your house, and which one you get depends on how your neighborhood is built.

Which one you get depends on how your neighborhood is built.

Once the line reaches the house, the technician wraps it along the exterior and drills a 5/8 inch hole to bring the fiber inside. The line connects to a small box mounted on the side of your house, sometimes called a clamshell. You can paint it to match your siding if you want, as long as it stays protected.

Then the equipment goes in. A few things to know before the appointment:

• The router has to be installed on an exterior wall. Your technician will confirm placement with you before drilling anything.
• Technicians do not enter attics or crawl spaces.
• Secure your pets, especially dogs, before the technician arrives.

When the install is finished, your service is active.

What can push your install date

New construction. If your home was recently built, or your neighborhood is still completing utility work, that adds time. Several days on the short end. Several weeks if the surrounding infrastructure isn’t finished yet.

Permitting. This mostly affects areas where Race is still building. Agencies review on their own timelines, and a request for additional information can add weeks before crews can work.

Nobody home. An adult 18 or older has to be present. If the window comes and goes with nobody there, the appointment gets rescheduled, and you’re waiting on the next available slot.

Access problems. If the technician can’t safely reach the exterior wall or the utility path, that can turn one visit into two.

What installation costs

Nothing. Race doesn’t charge a residential installation fee. That covers running the line to your home, aerial or underground, and setting things up inside.

You’ll see your full plan cost during checkout before you confirm anything.

Frequently asked questions