Merto Team
The digital pulse of the UK ground to a halt for thousands of mobile phone and landline users on Thursday, 24th July 2025, as a significant network outage struck EE and BT services. For many, the simple act of making or receiving a call became impossible, sparking widespread frustration and concern across the country.
If you found yourself asking, "is EE down?" or "is BT down?" – you certainly weren't alone. This post will break down exactly what happened, the impact on customers, how the issue was resolved, and what lessons can be learned from such widespread connectivity challenges.
The Day of Disruption: How the Outage Unfolded
Reports of problems with EE and its parent company BT began to surface around 11:15 AM BST on Thursday. Outages tracker Downdetector, a platform that relies on real-time self-reported user data, quickly showed a sharp increase in complaints. By 2:00 PM BST, over 2,500 EE customers were reporting issues, with the figures peaking at around 2:15 PM, affecting over 2,600 users.
The geographical spread of the BT EE outage was extensive, impacting users across the entire UK. Reports streamed in from major cities including London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, and as far north as Glasgow, highlighting the widespread nature of the disruption. Social media quickly became a hub for frustrated users, with many posting about a complete loss of mobile and landline services, expressing their inability to connect with family, friends, or even essential services. One EE user on X (formerly Twitter) simply wrote, "I can’t make or receive any calls. All I get is beep beep.” Another Vodafone user – incorrectly assuming their own network was impacted due to connection issues – lamented, "I can’t get through to my dad."
Beyond Just Calls: Impact on 999 Services & Customer Support
Perhaps the most critical concern during any widespread network issue is the impact on emergency services. Initially, some regional emergency services, like Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Services, posted on social media confirming "a fault with the mobile phone network, including 999 calls." This naturally heightened anxiety among the public.
However, swift action and updates followed. By 3:01 PM BST, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Services provided an update on X, confirming that 999 calls had returned to normal. The Department of Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) later corroborated this, stating that "EE and BT digital voice calls to 999 have now been restored." While the disruption to emergency calls was, thankfully, brief and localized for some, it underscored the critical reliance on robust network infrastructure for public safety.
Adding to customer woes, EE and BT customer service phone lines were also reportedly down for much of Thursday afternoon. This left many customers unable to seek assistance, report issues, or follow up on existing queries. Anecdotes on EE forums highlighted the frustration, with one customer unable to arrange an "urgent refund" and another struggling to get through on behalf of elderly parents with an ongoing order.
The Root Cause & Swift Resolution
A spokesperson from BT, the parent company of EE, quickly apologised for the inconvenience caused by the widespread mobile networks down situation. They confirmed that the BT EE outage occurred "following a technical fault impacting voice services on our network earlier today."
By late Thursday, the same spokesperson announced that the problem had been successfully "resolved and the service is running as normal." This swift resolution, within hours of widespread reports, prevented a prolonged period of disruption for their extensive customer base. BT Group serves more than 30 million customers across the UK, generating £20.4 billion in revenue in the last financial year, making the scale of such an outage significant.
Dispelling Rumours: Other Networks' Status
While Downdetector showed spikes in reports for other networks like Vodafone and Three, these were largely attributed to users attempting to contact EE or BT customers who were experiencing issues. Both Vodafone and Three officially confirmed to the BBC that they did not have network problems on their own infrastructure.
Similarly, O2 customers reported some issues on Downdetector, but an O2 spokesperson clarified that their network was operating "entirely as normal." They explained that any spikes for O2 were likely due to their customers trying to contact friends or family on the affected networks. So, if you were wondering "is Vodafone down?" or "is O2 down?", the answer was predominantly no – their networks remained stable throughout. However, the connectivity issues of BT EE outages had a ripple effect for users trying to communicate across different providers.
It's also worth noting that the issue may have impacted some customers of Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) which "piggyback" on EE's network. For instance, 1pMobile acknowledged awareness of issues "affecting a small number of customers" on their service due to the EE network issue.
Regulatory Watch & Consumer Rights
The UK communications regulator, Ofcom, quickly stepped in, stating it was in contact with BT "to establish the scale and cause of the problem as soon as possible." Regulators like Ofcom play a crucial role in ensuring network providers adhere to "statutory obligations to ensure their networks and services are appropriately resilient," as stated by the Department of Science, Innovation and Technology.
For affected customers, there's also the question of compensation. Ernest Doku, a mobiles expert from Uswitch, highlighted the importance for customers to be reconnected swiftly and kept informed. He advised that if your landline stops working and is not fixed within two days, you may be entitled to compensation, provided you report the issue promptly to your provider. This is a vital piece of information for any customer impacted by the BT EE outage.
Lessons Learned: The Importance of Uninterrupted Connectivity
This widespread mobile network outage serves as a stark reminder of our deep reliance on uninterrupted telecommunications services for daily life, business operations, and, critically, for accessing emergency services. While such technical faults are rare given the complexity of these vast networks, their impact can be significant.
The swift resolution by BT and EE is commendable, bringing services back to normal relatively quickly. However, the incident underscores the ongoing need for robust network resilience and transparent communication from providers when issues arise. For consumers, it highlights the importance of understanding compensation rights and knowing how to contact emergency services even when conventional calls are disrupted (e.g., trying from a different network, or using Wi-Fi calling if available).
The experience of thousands asking "is EE down today?" and dealing with the repercussions of a major EE network issue will undoubtedly inform future network resilience strategies and consumer communication protocols within the UK's telecommunications sector.