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Users report major internet outage after AWS suffers ‘operational issue’A major internet outage has hit dozens of popular websites, online games and apps.Users have been reporting problems accessing sites such as Amazon, Roblox, Fortnite and Snapchat, for example, this morning.The outage may be related to a glitch at Amazon Web Services (AWS), the e-commerce giant’s on-demand cloud computing platform which underpins many online operations.AWS has reported an ‘operational issue’ at its data centre in North Virginia, known as “us-east-1”.It says:
We can confirm increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS Services in the US-EAST-1 Region. This issue may also be affecting Case Creation through the AWS Support Center or the Support API.
We are actively engaged and working to both mitigate the issue and understand root cause.
ShareUpdated at 09.28 BSTKey eventsShow key events onlyPlease turn on JavaScript to use this featureAI startup Perplexity, cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase and trading app Robinhood have all attributed outages today to AWS, Reuters reports.Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas said in a post on X:
“Perplexity is down right now. The root cause is an AWS issue. We’re working on resolving it.”
Perplexity is down right now. The root cause is an AWS issue. We’re working on resolving it.— Aravind Srinivas (@AravSrinivas) October 20, 2025
ShareThe technical problem at Amazon Web Services looks like “an IT issue on the database side,” reports Rafe Pilling, director of threat intelligence at security firm Sophos.Pilling explains:
“When anything like this happens the concern that it’s a cyber incident is understandable. AWS has a far reaching and intricate footprint, so any issue can cause a major upset. In this case it looks like it is an IT issue on the database side and they will be working to remedy it as an absolute priority.”
ShareAWS: We are seeing significant signs of recoveryJust in: Amazon Web Services report that they are seeing “significant signs of recovery” in the operational issue that appears to have disrupted services across the internet today.In an operational update, AWS says:
We are seeing significant signs of recovery. Most requests should now be succeeding. We continue to work through a backlog of queued requests. We will continue to provide additional information.
That follows an earlier update announcing that some ‘early signs of recovery’ were being detected, with AWS saying:
We have applied initial mitigations and we are observing early signs of recovery for some impacted AWS Services. During this time, requests may continue to fail as we work toward full resolution. We recommend customers retry failed requests. While requests begin succeeding, there may be additional latency and some services will have a backlog of work to work through, which may take additional time to fully process.
ShareUpdate: Duolingo streaks should still be safe despite the technical problems hitting the site today.One user received this ‘quick maintainance break!’ page, which reassures users that their streak is protected today ‘just in case!’.Duolingo’s maintainance break page Photograph: DuolingoShareProblems are also being reported at Depop, the secondhand clothing platform.According to the Down for Everyone or Just Me site, problems have been reported by users in Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK, highlighting how today’s outage is a global problem.A chart showing problems reported at Depop Photograph: https://downforeveryoneorjustme.com/ShareSome precious Duolingo streaks could be lost unless the internet outage is fixed before the end of the day.There has been a jump in reports of problems at Duolingo since around 8am, according to Downdetector:A chart showing reports of problems at Duolingo Illustration: DowndetectorHowever, Duolingo’s service status page declares “All Systems Operational”, so users may not get a break from being pestered to do a language lesson.ShareUpdated at 10.35 BSTAWS find “potential root cause for error rates”Progress! Amazon Web Services say they may have found the cause of the problem.In an operational update, AWS say:
We have identified a potential root cause for error rates for the DynamoDB APIs in the US-EAST-1 Region.
Based on our investigation, the issue appears to be related to DNS resolution of the DynamoDB API endpoint in US-EAST-1. We are working on multiple parallel paths to accelerate recovery. This issue also affects other AWS Services in the US-EAST-1 Region. Global services or features that rely on US-EAST-1 endpoints such as IAM updates and DynamoDB Global tables may also be experiencing issues.
During this time, customers may be unable to create or update Support Cases. We recommend customers continue to retry any failed requests. We will continue to provide updates as we have more information to share, or by 2:45 AM [10.45am UK time].
