Reports of Facebook and Instagram outages began surfacing just before 10:30 pm on March 5, reaching a peak around 11:15 pm. This widespread outage affected users primarily in the United States, but users in the Philippines also reported problems.
Users of Facebook were unexpectedly logged out and could not log back in, facing issues with passwords and two-factor authentication. Instagram users encountered problems with their feeds not refreshing to display new content. These issues indicate a substantial disruption in the services' normal operations.
A similar outage in October 2021 was caused by a configuration change to the backbone routers, highlighting a vulnerability in the infrastructure coordinating network traffic between Facebook's data centers. This past incident suggests that seemingly minor changes can have far-reaching effects on Meta's network stability.
Meta confirmed ongoing problems affecting various services, including Facebook Login, Meta Admin Center, WhatsApp Business API, and Marketing API. Although Meta acknowledged the issue, an estimated time for restoration was not provided, leaving users in a state of uncertainty.
The outage also coincided with increased reports of disruptions to other major online services like YouTube, Google Play, Threads, and X (formerly Twitter), although it's unclear if these were directly related. Cloudflare, a web infrastructure company, reported a separate issue, indicating a potentially broader impact on the internet infrastructure beyond just Meta's platforms.
Connectivity crisis: Meta's Facebook and Instagram suffer widespread outage
Unexpected logouts and feed refresh issues affecting key services
At a glance
You're not alone if you struggled to access Facebook and Instagram last night. Both of these popular social media platforms, owned by Meta, have been hit by a widespread outage, leaving users frustrated and disconnected. Here's what we know so far:
Reports of Facebook and Instagram being down began surfacing shortly before 10:30 pm on March 5. The outage reached its peak, with outage reports flooding in at around 11:15 pm. Instagram also experienced a similar spike, with outage reports during the same timeframe.
What was wrong? Many users experienced issues accessing Facebook, unexpectedly logging out and unable to regain access to their accounts. Similarly, Instagram users reported problems with their feeds, which were not refreshing to display new content.
This is not the first time this kind of incident has happened. In October 2021, the cause of the outage was attributed to a configuration change made to the backbone routers responsible for coordinating network traffic between Facebook's data centers. This seemingly innocuous change had a cascading effect, disrupting the traffic flow and bringing all Facebook services to a halt.
The latest incident shows that users have been unexpectedly logged out of Facebook again and cannot log back in. Passwords were not working, and two-factor authentication codes were not accepted. Meanwhile, Instagram users have faced issues with their feeds not refreshing to display new posts. Meta's official status page confirms ongoing problems, including disruptions to Facebook Login, Meta Admin Center, WhatsApp Business API, and Marketing API.
Where is the outage happening?
The impact of the outage extends across the United States. Reports have poured in from cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Minneapolis, and various locations throughout Florida, Michigan, and New York. If you're in the U.S., chances are you're affected. The outage also had a significant impact on many users in the Philippines.
Meta is aware of the issue, but an estimated time for restoration remains elusive. We'll watch for updates, but patience is key as engineers work to address the underlying problems.
UPDATE: Andy Stone of the Meta Communications team posted the following on X at 1:19 am: Meta is aware of the technical issue that caused people to have difficulty accessing Facebook. He said that Meta resolved the problem as quickly as possible for everyone impacted.
Other websites affected?
According to a report from Digital Trends, while Facebook and Instagram bear the brunt of the outage, they're not alone. Increased outage reports have also been observed for YouTube, Google Play, Threads, and X (formerly Twitter). It's unclear whether these outages are related or separate issues. Cloudflare, a web infrastructure company, identified a problem this morning and began implementing a fix.