down
Latest
The Nintendo Wii and DSi stores have been down for days with no explanation
Nintendo's DSi and Wii stores have both shut down for days with no explanation from the company.
Google's overnight Gmail outage is finally over (updated)
Is Gmail down? For many people the answer is yes, with errors on attached files and failures to login.
Xbox Live outage locks gamers out again (updated)
A month after another extended outage impeded Xbox gamers from playing for hours -- and with a number of smaller issues in between -- Microsoft's network is down once again. Right now, many people can't sign in or do much other than maybe watch Netflix on their Xbox Ones, after hours of problems and more than an hour and a half after its support account said the team was aware of problems. As usual, the Xbox Live status page is the best place to look for updated information, and it shows the issue running since around 8 PM ET. We've heard that gamers who bought Gears 5 Ultimate to jump in early have been able to play through the campaign by taking their boxes offline, so if you enjoy single player gaming you may be in luck. For everyone else hoping to take their NBA 2K20 MyPlayer online or get in some multiplayer action, maybe it's time to read a book, or take a walk. Whatever it is that other people do might help, if you don't have a PS4, PC or Switch to keep your attention. One thing's for sure -- a string of service outages isn't the best way to convince people that cloud-streamed gaming is a good bet for the future. Update: As of about 12:30 AM ET @XboxSupport reported sign-ins were restored, let us know if everything is working out for you now.
Microsoft's 'Your Phone' screen mirroring app is down
Microsoft's Your Phone feature has been down for most of the day. When it's working, the new app lets users mirror their Android device's screen on a Windows 10 PC. But the app has been struggling to connect since early this morning. "We've identified a potential issue within infrastructure responsible for processing service traffic," Microsoft's service outage page says. "We're taking corrective action and we'll closely monitor the service to ensure recovery."
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are back up and running (updated)
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp are experiencing outages this morning. Downdetector maps show the services are struggling around the globe, but the issues seem to be the worst on the East Coast and in Europe. According to The Independent, some WhatsApp users are unable to send photos, videos and voice messages, though text is still going through, and #instagram down is trending on Twitter.
Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp hit by second outage within a month
Just as the US was waking up to a lovely Sunday, Facebook was sadly tackling yet another massive outage -- its second one within a month. According to downdetector.com, soon after 6AM ET today, users across the world started experiencing issues with Facebook and its various platforms, including Messenger, Instagram and WhatsApp. At the time of writing -- well over two hours later -- the services were still down, leaving users unable to load fresh content or message each other, nor could we check the service status on Facebook's developer site. Unlike last time, the company had yet to comment on the situation via Twitter.
Samsung's SmartThings hub is down for North American users (updated)
Samsung launched its SmartThings automation Hub back in late 2015. Wirecutter called it the best smart hub the following year, and the company has added more features to the system, like the ability to control it with Gear smartwatches. Unfortunately, Samsung has confirmed that the system has been down for many North American users since yesterday. The company has also tweeted that it is still looking into the issue as of today.
BT down: this is why your broadband isn't working
If you're trying to get online with BT Broadband today, you might experience some problems. The provider has confirmed that it's suffering from network issues that are affecting BT but also PlusNet subscribers across the UK. Website reporting service Down Detector has collated thousands of complaints from across London, Birmingham, Manchester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Milton Keynes, Leeds, Leicester, Bristol and Nottingham. It's not the best timing: MPs only said yesterday that BT needs to its 'house in order' or face being split from its Openreach business.
BT Broadband goes down across the UK
If you're a BT customer and you're experiencing issues with your broadband connection, you are not alone. The company has confirmed its internet service is suffering from network issues, which is affecting subscribers across the UK. BT's websites also appear to be down, which is stopping some users from being able to check the status of their connection.
