September 21, 2024

Gmail, YouTube down: Google services back online after widespread outage

Google #Google

screen-shot-2020-12-14-at-12-13-40.png

Google services are down around the world.

DownDetector/Screenshot

Google services suffered a widespread outage that lasted over an hour on Monday, as users around the world complained that they couldn’t access their email. According to DownDetector, the problem appears to have affected Gmail, YouTube, Google Drive, Google Hangouts and Google Meet. 

The outage began at around 6:25 a.m. ET (3:25 a.m. PT), and continued for over an hour. Google’s own Workspace Status Dashboard showed all its services to be suffering outages without exception. But Google Search appeared to still be working, as did Chrome. At around 7:40 a.m. ET (4:40 a.m. PT) services appeared to start coming back online.

Stay in the know

Get the latest tech stories with CNET Daily News every weekday.

The outage will undoubtedly mean a terrible start to the week not just for Google, but for all the workers, students and businesses around the world who rely on Google Services.

screen-shot-2020-12-14-at-12-38-54.png

screen-shot-2020-12-14-at-12-38-54.png

Google’s Dashboard was a sorry sight.

Google/Screenshot

Google didn’t immediately address the problem on social media or respond to request for comment about the outage. The BBC reported that a spokesperson for Google had said they were unable to access their email. 

The hashtag #GoogleDown was trending on Twitter, with people complaining of being unable to do their jobs, complete assignments and meet important deadlines. Other users mused over our collective dependency on Google, wondering if it was perhaps, in fact, bad.

The cause of the outage is as yet unclear, but Google will be likely be keen to get to the root of the problem to prevent a repeat of the situation in future.

Leave a Reply