It is the internet provider used by millions of people across the country.
But Vodafone is now down in a crash that is already affecting hundreds of thousands of users.
According to Down Detector, issues began shortly after 14:30 BST as customers began to report problems connecting to the internet.
Currently, 135,995 customers have reported experiencing problems with their internet connection.
Of the customers who are experiencing issues, 69 per cent said they had a problem with their landline internet, 23 per cent with their mobile internet, while eight per cent said they had no signal.
According to Down Detector, Vodafone service disruption is affecting customers from all across the country.
There are reports of issues in major cities and towns, including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, and Glasgow.
The Vodafone website is also experiencing problems and is frequently inaccessible, potentially due to extremely high levels of traffic.
While Vodafone is yet to issue a statement explaining the issue, customers have flocked to social media to vent their frustrations.
On X, one commenter wrote: ‘How can the whole of Vodafone be down? Someone better be getting fired in the morning.’
Another added: ‘@VodafoneUK seems to be completely down! No internet whatsoever and the customer service numbers aren’t working at all, yikes!’
‘I guess @VodafoneUK haven’t put out a statement yet because, well, their internet is down,’ one customer chipped in.
While one commenter joked: ‘Vodafone down in the middle of my work day, that must mean I’ve got the rest of the day off.’
Sabrina Hoque, telecoms expert at Uswitch.com, told Daily Mail: ‘For those affected, the quickest way to check if the internet is down in your area is by searching for your provider on a site like DownDetector.
‘If your broadband connection goes down for more than two days, you could be entitled to compensation of £9.76 for each calendar day that the service is not repaired.’
On Down Detector, it appears as if this disruption has coincided with major outages at a number of other service providers.
BT Down Detector page also began showing reports of disruption starting at 14:30 BST, peaking at over 3,200.
Voxi Mobile currently has over 2,300 reports of disruption on Down Detector, with 77 per cent of reports complaining that mobile internet is not working.
Likewise, Virgin Media has over 1,000 reports mostly concerning landline internet, while Three has over 400 reports of service interruptions.
However, it appears that Vodafone’s outage has been so large that it is having a knock-on impact on the Down Detector pages of other providers.
A spokesperson for Virgin Media O2 told Daily Mail that the network was ‘operating as normal and has been all day’.
They added that their social and customer service teams have not received the volume of calls that would be expected for an outage of this size.
This suggests that the disruption is likely limited to Vodafone customers, rather than being a more severe multi-provider outage.
Vodafone has been contacted for comment.
HOW CAN YOU PROTECT YOUR INFORMATION ONLINE?
- Make your authentication process two-pronged whenever possible. You should choose this option on websites that offer it because when an identity-specific action is required on top of entering your password and username, it becomes significantly harder for fraudsters to access your information.
- Secure your phone. Avoiding public Wifi and installing a screen lock are simple steps that can hinder hackers. Some fraudsters have begun to immediately discount secure phones altogether. Installing anti-malware can also be beneficial.
- Subscribe to alerts. A number of institutions that provide financial services, credit card issuers included, offer customers the chance to be notified when they detect suspicious activity. Turn those notifications on to stay informed about credit card activity linked to your account.
- Be careful when issuing transactions online. Again, some institutions offer notifications to help with this, which will alert you when your card is used online. It might also be helpful to institute limits on amounts that can be spent with your card online.
