Three UK was down – here’s everything we know about the epic outage

It’s (almost) over…

In what is (presumably) Three UK’s last statement of the day, it’s stated that “following an issue earlier today, Voice and SMS services are now returning to near-normal levels’. With the emphasis there on “near normal”.

Some Three UK customers are still reporting on social media and Downdetector that they still can’t make or receive calls. But the number of reports on Downdetector is down to around the 600-mark – that’s still above normal, but significantly lower than the peak of 9,358 at around 9.30am BST today.

Hopefully, those a complete fix for everyone will have arrived by tomorrow morning – we’ll continue to keep an eye on the situation, but for now it’s a sympathetic goodbye on another bad day for Three UK and its fuming customers.

Promising signs, at last

While there’s still no official fix, there are signs that the voice calling issues hitting Three UK (and related networks like Smarty and iD Mobile) are finally starting to ease.

Over on Downdetector, the reports have dropped below 1,000 for the first time in over 12 hours, and some of the commenters state that voice calls have returned for them. Those reports come from far and wide, across Manchester, Buckinghamshire and Romford.

Still, until there’s an official statement about a fix, we won’t be calling an end to this long day of voice-calling woe for many.

Three customers (understandably) aren’t happy

Three UK has just under 11 million customers, and many of them are understandably angry about today’s lengthy voice call outage – which still hasn’t officially been fixed.

Many on X say they’ve missed important calls. Three’s suggestion of using third-party apps like WhatsApp to make voice calls also certainly doesn’t cover every scenario (anything using a landline, for example).

Some have demanded compensation, but that’s unfortunately not a simple or quick process. As I outlined below, you’ll need to use Three’s official complaint form, and even then there’s no guarantee of getting compensated. Ofcom says that if the matter is still unresolved after eight weeks, you can then complain to an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.

Three UK says… there’s still no fix

Three UK has put out another statement that effectively repeats what it’s said before – it’s continuing to “investigate an issue affecting voice services on our network”, but that’s still all we know.

We’re heading towards twelve hours without outgoing or incoming phone calls for many, which makes it a repeat of the last big outage in January. You’d hope Three UK might have learned some lessons from that last one that could help expedite a fix, but that doesn’t seem to be the case…

The real-world impact

It’s easy to be dismissive of a voice calls outage in a world when much of our communication is done by messaging or texts – but a number of people have missed important calls as a result of the today’s issues.

Some have been awaiting hospital or medical calls, and this is where Three UK’s advice to use third-party apps like WhatsApp falls a bit short. Sometimes the person you’re calling (or waiting for a call from) is only available on the mobile network.

A few people have also claimed on social media that 999 calls also haven’t been going through, although these cases are fortunately only a small minority.

The latest statements

It’s been a tough day for Three UK customers, and the issues haven’t just affected that network – the likes of Smarty and ID Mobile, which piggyback on Three’s infrastructure, have also seen voice calls affected.

The latest from Three UK is a statement (posted at 3.51pm BST) that it’s “continuing to work on an issue affecting voice services”. Earlier today at 9.30am on X, Smarty said it was “aware of an issue affecting voice services and are working hard to fix it”, and has been answering customers on X stating that it worryingly does not have an “end date” for the issues yet.

Lastly, iD Mobile posted a similar statement on X this morning, stating that it was aware people were “having issues making or receiving calls and accessing the iD Mobile app”. Its service status page has more info and is actually more helpful than Three UK’s.

All three of these networks are in the same boat, trying to fix the same infrastructure – let’s hope there’s more positive news this evening.

Can you get compensation?

If you’ve been unable to make or receive important phone calls today, you might be wondering if you can claim compensation.

Unfortunately, this isn’t quite as clearcut as you might have hoped. During Three UK’s previous voice calls outage in January, Uswitch’s mobiles expert Simrat Sharma told me: “Ofcom advises that compensation for mobile signal outages is ‘dependent on the circumstances’, however in extreme cases where repairs take much longer you may be entitled to an additional refund or account credit”.

So is this one of those cases? There’s no guarantee of compensation, so you’ll have to try Three’s official complaint form to open a case and find out. Ofcom states that if the matter remains unresolved after eight weeks, you can then complain to an independent Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme.

Hopefully, it won’t come to that, but the fact that Three UK has been advising that customers use third-party apps for voice calls (using mobile data instead), could potentially give it an out when it comes to compensation disputes.

Another update from Three UK

Three UK has provided another update (above), but it sadly isn’t the news of a fix we’re all hoping for.

The network has just posted on X to say that it’s “continuing to work on an issue affecting voice services” that started earlier today.

This time, it’s added that “a small number of text messages” have also been hit, which is interesting because I’ve seen more evidence of complaints about data being affected. But Three UK maintains that “data services are working normally” and recommends you use third-party apps for calls.

The network has given a stronger apology, stating “we know how frustrating this is, and we’re so sorry for any inconvenience caused”, but that hasn’t stopped many frustrated customers for angrily requesting compensation. I’ll wrap up today with some advice on that.

Eight hours and counting…

As we all feared, today’s Three UK issues are becoming a repeat of its last voice calls outage in January – when the problems even stretched into the following day.