ShareThere are also hundreds of reports of problems accessing the website of the UK’s HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) – the UK’s tax, payments and customs authority – this morning.If you try to log into the site, which can be used to submit tax returns or seek advice on tax, you are told “Sorry, there is a problem with the service”. Photograph: HMRCShareUpdated at 10.24 BSTThousand Eyes shows scale of internet outagesCisco’s Thousand Eyes, a service that tracks internet outages, reports a surge in problems this morning.Many are located at Virginia, the location of Amazon’s US-EAST-1 region where engineers are working now to fix the problem responsible for “increased error rates and latencies”A map showing internet outages Photograph: Thousand EyesShareRing doorbells brought down by internet outageThis morning’s outage also appears to have scuppered some smart doorbells.Several people are reporting problems using their Ring doorbells this morning:@ring_uk your entire system is not working. Not telephone support. No chat. Doorbell online and can’t connect. What the actual F? No messages on socials telling us why?!?— Richard A Morgan (He, Him) (@morgocomics) October 20, 2025
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Good morning @ring I’m not getting any notifications/alerts for my doorbell. The history of events is not loading either. The devices on the app seem to be ‘loading’. Am I the only person having this problem?— Miss Understood (ツ) (@miss_sahota) October 20, 2025
Ring were bought by Amazon in 2018.ShareAWS: engineers are actively working to fix the problemAmazon Web Services have updated their services health data, saying engineers have been “immediately engaged” to fix the problem at its services.AWS says:
We can confirm significant error rates for requests made to the DynamoDB endpoint in the US-EAST-1 Region.
This issue also affects other AWS Services in the US-EAST-1 Region as well. During this time, customers may be unable to create or update Support Cases.
Engineers were immediately engaged and are actively working on both mitigating the issue, and fully understanding the root cause. We will continue to provide updates as we have more information to share, or by 2:00 AM [10am UK time].
ShareProblems at Lloyds, Halifax and Bank of ScotlandSome bank customers are reporting problems logging into their accounts this morning.There’s been a surge of reports of problems at Lloyds Bank, Halifax, and Bank of Scotland (which are all part of Lloyds Banking Group), according to Downdetector.A chart showing outages reported at Lloyds Banking Group Photograph: DowndetectorShareFortnite investigating log-in problemsFortnite, the popular online gaming platform, has confirmed its services are affected by the Internet outage, saying:
An outage affecting several services on the internet is also impacting Fortnite log-ins. We’re investigating this now, and will update you when we have more details.
⚠️ An outage affecting several services on the internet is also impacting Fortnite log-ins. We’re investigating this now, and will update you when we have more details.— Fortnite Status (@FortniteStatus) October 20, 2025
ShareUsers report major internet outage after AWS suffers ‘operational issue’A major internet outage has hit dozens of popular websites, online games and apps.Users have been reporting problems accessing sites such as Amazon, Roblox, Fortnite and Snapchat, for example, this morning.The outage may be related to a glitch at Amazon Web Services (AWS), the e-commerce giant’s on-demand cloud computing platform which underpins many online operations.AWS has reported an ‘operational issue’ at its data centre in North Virginia, known as “us-east-1”.It says:
We can confirm increased error rates and latencies for multiple AWS Services in the US-EAST-1 Region. This issue may also be affecting Case Creation through the AWS Support Center or the Support API.
We are actively engaged and working to both mitigate the issue and understand root cause.
ShareUpdated at 09.28 BSTOil hit by glut predictionsConcerns about a global oil glut have hit crude prices this morning.Brent crude is down 0.75% at $60.84 per barrel, approaching a five-month low, following recent forecasts that supply will rise faster than demand.Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities, explained:
“Concerns about oversupply from increased production by oil- producing nations, coupled with fears of an economic slowdown stemming from escalating U.S.-China trade tensions, are fuelling selling pressure.”
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