An increasing number of Vodafone and EE users are reporting mobile network issues today in an outage that appears to be affecting multiple UK mobile networks
The issues started at around 11am BST, with all three networks showing significant spikes in reports on Downdetector.
Currently, Vodafone and EE appear to be the worst hit, but related networks like Lebara and BT that share the same infrastructure are also showing significant spikes in reports.
None of the networks have yet acknowledged a UK-wide issue, but we’ll be contacting them for details and giving you all of the latest updates in this live report…
The latest news
- Vodafone and EE users are all reporting network issues this morning
- The problems for all of them started at around 11am BST
- None of the networks have yet acknowledged any UK-wide issues
Refresh
An unusual network outage
This morning’s problems across Vodafone and EE – and related networks like Lebara – are pretty unusual. They aren’t a typical nationwide outage, where we use a large surge in reports, or a temporary blip where the reports quickly drop again.
This means it’s likely a more specific technical issue. On Downdetector, a couple of comments have pointed the finger at ‘SIP trunk providers’, which connect business phone systems to public phone networks via the internet.
There’s speculation that the ultimate fault lies with EE, but we’ll hopefully get an official statement soon to put the rumors and uncertainty to bed.
The problems are specific to calls
@EE hey there seems to be a network issue with outbound/inbound calls to other networks. I can make and receive calls to others on EE.July 24, 2025
Across both EE and Vodafone, the reported issues are mainly related to phone calls (both outgoing and incoming).
But as the X post above suggests, the problems may also be specific to making calls to people on other networks – which would explain why we’ve seen simultaneous spikes across both EE and Vodafone.
I’m still awaiting statements from both networks on the exact cause, and a timescale for a resolution, and will let you know as soon as I hear anything.
No statements from the networks yet
@EE hi, I’ve tried to call, and also receive a callback but I can’t get through and the helpline is saying the service is down, the texts are saying the call can’t through to me, and I am unable to make or receive calls on my phone, please can someone help? Thank youJuly 24, 2025
I’ve contacted both EE and Vodafone for a statement on the ongoing issues with calls that many are experiencing, but haven’t heard back yet – I’ll update this liveblog as soon as I do.
Strangely, there’s been little official acknowledgement of the problems on the likes of X, too. Vodafone is asking customers to send it private DMs about their issues, while EE’s account says it’s passing reports onto “the relevant team to look into”.
While the outages aren’t quite on the UK-wide scale of Three’s last month, they are now affecting enough people to require an acknowledgement that they exist and an estimated timescale for a possible fix. Hopefully, that’ll come soon if the reports continue to rise.
Lebara also affected – and is Three now involved?
Because Lebara is part of the Vodafone network, it’s also experiencing some issues today –with a notable spike of reports on Downdetector.
And now Three, which suffered the UK’s last major network outage in late June, is also showing a small but significant rise in reports, currently standing at the 300 mark.
It’s possible this is related to the problems on EE and Vodafone (with Three customers unable to get through on those other networks), and I don’t currently have any problems on Three. But it’s another one I’ll be keeping an eye on.
The reports continue to rise
The reports of network issues are still steadily rising on Downdetector for both EE and Vodafone. At the time of writing, the spike for EE has shot above the 1,300 mark, and has climbed particularly sharply in the last 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, over on Vodafone the reports are only slightly lower at around 850. If they continue in this direction, I’ll be expecting a statement from both networks about the issues (which mainly seem to be affecting calls) pretty soon.
Vodafone responds
While it isn’t an official statement from Vodafone acknowledging issues, the network’s customer service reps on X are responding to some irate customers stating that “due to some technical issues” some will be experiencing issues with making and receiving calls.
Vodafone’s X account says that the network is working to “fix this as soon as possible”. I’m following up with them to see if there’s an official statement on the problems.
Problems at most major networks?
This is an unusual situation – there appear to be spikes in reports of issues at all of the major UK networks, including EE, Vodafone and O2. There’s a smaller, less notable spike at Three.
We typically see mobile outages hit multiple networks when they’re related MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operator), who share the same cell network. But this morning’s issues appear to be hitting all of the big networks simultaneously.
