Thousands of Airtel subscribers faced widespread disruptions in mobile services on Sunday, with many unable to make calls or access the internet. According to outage tracking portal Downdetector, the problems were first reported around 10:44 am and escalated sharply by 12:14 pm, when more than 7,000 users flagged issues.
The disruptions included dropped signals, patchy connectivity, and in some cases, a complete blackout of mobile services. While the TOI Tech Desk confirmed difficulties with data usage, calling services appeared to be functioning without interruption.
This marks the second major outage for Airtel in less than a week. On August 19, over 3,500 customers had reported network problems across different regions.
Breakdown of Complaints
- 52% of users reported trouble with making or receiving calls
- 32% experienced internet connectivity issues
- 17% said their Airtel connection was completely unavailable
Cities Affected
Reports poured in from multiple locations, including Delhi, Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Cuttack, and Kolkata, suggesting a nationwide impact.
Customer Reactions on Social Media
Frustrated users took to X (formerly Twitter) to highlight the outage.
- One user wrote: “@airtelindia your mobile network is completely down in our area. Even your complaint system is not working properly. What kind of service is this?”
- Another customer from Karnataka posted: “Airtel network down across the state since morning. No calls, no internet. Please fix this ASAP.”
- A third user remarked on the lack of accountability, questioning why penalties are not imposed on service providers when customers suffer extended outages.
So far, Airtel has not released an official statement on the cause of the disruption.