The internet outage tracker sites tell you what broke and where
When the internet stops working in your area, the fastest way to know whether it is your connection or a wider problem is to check a status page. Downdetector and IsItDownRightNow are the two most used free sites. They show real-time reports from users in your region — if hundreds of people report the same service down at the same time, something upstream broke.
Your internet service provider also publishes a status page. Comcast has xfinity.com/support/status, Verizon has verizon.com/about/network/status, and AT&T has att.com/support/status. These pages show outages by zip code and tell you when service is expected to return. The ISP page is more reliable than crowd-sourced sites because it comes directly from the company that owns the lines.
If a specific service — Gmail, Netflix, Discord, your bank's website — is down but your internet works, check that service's status page instead. Most large companies have one at status.[companyname].com or linked from their main website. Twitter's status page is at status.twitter.com. Google's is at status.google.com.
Key Takeaways
- Downdetector and IsItDownRightNow show whether an outage is widespread or just your connection by displaying reports from other users in your area.
- Your ISP's official status page tells you the exact zip codes affected and when service should return, which is more accurate than crowd-sourced reports.
- If the internet works but one service does not, that service's own status page will say whether it is down for everyone or just some users.
- A restart of your modem and router fixes most connection problems that are not part of a larger outage.
How to tell if it is your equipment or the network
Before you check a status page, restart your modem and router. Unplug the modem, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in, and wait for the lights to stop blinking and settle into a steady pattern. Then do the same with the router. This fixes about 70 percent of connection problems that are not part of a real outage.
If restarting does not work, check whether other devices in your house can connect. If your phone connects to WiFi but your laptop does not, the problem is your laptop or the WiFi itself, not your internet service. If nothing connects to WiFi but a device plugged directly into the modem with an ethernet cable works, the problem is your router. If nothing works at all, including ethernet, the problem is your modem or your ISP's network.
Once you know which piece is broken, you can decide what to do. A broken router you can replace yourself for $50 to $150. A broken modem you may need to rent from your ISP or buy a compatible one — check your ISP's website for approved models. A network outage you cannot fix, but the status page will tell you when it should come back.
What causes internet outages in your area
Most outages last less than an hour and are caused by equipment failure at a local hub or switching station. Your ISP has thousands of these nodes, and when one fails, everyone connected to it loses service. The company's technicians fix it remotely or send someone to the site, and service returns.
Larger outages that affect a whole city or region usually come from damage to the main cables that run between neighborhoods. A construction crew hitting a fiber line, a car accident taking down a telephone pole, or a storm knocking out power to a switching station can all cause this. These take longer to fix — sometimes 4 to 12 hours — because the company has to physically repair or replace the cable.
Outages that affect multiple states or the whole country are rare and usually happen when a major internet backbone provider — companies like Cogent, Level 3, or Zayo that own the largest cables — has a failure. These make national news because they affect millions of people and can take hours to repair.
Why some services go down while others stay up
When you see that Gmail is down but YouTube works, or Twitter is down but Facebook works, the internet itself is fine — those companies' own servers or data centers have a problem. A software bug, a power failure in a data center, a misconfigured firewall, or too much traffic hitting the servers all cause this.
Large companies like Google and Meta run multiple data centers in different cities so that if one fails, others take over. But sometimes a mistake affects all of them at once. In 2021, Facebook's entire network went down for six hours because an engineer made a change to the routing system that told all the company's data centers to stop accepting traffic. The internet was fine; Facebook's own infrastructure broke.
When a service goes down, you cannot fix it yourself. You can only wait for the company to notice and repair it. Checking their status page tells you whether they know about it and are working on it, or whether they have not acknowledged the problem yet.
How to stay informed during an outage
If your internet is completely down, you cannot check a website. Use your phone's cellular data instead. Open Downdetector or your ISP's status page on your phone to see whether the outage is widespread. If it is, you know to wait rather than troubleshoot.
Your ISP may send you a text or email about a known outage, but this usually happens 30 minutes to an hour after the outage starts. Do not wait for the notification — check the status page yourself if you lose connection.
If you need internet for work and an outage hits, some people use their phone as a hotspot to keep working. This uses your phone's cellular data and is slower than home internet, but it works for email and light browsing. If you do this regularly, check whether your phone plan has enough data for it.
What to do if your ISP says there is no outage but you have no internet
If the status page says everything is fine but you cannot connect, the problem is between your house and the ISP's network. This could be your modem, your router, the cable running into your house, or a problem at the pole outside.
Start by restarting both devices again. Then check whether the cable from the wall to your modem is plugged in firmly — a loose connection looks like an outage. If that does not work, try plugging an ethernet cable directly from the modem to your computer and see if that works. If it does, the problem is your router and you can replace it. If it does not, the problem is your modem or the line coming in.
At this point, you need to call your ISP. Tell them you have restarted your equipment, checked the cables, and confirmed the status page shows no outage. They can run a line test from their office to see whether the modem is receiving signal. If it is not, the problem is the cable or the pole, and they will send a technician. If it is, the problem is your modem and they will replace it or tell you how to buy a compatible one.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if an outage is affecting just my neighborhood or the whole city?
Check your ISP's status page and enter your zip code. It will show whether service is down in your specific area. Downdetector also shows reports by location — if you see dozens of reports from your zip code but none from nearby areas, it is a local problem.
Can I get a refund if my internet is down for hours?
Most ISPs credit your account automatically for outages longer than a certain length — usually 4 to 24 hours depending on the company. Check your ISP's outage policy on their website. If you do not see a credit after a long outage, call and ask for one.
Why does my internet go out during storms even if there is no power outage?
Storms can damage the cables and equipment that carry internet even if your power stays on. Wind can knock cables loose, lightning can damage equipment at the pole, and heavy rain can cause problems with outdoor connections. Your power and internet use different infrastructure, so one can fail while the other works.
What is the difference between my modem and my router?
The modem connects to your ISP's network and receives the internet signal. The router takes that signal and broadcasts it as WiFi to your devices. If your modem is broken, nothing connects. If your router is broken, you can plug into the modem with an ethernet cable and still use the internet.
Should I unplug my modem during a thunderstorm?
If lightning is close, unplugging the modem and router protects them from power surges. A surge protector also works, but unplugging is safer. If you do unplug, remember to plug them back in and restart them after the storm passes.