Apple's App and iTunes Stores are down (update: back up)
Good luck trying to buy anything that isn't hardware from Apple right now. The company recently confirmed on its services status dashboard that the iOS and Mac App Stores, as well as the iTunes Store, are "unavailable for all users." The silver lining? Some people might still have luck picking up some new reading from the iBooks Store, but we wouldn't count on it. Don't be fooled, either: For now you can still sift through the stores' wares and listings as though nothing happened, but you won't actually be able to purchase anything. The first spate of issues started making the rounds at about 5AM Eastern, and Twitter's slowly been swelling with confused, clamoring consumers ever since. At time of writing, Apple hasn't yet said how far along it is in the recovery process, or when users can expect to access the stores once more. Update: Service appears to be fully restored, check for more details after the break.
Sky's Now TV woes continue as streams go down before the Premiership finale
Sky's Now TV streaming service has experienced its fair share of issues in recent months, but today it couldn't have picked a better time to leave users in the lurch. While previous hiccups took the premiere of Game of Thrones offline, Sky Sports streaming went down just minutes before the final ten games of the Premiership season kicked off. That meant many were left without the chance to watch Manchester City secure their second title in recent years. To save face, Sky has begun contacting all Sports Pass customers to issue refunds, whether they were affected or not. While Entertainment subscribers can gain access to Sky's crown jewels for £4.99 a month, Sky protects its TV sports revenue by pricing a one-off Sky Sports Pass at £9.99 per day. The broadcaster will have lost a significant chunk of change trying to put things right, but it may need to invest more in its streaming infrastructure if it wants to stop customers from switching off completely.
BBC iPlayer and Sky streaming apps go dark on iOS (update: both fixed)
If you've experienced problems trying to access BBC iPlayer or Sky's streaming apps on your iPhone or iPad today, you're not alone. In what appears to be a connected issue, both companies have confirmed that users are currently unable to access their streaming services on an Apple device. Right now, Android phones and tablets remain unaffected, while Netflix continues to enjoy trouble-free playback. The BBC reports that some users have been able to circumvent Now TV errors by setting their iOS clock back by 24 hours, suggesting that the issues are date related. However, the workaround may stop other apps from operating normally. Both the BBC and Sky say they're working hard to restore access to their services, but are unable to say exactly when they expect to be able to do so. Update: The BBC says things are back up and running for iPlayer on iOS, however we haven't received an update from Sky yet. Update deux: Not that Sky's support page is any help right now, but at least it's providing timestamped updates as to the state of its services on iThings. They're still down, if you hadn't guessed. Update 4/18: Sky Go is finally back up and running as well, although iOS users will need an app update (download here) to get things going again.
PSA: Dropbox is down, uploads not working (update: it's back)
Dropbox is down -- break out the FTP client. According to readers and Twitter, the service has been out of action for just over half an hour and while you might see the green tick of syncing joy on your PC, we were still unable to upload any new files through both the internet and desktop iteration -- in fact the web interface is completely down. We're not sure if this is a server issue or perhaps a delicious new feature with teething issues, but we've reached out to Dropbox and will update when we hear back. Update: Looks like you can return to your regularly-scheduled uploading. Still no word on what caused the incident yet. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple now allowing Paypal payment for Apple Store purchases (in Germany)
German users have noticed one other change from the Apple Store downtime last night, and that is that Apple will now accept Paypal payments through their Apple.com store. You could previously use Paypal as a payment service on the iTunes and Mac App Stores, but you can't (in most places) on the official Apple website. The German store, however, has now implemented Paypal. So German users can now use that extra eBay money to pick up a new accessory or charger cable. Odds are that this is a pilot program over there, and it will likely make its way out to the rest of the world very soon. I just checked, and unfortunately this option isn't yet available on the American Apple.com store. But if German users can use their Paypal accounts to buy Apple products, there's no reason why the rest of us won't eventually get the chance to do the same. [via App Advice]
Gree closing down OpenFeint on December 14
