FOUR major mobile networks are down and customers are unable to make calls, send texts and browse the web.
Problems started on Tuesday afternoon, as thousands of customers logged issues with their O2, Giffgaff, Sky Mobile and Virgin Mobile services on the outage detection site Downdetector.
Giffgaff and Sky Mobile which share the same network as O2 have over 2,000 complaints combined.
Another 2,000 customers with Virgin Media and O2 have similarly complained about their connection on Downdetector.
More than 42% Giffgaff customers and 81% of Sky Mobile customers reported to Downdetector that they had issues with their mobile phone service.
Affected customers have taken to Twitter to express their frustration at the outage.
An O2 customer posted on Twitter and said: “Anyone else having problems with the O2 mobile phone network? I can’t send texts or call anyone.”
A Giffgaff customer posted on Twitter and said: “My connection is completely gone, can’t send or receive texts or calls or use my data. May as well not have a sim card in.”
Giffgaff’s Twitter page has acknowledged the outage when responding to customers.
It said: “We are aware of an issue that is affecting member’s ability to send SMS messages and is now also affecting their calls.
“This is being investigated internally.”
Hundreds of EE customers have also complained to say that they can’t send text messages or make calls.
But a spokesperson for EE said that these issues relate to the other outages.
A Virgin Media O2 spokesperson echoed that statement – confirming there is no fault on the O2 network.
They said: “Some of our customers, along with those of other providers, experienced some disruption to calls and text messages earlier which was a knock-on effect of an issue at Sky Mobile.”
Can I get compensation if I have no phone signal?
There is no automatic compensation scheme for mobile networks like there is for broadband and landline firms.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t get any compensation if your signal cuts out.
You should also keep a note of how long the outage lasts and any inconvenience it causes you.
If you have to spend any money due to the outage, make sure you keep evidence of that, too.
You can check your provider’s website to see if you’re entitled to compensation.