How do I know if my internet is down or if a website is down?

Run this outage checker tool. It tests your local connection, DNS resolution, and reachability to multiple independent servers simultaneously. If your local connection fails but external servers respond, the issue is local (your router, modem, or ISP). If external servers also fail, there may be a wider outage.

What is the difference between a local internet outage and a service outage?

A local outage means your specific connection to the internet is down — your router, modem, ISP line, or account. A service outage means a specific website or platform (like Google, Netflix, or Discord) is down for everyone, but your internet connection itself is working fine.

Why can I ping Google but still can't browse the internet?

This usually indicates a DNS issue. Your connection can reach IP addresses (ping works) but cannot resolve domain names into IP addresses. Try changing your DNS server to 8.8.8.8 (Google) or 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) in your router or network adapter settings.

What does packet loss mean during an outage?

Packet loss means some data packets sent from your device never reach their destination. 1–2% packet loss causes minor issues. Above 5% causes noticeable problems with video calls and gaming. Above 20% represents a severe connectivity problem. 100% packet loss means no connection at all.

How do I check if my ISP is having an outage?

First run this tool to confirm your connection is down. Then check your ISP's status page directly (most major ISPs have one), search '[your ISP name] outage' on social media like Twitter/X, or check community outage tracking sites. You can also call your ISP's support line and listen for automated outage announcements.

Why does my internet keep dropping intermittently?

Intermittent internet drops are caused by: a loose or damaged cable, overheating modem or router, ISP line interference (especially on older copper lines in bad weather), Wi-Fi interference from neighboring networks, or a failing modem/router. Run this checker repeatedly during drops to capture the failure pattern.

What should I do first when my internet goes down?

Follow these steps: 1) Run this outage checker to confirm the problem. 2) Restart your modem (unplug 30 seconds, replug). 3) Restart your router separately. 4) Check all cable connections. 5) Check your ISP's status page for reported outages. 6) Try connecting a different device to rule out device-specific issues. 7) Contact your ISP if all else fails.

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What Is an Internet Outage? Complete Guide

An internet outage is any interruption that prevents you from accessing the internet or specific online services. Outages range from a single dropped connection lasting seconds to widespread regional failures affecting millions of users for hours. Understanding why outages happen — and how to diagnose them quickly — can save hours of frustration and lost productivity.

Not all outages are equal. Your connection might be completely down, intermittently dropping, suffering from severe packet loss, or only failing for specific services while others work fine. Each pattern points to a different cause and a different fix.

The most important question: Is the outage local (your router, modem, or ISP line) or remote (the website or service is down for everyone)? This tool answers that in seconds.

Types of Internet Outages

🏠 Local Equipment Failure

Your router or modem has crashed, overheated, or lost its configuration. Symptoms: all devices on your network lose internet simultaneously. Fix: unplug modem/router for 30 seconds, replug, wait 2 minutes.

📡 ISP Line Outage

Your ISP's infrastructure in your area has failed — a cut fiber, damaged telephone line, failed node, or overloaded exchange. Symptoms: modem shows no sync light. Fix: contact ISP or wait for repair.

🔤 DNS Failure

You can reach IP addresses but cannot resolve domain names. Websites appear unreachable, but services contacted by IP still work. Fix: change DNS to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) or 8.8.8.8 (Google).

🌐 Regional ISP Outage

A larger failure affecting your entire ISP network in a geographic region — often caused by a backbone router failure, DDoS attack, or major cable cut. Affects many customers. Fix: wait for ISP repair.

⚡ Intermittent Drops

Connection drops briefly and reconnects repeatedly. Often caused by a loose or damaged cable, interference, or a failing modem. This tool's packet loss metric reveals this pattern clearly.

🖥️ Service-Specific Outage

Your internet works but one specific service (Netflix, Discord, Gmail) is down for everyone. Your connection is fine — the problem is on the service provider's servers. Check their status page.

How to Diagnose an Internet Outage Step by Step

1

Run This Outage Checker First The tool performs all key diagnostics simultaneously — local network, DNS, gateway, latency, packet loss, and jitter — and identifies exactly which layer of your connection is failing. This saves you from guessing.
2

Check Multiple Devices If only one device has no internet, the problem is the device itself (its Wi-Fi adapter, network settings, or software). If all devices are affected, the problem is the router, modem, or ISP line.
3

Restart Modem and Router (in order) Unplug your modem first, wait 30 seconds, plug it back in. Wait 60 seconds for it to sync with your ISP. Then restart your router. This fixes ~60% of home internet outages.
4

Inspect Physical Connections Check every cable from the wall to your modem and from your modem to your router. A loose coax cable, damaged Ethernet cable, or disconnected phone line is a very common cause of outages.
5

Check Your ISP's Status Page Most major ISPs have a real-time status page. Search "[your ISP name] outage" or "[your ISP name] status page". You can also check social media — users report outages quickly on Twitter/X.
6

Change Your DNS Server If local ping works but websites don't load, your DNS is failing. Change your router's DNS to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) or 8.8.8.8 (Google). This takes 2 minutes and fixes many "internet down" cases instantly.
7

Contact Your ISP If all previous steps fail, contact your ISP. Have your account number ready and describe what you've already tried. Ask specifically if there's an outage in your area — automated systems often announce this immediately when you call.

Understanding the Diagnostic Metrics

Latency (Round-Trip Time)

Latency measures how long it takes for a data packet to travel from your device to a server and back, measured in milliseconds (ms). Under 20 ms is excellent. 20–50 ms is good. 50–100 ms is acceptable. 100–200 ms is noticeable. Above 200 ms is problematic for real-time applications. During an outage, latency either becomes infinite (no response) or spikes dramatically above normal levels.

