Netflix down: latest updates as service slowly comes back online

OK – so we think we have a problem here. DownDetector, the site that monitors for service performance, is showing a huge spike in issues.

Twitter is alight with users all wondering what's happened - we could have chosen many Tweets to show you here, but it's at a terribly inopportune time to be dropping.

We're seeing different performance across the globe - in California, our writer David Lumb cannot access the service, but two of our team in the NY bureau have commented on the service being up, but slooooooooow.

In the UK, we're not able to access it, and the app itself is running incredibly slowly.

This is what people are seeing on the desktop site in the UK - it seems there's a real outage just when people are settling down to dinner.

Currently nothing showing up so far on Netflix support, the help site or on Twitter.

Could that be because the service is already restoring? I've just been able to start Squid Game (which I haven't been able to watch yet because of life getting in the way) on my iPhone.

A minute ago, Netflix still wasn't acknowledging the problem:

We're seeing the service stay down on the desktop version, although we are seeing the app remain functioning for some users.

It seems the problem is slowly resolving, but we're not seeing an improvement on the desktop environment just yet.

We've contacted Netflix for comment.

The desktop experience is returning now - we're hearing confirmed reports of the service working for more around the globe.

However, the service remains running slowly, it appears.

We've just tested Netflix's fast.com speed tester, and that's functioning just fine. We've also streamed HD content from the desktop too.

More evidence of the service coming back online from certain users - although others are reporting things are still not functioning for them.

It seems the issue is being solved platform by platform:

The main support site for Netflix has been unwavering in its certainty that Netflix is up - we're seeing very different, but this could hint at a minor gremlin rather than huge issues.

Netflix outage reports on DownDetector have decreased, but they're not gone entirely, and the @NetflixHelps customer service account has continued to reply to user tweets claiming the streaming service is down. In one tweet asserting a UK outage, the account assures that "our team is investigating the issue" but that they do not have an estimated time on when Netflix will be back up:

It seems like the outage is dwindling now, and service may be restored in your area – DownDetector is listing ever-fewer reports, so we're guessing the fixes have come in for many regions.

The complaints seem to have subsided though reports have stabilized at above-average (but not excessive) numbers – a bit below 50 current reports from a height of just under 1,450 in the US, though certainly above the baseline of around 13. Those outage declines are reflected in other countries, which may mean the outage is largely fixed for most users around the globe – even the @Netflixhelps twitter account has seemingly stopped responding to outage complaints.

Complaints seem to be holding at an above-average rate, though certainly not at the heights seen earlier and only in certain countries. Still have an issue? Might be wise to continue contacting the @Netflixhelps Twitter account.

It looks like the Netflix outage is recovering, if not entirely over. Downdetector shows that the initial spike of complaints subsided after the first few hours, and the website is now live again in the UK. We're accessing the Netflix mobile app fine on iOS, though still experiencing issues on Android, so it looks like Netflix is ironing out some final issues. At the very least, you should be able to watch shows on your browser again.

We have some clarification for Netflix users on Android unable to access the mobile app.

In our chats with Netflix support, we've been told that the Android problem is "an active issue" and "a known issue", but that there's "no information when this started" – suggesting that Netflix isn't sure at what point the problem began (i.e. before or during the outage).

We're advised by Netflix customer service to force stop the app, open the Android 'overview' and close the app manually, restart the phone, and then try to update to the latest version of the app (7.120, if available) at least four times.