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 Down Detector.
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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% Giffgagg customers and 81% of Sky Mobile customers reported to Down Detector that they had issues with their mobile phone service.
Affected customers have taken to Twitter to express their frustration at the outage.
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.”
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We’ve contacted both EE and Giffgaff to find out when they expect the issues to be resolved.
The outage comes at the same time that Sky Mobile customers have also complained of a network outage.
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.
However, you may still be entitled to compensation from EE if you experience a mobile phone outage.
EE has previously said any customers affected by outages can contact its customer service team who will look at compensation on a case-by-case basis.
You can get in touch with EE by phone, post or online.
You can also speak to EE via its live chat service.
Other mobile phone companies such as Three have previously given customers up to £20 off their bills following a nine-hour signal failure.