Packet Loss

Packet loss is the percentage of data packets that fail to reach their destination. Zero packet loss is ideal. 1–2% causes minor issues. 5–10% causes choppy video calls. Above 10% means your connection is effectively broken for most real-time use. Packet loss is often the first symptom of an imminent full outage — it appears before the connection drops completely.

Jitter

Jitter is the variation in latency over time — how consistent your ping is from sample to sample. Low jitter (under 5 ms variation) means a stable connection. High jitter (20+ ms variation) causes choppy audio and video even when average latency seems acceptable. Jitter is especially damaging for VoIP calls and real-time gaming.

DNS Resolution

DNS resolution is the process of translating a domain name (google.com) into an IP address your browser can connect to. A failing DNS server causes all websites to appear unreachable even though your physical internet connection is working. DNS failures are invisible on standard ping tests — this tool tests them explicitly.

Quick fix for DNS failures: Go to your router's admin panel (usually 192.168.1.1) → DNS settings → change Primary DNS to 1.1.1.1 and Secondary DNS to 8.8.8.8. Apply and restart. Most DNS-caused outages resolve in under 2 minutes.

Internet Outage by Connection Type

📶 Wi-Fi Outages

Often caused by router crashes, channel congestion, or interference. First check: can you connect to the router via Ethernet? If yes, the problem is your Wi-Fi radio, not your ISP.

🔌 Cable Internet

DOCSIS cable outages often affect entire neighborhoods simultaneously when a node fails. Upstream packet loss is common during peak hours. Check for loose coax connections first.

🌐 Fiber (FTTH)

Fiber outages are rare but severe when they occur. Often caused by physical cuts. ONT (optical network terminal) on your wall may need power cycling. Check ONT status lights first.

📱 5G Home Internet

T-Mobile and Verizon 5G home internet outages can be caused by tower maintenance, signal obstruction, or gateway firmware issues. Check the gateway's signal strength indicator.

🛰️ Satellite (Starlink)

Starlink outages occur during satellite handoffs, severe weather (rain fade), dish obstructions, or software updates. The Starlink app shows real-time obstruction and outage data.

📞 DSL

DSL is most vulnerable to water ingress on phone lines and distance from the exchange. During rain, many DSL connections drop or slow dramatically. Check modem sync speed vs normal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Run this outage checker. It tests multiple independent servers simultaneously. If your connection is working, at least some services will respond. If everything fails, your connection or ISP is the issue. If only specific services fail while others work, those services are down on their end — not your connection.

This is a DNS failure. Ping works by IP address (bypassing DNS), but loading a website requires DNS to translate the domain name into an IP. Your internet connection is physically working, but your DNS server is failing. Fix: change your DNS to 1.1.1.1 (Cloudflare) or 8.8.8.8 (Google) in your router settings. This takes under 2 minutes and resolves this issue immediately.

Intermittent drops are caused by: a loose or damaged cable between your wall and modem, an overheating modem or router (check if either is hot to the touch), ISP line interference especially during rain on older DSL or cable lines, Wi-Fi interference from neighboring networks on the same channel, or a failing modem that needs replacement. Run this checker repeatedly during drop events to capture packet loss patterns that help diagnose the root cause.

Packet loss is the percentage of data packets that don't reach their destination. 0% is ideal — all packets arrive. 1–2% is barely noticeable. 3–5% causes occasional glitches in video calls. 5–10% makes real-time applications unreliable. Above 10% means the connection is effectively broken for gaming and video calls. Above 25% means you're in a near-outage state. Persistent packet loss above 1% should be investigated and reported to your ISP.

After running this tool to confirm your connection is down: (1) Check your ISP's official status page — search "[ISP name] status page". (2) Check Twitter/X for "#[ISP name] outage" — users report outages in real-time. (3) Call your ISP's support line — automated systems announce known outages immediately. (4) Check community outage trackers. If it's a confirmed ISP outage, you can only wait — but documenting the outage time is useful when requesting service credits.

Technically no, but it can feel like one. Severe slowdowns (also called brownouts) are usually caused by ISP network congestion during peak hours, throttling by your ISP, packet loss degrading TCP performance, or a partially failing modem. This tool's packet loss and jitter metrics will reveal whether the slowdown is caused by a degraded connection. For speed-specific issues, pair this tool with our Bufferbloat & Speed Test for a complete picture.

Follow this order: (1) Run this checker to confirm and diagnose the outage type. (2) Restart your modem — unplug it for 30 seconds, plug it in, wait 90 seconds. (3) Restart your router separately. (4) Check all cable connections from wall to modem. (5) Check your ISP's status page for reported outages in your area. (6) Try a different device to rule out a device-specific issue. (7) Call your ISP if all else fails. Most home outages (60%+) are resolved by step 3.

Summary

Internet outages are inevitable — but diagnosing them doesn't have to be a mystery. The key is knowing which layer of your connection is failing: your device, your local network, your router, your modem, your ISP's infrastructure, or the remote service itself.

This tool tests all critical connection layers simultaneously and gives you a precise answer in under 60 seconds. Use it every time your internet acts up — it eliminates guesswork, saves time on hold with your ISP, and helps you make an informed decision about whether to wait, reboot, change settings, or call for support.

Pair this tool with our Bufferbloat & Speed Test for a complete picture of your connection's health — outage status, speed, latency under load, and bufferbloat grade all in one place.

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