I believe we've now reached the end of iOS' first generation as a platform -- it's almost every week now that we're hearing about a major startup losing a founder or a big franchise shutting down. This time it's OpenFeint, the social gaming platform started up way back by Jason Citron and Danielle Cassley, that at one point claimed 25 million users, and then was sold to a Japanese social network named Gree for $104 million. Gree has announced that it's finally shutting down the network on December 14, leaving developers who still depend on it in the lurch, and closing a book that makes up the first big chapter of the iOS marketplace. OpenFeint was originally started from a game itself, but it grew into an easily implemented social network that connected the App Store's offerings together, both in terms of user accounts and leaderboards, and in helping developers promote and share their apps with a large group of consumers. Gree is planning to migrate current OpenFeint users to its own social network, but it says that the current OpenFeint API calls will no longer work after December 14, which means any developers who still depend on those calls will be out of luck. Of course, Apple's Game Center service is the official version of OpenFeint, and though Citron and his crew (and later, Gree) fought to try and keep OpenFeint relevant even when Apple introduced its own service, it appears the battle's finally been lost. Citron left the company late last year as well. We'll see if Gree tries to do something to appease devs angry about the short notice on the changeover, but it's much more likely that those devs will just make their own switch to Game Center and be done with third-party services in general. As I said, it's the end of an era for the App Store. Going forward, Game Center reigns supreme.
Xbox LIVE down, Microsoft working on a fix (update: it's back!)
Well, bad news gaming addicts, Xbox LIVE is temporarily out of commission. We received a deluge of tips this morning from readers saying the service is down and now Microsoft has updated its support page confirming the outage. The cause behind the issue isn't clear yet, but the fine folks in Redmond are aware of it and actively working on a fix. User accounts are inaccessible from both the console and Xbox.com, but hopefully things will be back up and running soon, and you can return to your regularly scheduled programming of underwear-clad Black Ops II. Update: And everything is back to normal. Our short lived national nightmare is over. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Apple Store down late Saturday night (Updated)
Long odds that there's any sort of product update late on a summer Saturday, but you never do know. The Linen Page Formerly Known As The Yellow Sticky is up right now; if you see anything of interest when the store comes back, do please let us know. Update: Back up! Thanks to everyone who sent this in!
Twitter confirms site issues, working to resolve things (update: Twitter apologizes and explains)
It's a rough day for internet communication. First Google Talk, now Twitter. The microblogging service confirmed that it's currently having some issues -- a fact independently verified by our frustrated staff -- adding that "Our engineers are currently working to resolve the issue." We'll let you know when you can safely return to your regularly scheduled tweeting. Update: Everything seems to be back to normal. You know what to do. Update 2: Twitter just posted an apology and explanation for the outage on its blog. Turns out, tweets weren't making their way to the web because both a primary and back-up system in Twitter's data centers failed simultaneously, leaving us bereft of 140-character nuggets of wisdom for about two hours. Rest assured, VP of Engineering Mazen Rawashdeh and his team have apologized for the inconvenience and are working to prevent the problem in the future.
O2 apologizes for 'unprecedented' outage with 10 percent refunds
O2 is sorry for last week's service issues. Really, really sorry. Like, giving you back 10-percent of your bill sorry, if you happened to be among the affected. The UK operator noted in a blog post today that it has identified all those users who were impacted by the "unprecedented" downtime and will be offering up 10-percent off of their July subscriptions, to be applied to their bills in September, the monetary equivalent of three lost days. Pay & Go members, meanwhile, will also be getting something back in September: a 10 percent bonus on their first top-up that month. The company's also offering up customers a £10 O2 in-store voucher, available during the month of September. More info and apologies in the source link below.
Twitter confirms 'on-going' site issues, millions resort to verbal communication
Sorry microbloggers -- looks like we're not fully out of the woods yet. After confirming that its users "may be experiencing issues" via its Status Blog roughly an hour ago, Twitter has added that the concerns are "on-going." Don't worry, though, engineers are on the case, so your #followfriday plans should be largely unaffected.
