Thousands of UK customers report broadband issues

Liv McMahontechnology reporter

Getty Images A man wearing a suit and holding his phone stands in front of a Vodafone sign.

Thousands of Vodafone customers across the UK have reported their services being disrupted.

Downdetector, which monitors internet outages, showed more than 130,000 people were experiencing issues affecting their Vodafone broadband or mobile networks as of Monday afternoon.

According to its website, the firm has more than 18 million customers in the UK, of which around 700,000 are home broadband customers.

In a statement, Vodafone said it was aware of “a significant issue affecting broadband, 4G and 5G services on our network.”

“We appreciate our customers’ patience as we work to resolve this issue as quickly as possible,” the company said.

This comes as people on social media said they were struggling to reach Vodafone customer service operators due to ongoing issues affecting mobile data and broadband.

Many also said they had difficulty accessing the company’s website and app, which typically allows people to see the status of their network services.

Customers also took to social media to complain about “total blackouts” in their areas.

Problems for customers appear to have started shortly after 15:00 BST.

Internet monitor Netblocks said in a post on XLive network data showed Vodafone was experiencing a “national outage” affecting both broadband and mobile data.

Some customers expressed double frustration at not being able to access their Wi-Fi or mobile data.

“Please sort it out ASAP,” wrote one frustrated X user, who said they were forced to use a cafe’s Wi-Fi to access online services using mobile data or broadband.

Another said they were self-employed and could not work due to the outage, adding: “I have never regretted having my mobile phone and broadband on the same network.”

It appears that the issue also affects some Vodafone stores.

BBC News saw information signs displayed in the windows of a Vodafone store in Clapham, south-west London, with scores of customers waiting outside and asking staff what was going on with their signals.

BBC News An A4 paper pasted to the window of a Vodafone store reads: "YES Vodafone Network is currently down. NO there is nothing we can do. NO, WE DO NOT KNOW when it was backed up. I hope 1-2 hours" — BBC News saw information signs displayed in the windows of a Vodafone store in Clapham, south-west London, with scores of customers waiting outside and asking staff what was going on with their signals.

‘I cut off the internet’

The problems affecting Vodafone services also affected the customers of other telecommunication companies using its network.

Downdetector saw a similar increase in reports from users of the Vodafone-owned Voxi mobile network on Monday afternoon.

Lebara, which uses Vodafone’s network, was also affected by the company’s outage.

“Outages in broadband and mobile services were reported across multiple networks,” said Sabrina Hoque, telecom expert at Uswitch.

He added that these “can be a really frustrating experience for customers, especially when it’s unclear how long it’s going to take.”

Vodafone has not yet announced how long the outage will last, but the website appears to be back online.

Cloudflare Radar, which tracks and displays patterns in global internet traffic, said: In an article on Bluesky had previously “effectively cut off the internet with traffic dropping to zero”.

The company also did not say what caused the issue affecting their network.

“Incidents like this are usually caused by a technical malfunction or configuration error rather than a major cyber attack, so it is best not to speculate until more details are confirmed,” said Daniel Card, a cyber expert at BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT.

“Having teams that can quickly diagnose and respond to network faults is key to maintaining public trust and ensuring the smooth running of the UK’s digital infrastructure.”

Additional reporting by Ewan Somerville.