Yahoo News BT down: Network crashes as hundreds complain they are unable to access internet
Frustrated BT customers are reporting issues accessing the internet after severe weather in Scotland caused major network issues.
The Downdetector website recorded more than 800 complaints from BT customers with reports of issues starting around 8.20am on Wednesday.
A BT spokesperson told the Evening Standard it doesn't expect services to be restored until later today.
“Following severe storms and flooding in Edinburgh last night, engineers are working to restore broadband to affected parts of the city as soon as possible but due to the scale of the damage we don’t expect service to be restored until later today," said the spokesperson.
"Phone and mobile services are not impacted. We’re sorry for any inconvenience.”
One social media user said they hadn't been able to access the internet since "early morning".
@bt_uk hi there, I’ve sent a dm. My internet has been off since early morning, it’s been reported but I’m a halo customer but haven’t been connected to the mini hub??
— 🌈𝓐𝓷𝓷𝓮𝓛𝓸𝓾𝓲𝓼𝓮 𝓗🌈 (@LuckyInRainbow)
Another wondered if the weather was affecting BT's network.
I’ve been on hold to BT for over an hour and keep getting cut off and having to dial back. Our internet has stopped working. Has the storm effected internet?
— Lisa McNeill (@Lisa_Mc1710)
Many of the complaints were from social media users in Edinburgh.
@bt_uk Edinburgh broadband internet still down any estimate on repair time? I’m at EH4, thanks.
— Julia Houston (@juliahoustie)
The network access issues came as thousands of people in the UK are still working from home during the coronavirus pandemic.
One Twitter user said she was unable to work without access to the internet and called on BT to fix the problem as soon as possible.
@bt_uk my broadband is down today and I am trying to log a fault. I’ve called three times now but each time the line just goes quiet and stops ringing. Please help! I can’t work without internet access
— Naomi Jane Walker (@NaomiWalker)
According to Downdetector many of the customers who reported issues said they couldn't access the internet (64 per cent) while others said they were struggling with their emails (34 per cent).
Just 3 per cent of the complaints were from customers who were having phone issues.
BT's internet services status page said some customers might be experiencing loss of broadband and BT Broadband and telephone services.
"We hope to have service restored as quickly as possible and apologise for any inconvenience this may be causing," said the company on its website.
"Services can be affected by a number of different factors such as damage by third parties to the network causing cable damage."
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