Broadband issues can be an inevitable part of modern life from time to time.
Faulty connection lines, high internet traffic or changes in internet speed, can already be frustrating. But sometimes an issue on your provider’s side could cause your internet connection to drop completely, rendering most of your devices unusable.
If you’re affected by an EE broadband outage, here are the steps you should take to keep access to the internet and report the issue to your provider.
What to do during an EE broadband outage
If your broadband has suddenly stopped working for more than a few minutes, it may be down to a network connection problem on EE’s side. Here’s what you should first do in this situation.
1. Use your mobile to get online
Most UK homes will be in an area with a good mobile internet signal, so there’s a high chance you can still access the internet on your phone.
As long as you’re happy to use up some of your mobile data allowance, you could try to finish some immediate online tasks that the outage interrupted. You could even ‘tether’ another Wi-Fi-connected device to your phone to continue what you were doing on the same device for now.
2. Search the web for EE broadband outages
During an outage, you can also check online if a widely known EE outage is affecting other customers. A good place to see this is the site Downdetector, which shows if there is a spike in customer-reported outages.
You can also check EE’s broadband status in your area directly. Log in to the EE Service Status Checker to check and test your connection. If the broadband is down in your area, you’ll have to wait until it’s fixed for everyone. EE may be able to give you an estimated timeline for this.
3. Contact EE for support
If you’ve carried out the steps above but your broadband still isn’t working, you can call EE on +44 800 079 8586. The good news is that EE usually scores very highly for broadband customer service.
You can also ask the EE community, download the EE app or use the live chat which is exclusive to the app. Select ‘Help’ in the bottom menu and you’ll see the ‘Message us’ option when live chat is available. Although you can also visit EE’s X account, the EE app seems to be the best way to get broadband support.
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Test your Wi-Fi signal at home
If you’ve checked online and you can’t see any evidence of a big EE broadband outage, it might be worth checking your broadband setup at home. There may be way to improve your internet connection with your own equipment.
1. Take a look at your EE Hub lights
A quick glance at your EE Hub will indicate if things are working or not.
If there are no lights on, check to see if the power cable is in and connected to the mains.
A stable blue or aqua light means you’re connected to broadband, but another colour may mean there’s a problem.
If you have the EE Smart Hub Pro and Smart Hub Plus, a flashing orange light means the Hub is connected to broadband. Give it at least three minutes to connect. Once connected, the light will turn aqua.
A solid orange colour means the Hub is working but it isn’t connected to the internet. In this case, you should restart the Hub and double check your broadband activation date.
2. Turn your modem off (and on again)
Also known as power cycling, this is the same as turning your modem off and on again, but in a more controlled way.
If you’re an EE Fibre customer, you might have an Openreach modem installed. If so, restarting it could help fix any broadband issues.
There are two different methods for power cycling:
The unplugging method:
- Unplug the power cable from the socket on the Openreach modem (don’t just switch it off - make sure you unplug)
- Wait 15 seconds then plug it back in
- Wait for the power light to come on - a solid green light means everything’s back to normal
The resetting method:
- Press the reset button on the side of the Openreach modem for 5 seconds
- Wait for the power light to come on and stop flashing
- When the PON (passive optical network) light has stopped flashing and is solid green, it means success
Can I get compensation from EE for broadband outages and other issues?
Yes, you can get compensation for EE broadband outages in a few situations:
Delayed broadband activation
If your broadband isn’t activated by 11:59pm on the day that EE promised, you can get £6.10 for the missed activation day. You can also get the same amount every day after that until your broadband is activated. This comes under the automatic compensation scheme.
But if you’re the reason for delayed activation, e.g. you missed the appointment or weren’t at home, then you don’t get compensation.
Delayed broadband repairs after an outage
If you’ve experienced total loss of broadband service, which means you had no access to the internet at all, you can get compensation. But this is only offered if repairs aren’t carried out by 11.59pm on the second working day after the fault is reported.
In this situation, EE pays £9.76 for each day (after the two working days) that the service isn't fixed.
However, you won’t get compensation if you’ve missed appointments and are causing further repair delays.
Broadband engineer missed appointment
If an engineer misses the scheduled appointment or you've been given less than 24 hours' notice of a change or cancellation, you’ll get £30.49. You’ll receive this amount for each missed appointment.
You won’t get compensation if:
- you’ve been given more than 24 hours’ notice of appointment changes
- you’ve agreed to a change of appointment time slot for the same day
- the appointment was not to activate your broadband or phone line, or to fix a complete service outage caused by an issue in your home
If you’re not happy with your current provider, you might want to consider switching broadband.
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