Broadband Service Status: Is Your Provider Down?

When the internet stops working, the first question is always the same: is it just me? This page helps you answer that quickly. Check whether your provider has a known outage, test what your line is actually doing, and work out whether the fault sits with the network, with your line, or with the equipment in your house.

Check your provider's status

Every large provider runs a status checker that reports known faults against your address or postcode. Start there, then come back and test your line.

One thing to be aware of before you trust the result. Status checkers report faults the provider already knows about. A fault affecting a single address, or one reported in the last hour, will often show nothing at all. A clear status check is useful evidence, but it is not proof that your service is fine.

Test what your line is actually doing

A status page tells you what your provider believes. A speed test tells you what is happening on your connection right now. If the test runs but returns a fraction of your usual speed, the line is up and something is degrading it. If it cannot connect at all, that is a different problem, and a more useful thing to report.

Work out where the problem is before you call

Most people ring their provider first and spend twenty minutes being walked through steps they could have done themselves. Four checks will tell you which of three very different problems you have, and they take about five minutes.

Check on mobile data. Turn Wi-Fi off on your phone and load a website. If the page loads on mobile data but nothing works on Wi-Fi, the internet is fine and the problem is between your router and your devices.
Look at the router lights. A router that has lost its connection to the network almost always says so. A red or flashing light usually means the line itself is down. A normal light with no internet usually means the line is up and something else is wrong.
Try a cable. Plug a laptop straight into the router with an ethernet cable. If the wired connection works and Wi-Fi does not, you have a Wi-Fi problem, not a broadband problem, and no amount of waiting for an outage to clear will fix it.
Run a speed test. If you are connected but everything is slow, a test tells you whether you are getting a fraction of your normal speed or none at all. That difference matters when you report the fault.

If the fault is not yours

Report it, even if you can see the outage is widespread and obviously already known. Two reasons: your report is what starts the compensation clock, and single-address faults do not appear on any dashboard until somebody reports them.

Compensation when your service is down

Under Ofcom's automatic compensation scheme, most large providers pay you for a total loss of service that is not fixed within two full working days of you reporting it. It also covers engineer appointments that are missed or cancelled at short notice, and new connections that start later than promised.

Three things are worth knowing:

The clock starts when you report it. An outage you never told your provider about does not count, however long it lasted. Report a fault the day you notice it, even if you expect it to fix itself.
It should be automatic. The payment is meant to appear as a bill credit without you asking. In practice it is worth checking your next bill and chasing it if nothing arrives.
It covers total loss, not slow speeds. A connection that is working but poor is handled under your provider's speed guarantee instead, which is a separate process.

The daily rates are set by Ofcom and reviewed each year, so check the current figures on Ofcom's automatic compensation page rather than relying on a number quoted elsewhere.

Not every provider is in the scheme. The largest ones are, and several smaller full fibre networks have joined voluntarily, but if yours is not a member you are relying on their own goodwill policy.

When outages stop being occasional

Every network has faults. What matters is how often, how long, and how well they are handled. If you are checking a status page regularly enough to have bookmarked it, that is worth acting on.

Ofcom publishes complaints data by provider, and we use it in our provider scoring, so you can see how the company you are with compares on the things that go wrong. Our provider reviews show that data alongside contract terms and pricing, and if you decide you have had enough you can compare what is available at your address.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my broadband is down or just slow?

Plug a laptop into the router with an ethernet cable and run a speed test. If the test completes but returns much less than you normally get, the line is up and something is degrading it. If it cannot connect at all, the connection itself is down. The distinction matters because providers handle total loss and slow speeds under completely separate processes.

Why does my provider say there is no outage when my internet is down?

Status checkers only report faults the provider has already identified. A fault affecting your address alone, or one that started very recently, will usually show nothing. Report it rather than assuming the checker is right.

Do I get money back if my broadband is down?

Under Ofcom’s automatic compensation scheme, most large providers pay a daily amount for a total loss of service that is not fixed within two full working days of you reporting it. The clock starts from your report, so raise the fault straight away even if you expect it to clear on its own.

Should I report an outage that is obviously affecting everyone?

Yes. Your report is what starts your compensation entitlement. Assuming somebody else has already told them can cost you the payment.

My router lights look normal but nothing loads. What does that mean?

A normal light usually means the line to your provider is up, which points at something inside your home: a Wi-Fi problem, a DNS issue, or a single device. Test with an ethernet cable first, because that separates a Wi-Fi fault from a broadband fault in about thirty seconds.