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TechRadar
Mark Wilson

EE was down for many –here's what happened during the latest outage

An EE sign on a store.

The EE network experienced major problems with outgoing calls for a short period today, but the issues appear to have now been fixed.

The issues problems started at around 3.50pm GMT, when a large spike in reports from customers hit 6,700 by 4.17pm GMT on Downdetector and a peak of about 7,800 at 4.20pm GMT. Most reported being unable to make phone calls, although some said this also hit incoming calls.

Fortunately, the number of reports quickly dropped over the next hour and EE confirmed to us that it had fixed the issue. A spokesperson said that "for a short time some customers had intermittent issues when making outbound mobile calls", but that "service has been restored quickly".

Here's what happened during EE's latest outage, which fortunately wasn't anywhere near the scale of the one that hit phone calls on BT and Vodafone too in July 2025.

That's quite a spike

(Image credit: Downdetector)

While nothing is yet official, there are definitely problems on the EE network right now – at the time of writing, there are over 9,300 reports on Downdetector (above).

Most of those (87%) are reporting issues with mobile signal, with many in the comments on Downdetector and on social media saying that they can't make calls.

EE hasn't commented yet to acknowledge any widespread problems, but I'm contacting them now and will update this liveblog if I hear anything.

Mostly affecting phone calls

X is now littered with posts like the one above from EE customers saying that they can't make phone calls.

Some say they can't make or receive calls, while others are reporting that they are getting incoming calls but can't call anyone.

This feels like a technical fault in the same vein as the one that hit the network in July 2025, which also affected mobile calls. But we're still yet to get any official comment from EE on what's causing today's problems.

Good news on the horizon?

I've contacted EE for comment, but there are signs that this outage could fortunately be a short-lived one.

A few comments on Downdetector are reporting that "calling is back now" and that it's worth trying again if you're on the network.

The recent spike in reports has also dropped back down to just over 5,800 from a peak of 8,400 at 4.22pm GMT – so let's hope it keeps moving in that direction.

This one could be over soon

(Image credit: Downdetector)

If you're still having problems with mobile calls on the EE network, you're increasingly in the minority – the number of reports on Downdetector has plummeted to just under 1,500 at the time of writing, so it very much looks like this has been a temporary blip for most.

Hopefully, that graph continues in the same direction, and the evidence on social media suggests that'll be the case. There haven't been any new posts from frustrated EE customers on X for around half an hour, so whatever caused this glitch seems to have been fixed very quickly.

I'll been keeping an eye out for any residual issues, but fortunately it looks like this outage has been a very minor one compared to the moment when EE, BT and Vodafone went down for thousands in July 2025.

A statement from EE

(Image credit: Getty Images)

It looks like today's calls outage is over for the vast majority of people – and EE has now given me a statement confirming that.

An EE spokesperson told us: “Earlier this afternoon, for a short time some customers had intermittent issues when making outbound mobile calls. Service has been restored quickly and we apologise for any inconvenience caused. All other EE services were not impacted.”

That is backed up by the number of reports on Downdetector, which is now under the 500 mark and heading back towards baseline levels. Fortunately, it looks like we can wrap this one up, although as always I'll be keeping an eye out for any aftershocks.

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