The reports on Downdetector are still at a high level of around 5,500, and have even climbed in the last hour or so. More importantly, there’s still no news of a fix from Three UK – and it hasn’t issued any new statements since its last one four hours ago.

Three UK customers are understandably frustrated – and there’s a sense that the network must have known that this would be another long haul, but hasn’t given any rough estimates that might have helped customers plan around it. Let’s hope for some good news soon.

Some are reporting data issues, too

Three UK says that “data services are working normally” and that today’s issues are only affecting voice calls, but some customers are reporting that their data is affected, too.

While the evidence is mostly anecdotal, three of the most upvoted replies to Three UK’s latest statement on X are from customers stating that their data isn’t working, alongside voice calls. A TechRadar reader in Edinburgh also separately emailed us to say that their Three UK data has been deteriorating over the past few days.

Only 3% of the reports on Downdetector state that ‘internet’ is the main issue, with the vast majority (80%) confirming that their issues are with voice calls. Still, while only a minority seem to have been hit with data problems, it does seem Three UK’s recommended alternative of making voice calls through third-party apps isn’t available to everyone.

Are emergency calls affected?

Some Three UK users (above) are reporting on X that today’s issues are also affecting emergency calls – which is something that happened during the network’s last big outage in January.

I haven’t been able to test this myself for obvious reasons, but a message on Three’s coverage checker earlier acknowledged that “we are aware of a number of reports that customers have not been able to connect to 999 calls”, even though it was seeing a normal number of 999 calls on its network.

A Three customer service agent has asked anyone experiencing similar issues to share the details using its webchat service, and added “we appreciate that accessing emergency calls is vital”.

A new statement from Three UK

In better news, Three UK has just got back to me with a new statement on today’s issues. Unfortunately, it’s almost identical to the last one from over three hours ago.

“We are aware of an issue affecting voice services and are working hard to fix it. Data services are working normally, so calls can be placed via third-party messaging apps. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused”, the spokesperson said.

The only change is the recommendation of making voice calls through apps like WhatsApp. Which is fine if the person you’re calling is available on those apps, but less so if they’re not.

A recap: what’s happened so far

It’s been a frustrating morning for Three UK customers, and the network’s voice call issues aren’t going away. Here’s a quick recap of what’s happened:

• The first reports of Three UK issues started at around 7.45am BST
• The network acknowledged the problem at 9.36am
• A spokesperson said it was “working hard to fix” the issue and that data services are “working normally”
• Reports on Downdetector are still at a consistently high rate of 5,500 reports, at the time of writing

I’ve asked for an update from Three UK, but so far it’s only put out its original statement that it’s working on a fix. Let’s hope this one doesn’t drag on for quite as long as its similar voice calls outage in January, which stretched out into the following day.

Problems at other networks?

Downdetector is also showing spikes in reported issues at other UK mobile networks, including EE, Vodafone and O2. Does that mean they’re also having wobbles? Not necessarily – in fact, they’re mostly likely related to this morning’s Three UK issues.

During major outages, it’s coming to see small spikes in reports at other networks (and they are all minor tremors compared to Three UK), because outgoing calls to the affected network aren’t working properly. Often (but not always), these are mistakenly reported as an issue with the ‘home’ network.

I haven’t seen any statements from EE, Vodadone or O2 acknowledging any issues with their voice calls, so that looks likely to be the case here. But I will be keeping an eye on them and will report back if this snowballs into a bad day for all UK networks, rather than just Three UK.

The reports aren’t going away

Like Three’s last voice calls outage in January, an initial fall in Downdetector reports has now settled to a pretty high plateau (over the 5,600 mark).

That shows that a fix is still yet to roll out and we could be in for another long wait before voice calls return to normal. There’s been no further update from Three – I’d expect a new statement if the problems continue over the UK lunch-time, and will be asking for an update.

As I posted below, this outage has unfortunately come a bit early for Vodafone’s network to act as a handy fallback for Three UK customers, following the merger earlier this month…

A very reasonable question…

One Three UK customer (above) has asked why they can’t use Vodafone’s network during this voice calls outage, given the two recently merged?

That’s a perfectly valid question, but it’s unfortunately a bit too soon for those kind of benefits to be felt, according to Vodafone’s information on the merge anyway.

In its FAQs, it states that “starting from mid-June” Three UK customers would benefit from a 20% boost in 4G data speeds. But that only “within a few months” would Vodafone and Three customers be able to “automatically use each other’s networks”, in order to connect them to “the best coverage possible”.

Unfortunately, today’s outage seems to have come too early for that to happen – but on the plus side, future problems should (in theory) be less painful.

Still no timeframe for a fix

The frustrations for many Three UK customers are understandably mounting on social media, but the network’s support agents are responding by stating “we don’t have a timeframe to share at present”.

That’s not a great sign, as it hints that this could last for several hours yet. At least the problems are mainly affecting voice calls rather than mobile data, but with many customers reporting that it’s hitting both outgoing and incoming calls, that’s still very restrictive – particularly if you have business phones that run on the network.

