There aren't many things more frustrating than your broadband going down. What would you do if your broadband stopped working for over a day? Would you be able to work? How would you keep in touch with friends and family? And what would you watch on TV? Does anyone still have a DVD player plugged in these days?
In this guide, we’ll take you through how to check if there’s an internet outage in your area, or if it might be something to do with your home equipment. We'll also list the common causes of outages, and what you can do if your broadband goes down.
What is a broadband outage?
A broadband outage is a problem with your provider’s network that causes you (and sometimes others) to lose internet connection. This is usually contained in a particular region, but it can sometimes affect customers nationwide.
Outages don’t always just affect your property in particular, as many parts of a network serve multiple homes in any neighbourhood at once.
An outage could be a fault with internal systems run by the provider, between the provider’s broadband exchange and the cabinet on your street, or sometimes even due to overwhelming internet traffic in the area. All of these issues would mean multiple customers would be affected at once.
But an internet outage could also be specific to your own home connection, such as an issue with the cable that connects to your home, or another hardware error on your property.
What causes outages?
Here are some of the most common reasons you might experience an internet outage from time to time.
Faulty connection lines
Sometimes, the cables or equipment on a broadband network will get damaged or stop working. This could be due to extreme weather, vandalism, wear-and-tear or a number of other factors.
It means that the lines that are vital for transferring internet data to your home will be out of operation until an engineer fixes the issue.
High internet traffic
When more people than normal are using the internet at once, like downloading a large update of a popular video game or streaming a big sporting event, there can be ‘congestion’ of the traffic passing through the network.
This causes the internet to slow down significantly and can appear like it’s not working until the network can process all the extra data.
Changes in internet speed
Broadband speeds can vary by a large amount very quickly. The flow of data through broadband cables is rarely consistent for long, so sometimes a big dip in internet speed can momentarily cause websites, movies or games to stop loading properly for you.
Those on full fibre connections will see this less often because fibre cables are much more reliable, but they’re still subject to momentary blips.
Home equipment issues
Your internet could also be down because of a hardware issue in your home.
Broken, old, or poorly set up equipment can eventually just give out and may need fixing or even replacing. If you think this is why your home broadband is down, visit our internet connection problems guide.
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How long do internet outages last?
Usually, outages are dealt with quite swiftly, and the network starts working again within a reasonable amount of time.
But that isn’t always the case. Some outages can last for hours or even days, which can have a terrible impact on households given how much socialising, streaming, working, and gaming occurs online nowadays.
An internet outage of any length can be inconvenient if it happens at the wrong moment, such as if you’re downloading something important for work or on a video call. So, the length of your internet outage might just depend on the type of problem that’s causing it.
What to do when you have broadband issues
Here's what you should do if you can't connect to the internet at home.
1. Check your Wi-Fi router
First things first, make sure it's a genuine broadband outage on your provider's side. There's always a chance you might be experiencing a problem with your home broadband equipment rather than with your network provider. So check things like your router placement (to ensure its signal isn't obstructed by any objects) and its power source. Then, check your device to make sure it’s connecting to the correct Wi-Fi network.
It may sound simple, but switching your equipment and devices off and on again will often solve the problem.
If you’re experiencing connectivity issues because of your Wi-Fi router, contact your provider and ask them to replace it. Just be careful that they don’t get you to pay or sign up for a new contract just to get one. If this is the case, you could just as easily switch to a new provider and get a new router for free.
2. Contact your provider when your broadband is down
If all is in working order at home, it’s time to reach out to your broadband provider to find out if the problem is unique to your household.
When you speak to your provider or check its website for outages, you should be able to learn if the problem is isolated to just your connection or if it's part of a wider network issue.
Sky broadband outages
Sky has a broadband service status checker on its website that you can use by searching your landline number.
Alternatively, you can report or learn about any Sky outages by calling the provider's customer services team on 0333 759 0956.
Virgin Media broadband outages
Virgin Media’s Connect app lets you check your Wi-Fi signal strength and reboot your hub if you're experiencing broadband problems.
If you're experiencing an outage with the provider, you can visit the Virgin Media service status page to find out what the problem may be or contact Virgin Media on 0345 454 1111 (alternatively 150 on a Virgin Media landline).
BT broadband outages
If your BT internet is down, you should first check the BT service status page to see if the provider is aware of the problem and is fixing it.
You can also contact BT on 0800 800 150 to report an outage or ask what may be causing it.
3. Have a backup plan
In the rare event that your broadband outage is caused by damage to the network of broadband cables or other longer term issues, you might be caught without broadband for a few hours or even a few days.
In these cases, it’s good to have a contingency plan in place that allows you to keep working, streaming, scrolling and chatting online.
Our 2024 broadband outages research showed that nearly 40% of Brits completely rely on hotspotting to their phone if their broadband goes down, especially if they're working from home at the time. And 17% have used up their monthly data allowance in doing so.
Some providers offer an upgraded package that helps to protect your internet connection and revert to backup equipment if your main connection stops working. But this often comes at an extra monthly cost as well.
Check out our latest SIM only deals in case you think you'll need more data.
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Which areas of the UK are worst for broadband outages?
According to Uswitch's latest research, over 38 million Brits experienced broadband outages of three hours or more between Spring 2023 and Spring 2024.
Different locations across the UK have had varying levels of disruption caused by broadband outages. This year, Yorkshire and Humberside were hit the hardest by far, with residents losing 587 hours of online time on average over the past year.
Our latest research revealed which UK locations have suffered the most broadband outages and which ones were stuck offline for the longest.
The highest total home broadband outage time in 12 months by area (2023-24)
| Rank | Region | Average total downtime 2023-24 | Total downtime in days |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Yorkshire & Humberside | 587 hours | 24.5 days |
| 2 | South West | 217 hours | 9 days |
| 3 | East of England | 197 hours | 8 days |
| 4 | London | 180 hours | 7.5 days |
| 5 | East Midlands | 169 hours | 7 days |
Broadband outages affect Brits' work and leisure. 61% of those working from home have experienced at least one lengthy disconnection, one-tenth of whom have reportedly missed a critical deadline as a result.
12% of these people have then had to travel into the office in order to stay connected, whereas 39% have had to rely on tethering their laptop to their mobile phone data connection.
Live sporting events are affected by internet outages at home too, with 12% of Brits having an event ruined by a lengthy disconnection. Additionally, they have prevented 11% of people from buying a ticket to a sports match, festival or concert.
Uswitch estimates that these increasing outage figures have cost the UK £1.6bn in lost working hours over the past year alone.
Max Beckett, broadband expert at Uswitch.com, said:
“Following two years of Brits being hit by combined mid-contract price increases of more than £200 a year on average, broadband outages have continued to strike hard.
“Yet many are unaware of the compensation available if they suffer a significant outage. If your connection has completely stopped working and isn’t fixed after two working days, you could be entitled to compensation of £9.76 per day.
“With the majority of the UK’s big broadband providers signed up to Ofcom’s auto-compensation scheme, we would hope to see customers quickly reimbursed if they suffer outages.
“There are a variety of possible reasons for broadband outages – but consumers shouldn’t suffer due to provider issues. If you’re not satisfied with how your internet supplier handles outages, it may be time to vote with your feet and look for other, more reliable options elsewhere."
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