BUDAPEST, HUNGARY – AUGUST 28: (EDITOR’S NOTE: Photo was made with a cell phone.) Passengers wait at a boarding gate for a British Airways flight bound for London at Budapest International Airport on August 28, 2023 in Budapest, Hungary. The United Kingdom’s air traffic control systems have grounded thousands of flights on one of the busiest travel days of the year due to a technical issue. All flights to and from the UK are reported to be affected and delays could last for days. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
(Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)Major IT Global Outage Grounds Planes. So you probably woke up this morning to news that there is a major system outage world wide. What you probably didn't know is that everything from doctor's appointments, to flights, to even your morning coffee could be affected. Let's dive in to what exactly happened.
What is causing the outage?
The outage was caused by a software update issued by firm CrowdStrike. This has affected airlines, medical services, TV broadcasts, banks and scores of other business and services around the world. As of this morning (Friday) at 7:26am Microsoft says the issue has been fixed BUT there is a global impact. According to Microsoft: “The underlying cause has been fixed, however, residual impact is continuing to affect some Microsoft 365 apps and services."
How is this affecting the average person?
Flights are being delayed. We had Cherelle from Lowell call us this morning who had a 6am flight. She says it was so messy at Logan Airport that if you don't have a reason to go, DON'T. Her flight had gotten delayed til 7:30am. She's still awaiting her boarding time but did go into details about crowds and very frustrated passengers. If you have a flight today, I would call the airport to check if it's on time.
Other things being affected: hospitals. Mass General Hospital and Brigham have released a statement saying it :canceled all elective and non-emergency surgeries, procedures, and non-urgent ambulatory care at sites for today." Banks have been affected as well so definitely check your local branch for anything that may seem off. Things will get back to normal as the day goes on but be prepared to be inconvenienced.
AT&T customers are experiencing a nationwide outage this morning. The outage started early Thursday morning and other companies were also affected. Verizon and T-Mobile were also hit, but not as hard. This is all according to the website downdetector.com. Over 30,000 outages were reported as of 4:30am on AT&T. Only 800 were reported on the other cellular carriers.
As of 6am, not much is known about the outage. AT&T users will see the "SOS" symbol at the top of their screen and will not be able to make phone calls or send or receive text messages. They will be able to send and receive texts IF connected to a Wi-Fi network.
Not much is known about the outage as of 6am. No word when service will be restored. Customers are still waking up only to find they have no service. Here are some of our favorite reactions so far.
@YouphilMe_ is just as confused as we are
Yup, finding out first thing in the morning is pretty frustrating. Especially when no one knows what's going on. Are all getting hacked? Hope not!
@itzjustnicc is wondering if they paid their bill
Nick is wondering what many are wondering. Did I pay my bill? That could be the only reason your phone isn't working right? Not exactly.
@literary_Dani pokes fun at AT&T workers
Yup, if you're an employee at AT&T today, you may want to take a vacation day. It won't be a fun day for you either. And if employees have AT&T service, they probably won't be able to call out sick. Oh, the irony.
@urbanzosf wants their free credit
Yup, go get your free credit! Many people will follow suit. Any sort of inconvenience should get us compensated right? Absolutely!
@itswept is thinking...hacker!
Yup, this is what many are thinking. Have we all been hacked? Other cellular companies are enjoying this very much. Oh, the horror
@beysdaughter_ is just as frustrated as we are
The frustration is boiling over. Customers are complaining of how much they pay. There should never be such an outage. FIX IT!
@cole_morgan is confused as to why AT&T hasn't updated its customers
Why is the company not reporting the outage themselves? Is there something bigger going on? AT&T needs to get on the ball and update us immediately. Hopefully soon.
@ascbofficial Her phone is working but her husband's is not
Are some phones being targeted? This woman's phone works. Her husband's doesn't. As of 7am outages still being reported.
@ly47007385 Why have we not heard anything from AT&T?
This customer is demanding AT&T say something. They are right. Why have we not heard from the company? When will they finally update us?
@nogueyyjose Got lost due to his GPS going out!
Wow, that's something you don't think about. If your cell service goes out, that means no GPS either? Well hopefully you're not like this man who was lost in the middle of nowhere. Poor guy.
@babyblack1977 demands service for the amount he pays each month
Yup, we pay on time, we should never not have service. Doesn't make sense. maybe a credit for customers for their inconvenience isn't a bad thing. As of 7:03am, service is still out.