Even the Three app is down

As some have been reporting on X, the Three UK mobile app is also down – showing the notice above that echoes what the network’s spokesperson told us just over an hour ago.

There haven’t been any official updates since then, so there’s no official fix yet – which means we could be in for another long wait, if hopefully not one as long as the January outage. That one even stretched into the following day.

A UK-wide outage

While it isn’t possible to use Three UK’s coverage tracker (which is also down), a Downdetector map shows that today’s voice calling issues are UK-wide rather than in local clusters.

The heat map (above) shows reports from Plymouth in the south to Glasgow in the north, via most major cities. Three UK’s acknowledgement of the issues also confirms that this is a nationwide wobble.

That isn’t much consolation if you’re out and need to make an important call this morning, but you’re certainly not alone…

Signs of hope?

In the last half an hour, the number of Downdetector reports of Three UK issues has started to drop – it’s now down to the 7,500 mark, from a peak of about 9,100 at 9.33am BST.

That could be a good sign, though it may also reflect that customers are simply starting their work day or have already vented their frustrations on the outages site.

Three UK hasn’t yet reported that a fix is rolling out and a similar pattern occurred back in January, when the reports continued to flood in for hours after an early drop. That all means I’m hesitant to say that the Three issues are improving, but hopefully we’ll get another official update from the network soon.

A post-merger wobble

Today’s Three UK network issues come just a few weeks after the completion of the Vodafone and Three mega-merger.

That merger promised £11 billion of spending over the next decade (including £1.3 million over the first year) to create “one of Europe’s most advanced 5G networks”, according to the company.

Clearly, it’s a bit early to expect any impact from that spending, and today’s issues aren’t impacting data services. But the current voice call problems do feel like a blast from Three UK’s past – most notably, the similar outage that customers endured in January.

ID Mobile and Smarty also hit

Several UK mobile networks – including ID Mobile and Smarty – also use Three’s infrastructure, which means their voice calls have also been taken out by today’s issues.

I’m on Smarty and can’t currently make calls, while the Downdetector reports from ID Mobile customers have spiked this morning. A small chink of light is that those reports have slightly dropped in the last ten minutes – which either suggests a potential easing of issues, or that most ID Mobile customers have already reported their frustrations.

The Three UK spike has also fallen slightly, so let’s hope it continues in that direction…

It’s another big outage

The Downdetector reports are continuing to rise – and that makes this Three UK outage similar in size to the one back in January 2025, when voice calls were also taken out.

The Three UK issues in January nudged the 10,000-report mark on Downdetector, so today’s one isn’t quite there yet, but it’s not far off with the number at over 9,000 at the time of writing.

The bad news is that last time the outage lasted for several hours, going into the following day – so hopefully Three’s engineers can find a fix a bit quicker this time.

A statement from Three UK

I’ve just heard back from Three UK. A spokesperson said: “We are aware of an issue affecting voice services and are working hard to fix it. Data services are working normally. Please accept our apologies for any inconvenience caused.”

There’s no estimate of a time for the fix unfortunately, but you’re not alone – there are UK-wide issues affecting Three UK voice calls. The silver lining is that data services haven’t been taken down too, but hopefully those voice calls will be back sooner rather than later.

An ‘ongoing issue’ affecting voice calls

While it isn’t a direct statement from Three UK, when I checked its coverage tracker I found the notice above – it states that “there is an ongoing issues affecting a small percentage of voice services and we are working hard to fix it”.

It adds that “data services are unaffected”. Worryingly, it also adds that “we are aware of a number of reports that customers have not been able to connect to 999 calls”.

It’s not clear whether this is a boilerplate statement from the previous Three outage, but I’ve contacted the network to find out and will update this liveblog as soon as I hear back.

The reports are rising

This is starting to feel like another sizable outage for Three UK, even if the issues do seem to mostly be restricted to voice calls.

The reports on Downdetector have grown to over 7,000 at the time of writing and social media is filling up with reports from confused Three customers wondering why they can’t make calls.

While the problems have been reported across the UK, it doesn’t look like everyone is affected. On the TechRadar team, some Three customers are reporting that both mobile data and voice calls are fine (for now), as is Three’s fixed wireless broadband.

I’m on Smarty though (which is on the Three network) and can’t currently make voice calls…

Voice calls are the main issue

The Downdetector reports show that ‘voice call’ is the most common issue this morning on Three UK – and that’s backed up by anecdotal comments on the likes of X.

Many customers say that they can’t make voice calls, with error messages stating that their phones “couldn’t connect” to the network. This is also the case on related networks like ID Mobile.

Some Three UK users say they can still use mobile data, but voice calls are down. The Downdetector reports are continuing to spike, so this seems that another UK-wide outage.

A pretty big spike for Three

Not a great start to the day for Three UK customers, or indeed those on related networks like Smarty and ID Mobile.

Downdetector is showing a big spike in reports from Three users, which is currently at over 5,000 reports. That isn’t quite as high as the network’s voice calling outage back in January, but it isn’t far off – so hopefully there’ll be a fix before it snowballs any further.

I’ve contacted Three for comment and will update this liveblog as soon as I hear back.