Amazon was down — live updates on massive outage as shoppers couldn't check out

Amazon is experiencing a huge outage spike

According to tracking website Downdetector, the Amazon outage started at around 1:55 p.m. ET and causing a myriad of issues for users. From check out issues, to product listings not loading properly, more and more users are reporting problems. And it also extends to Amazon's mobile apps.

Checking out is met with an error message

You're probably seeing the exact error message above if you happen to try and check out. Amazon's familiar dog error page is what you're greeted to, without any other way to proceed with the process.

Listing pages aren't loading properly

Another issue we're told going on is that certain listings on Amazon aren't loading properly. For example, clicking on "Today's Deals" only shows a handful of options. Usually, there are a dozen or more products that load up.

Massive spike in the outage, now over 18,000 reports

In less than an hour, the Amazon outage saw a huge spike to over 18,000 reports according to Downdetector. That's a huge jump since we first reported about the outage at around 1:55 p.m. ET

Amazon issues extend to its mobile app

If you're also shopping on Amazon through its mobile app, you might also be greeted with the same message above. Users are still reporting that they're unable to get to the last check out screen.

Amazon customer service is inundated by outage reports from users

If you take a peek at Amazon's customer service profile on X (formerly Twitter), there's a barrage of posts from users sharing their issues with Amazon today. Many users continue to report the same issue with checking out, viewing listings, reading product reviews, and more

Slight dip in outage reports, but users still having issues

We're now about an hour into when the first reports about Amazon being down were reported, but it looks like there's been a slight dip at around 2:37 p.m. ET according to Downdetector. According to the tracking site, the amount slowed down to under 15,000 reports. However, Amazon shoppers are saying on Threads and X (formerly Twitter) that they're still experiencing problems.

Amazon Help on X is aware

Over on X (formerly Twitter), the Amazon Help account is responding to folks affected by the outage.

"Hello. We’re sorry that some customers may be experiencing issues. We appreciate your patience as we work to resolve the issue," posted a person going by the name of Grayling.

If you check replies to the account, this is an issue affecting users from across the globe, based on all the translated tweets being posted.

Prices aren't showing up on listings

It appears that prices aren't appearing on listings. John Velasco discovered this when he went to look up the page of a MagSafe accessory he previously wrote about. As you can see from the image above, you can see the listing, but not the price.

Reports are going back up

We saw a dip in reports at 2:48 pm ET, but as of 3:03 pm ET, reports shot back up, from 15242 to 19441. Clearly, things aren't improving as more users are reporting outages.

Possible connection to war in Iran?

This might be a coincidence, but two days ago, CNBC reported that Amazon's data center in Bahrain was targeted by Iran, according to Iranian state media. We can't say if this is connected to today's outage, but it's something to keep in mind.

Check out is affected

While some users are able to log into Amazon and peruse the site, they can't actually purchase anything. One user said they can't add their gift card balance, pay for their order, or switch payment methods. Another user said that you can look at things but can't check out.

Amazon Fresh is also having problems.

If you wanted to make an Amazon Fresh order, you're out of luck, as that service has also been affected by the outtage. Currently, you can't make an order for pickup or delivery. It also appears that Whole Foods Market is having issues. We hope you have enough food in your fridge to ride this one out.

Reports continue rising

As of 3:27 pm ET, reports on Downdetector are at 20372. It appear this outage isn't going to end any time soon, so it's best to be patient and ride it out. Your Amazon ordering can take a little break for now.

"We appreciate customers’ patience as we work to resolve the issue"

We reached out to Amazon for a statement, and they replied with a message similar to what was posted on the company's Amazon Help account on X:

"We're sorry that some customers may be experiencing issues while shopping. We appreciate customers’ patience as we work to resolve the issue," says Amazon.

We were also told that Amazon's AWS isn't affected. If we hear more, we'll let you know.

Outage just eclipsed 20,000 reports

On Down Detector, the outage has eclipsed 20,000 reports for the first time today.

A noticeable drop

We're seeing a small drop in the number of reports, though it's still a significant number at around 19,000. Still, it's good to see a small drop in reports as things settle down a bit. Perhaps we're finally approaching the beginning of the end.

Another drop

Just when it looked like it was going to be a small drop, the Downdetector reports tanked to around 14,000.

A Canva spike

Likely connected to the ongoing Amazon outage, we're seeing a spike in reports for Canva on Downdetector, though the number remains small.

A colleague at Future reported they were also having issues with Canva, so it might be becoming more widespread.

False alarm on Canva

It looks like it was a false alarm for Canva, as it dropped down to a normal level of reports just as quickly as it rose in the first place.

Have you had problems with Amazon?

Let us know if you've had problems with Amazon today and how that's presented for you!

What Amazon is (and isn't) saying

Today's Amazon outage has been ongoing for about 3 hours as of this posting.

The only real response we've seen from the retail giant is the official response: ""We're sorry that some customers may be experiencing issues while shopping. We appreciate customers’ patience as we work to resolve the issue."

One customer service rep on the company's Amazon Help X account called the problem a technical issue, but that's as close as we've come to an admission of anything.

Unfortunately, Amazon doesn't have a status page we can track and AWS seems to be working so it is something on Amazon's end specifically.

Sudden steep drop

The outage was humming along around 13,000 reports for the last hour or so when reports suddenly took a steep dive.

As of this posting, Down Detector is currently showing 4,600 reports. I am seeing mixed comments of people saying that the platform is back up, though others are still claiming it's not working.

Seems to be working again

Anecdotally I attempted order a cheap card game as a test and was able to flow all the way through the check out process.

I didn't notice any broken links or missing images as I went through and it seemed to go pretty quickly.

This does align with the continuing decline in reports. We are currently around 2400 reports on Down Detector. I am also seeing more comments that the site is working again for people.

Not quite over

The Amazon outage has been steadily declining for a couple hours, but it is still hovering around 1,000 reports on Down Detector.

It should be over pretty soon. Though I am seeing comments that tracking is still down.

The final word from Amazon

Now that the situation seems to have resolved, we've received a final statement from an Amazon spokesperson about the outage that was:

"We’re sorry that some customers may have temporarily experienced issues while shopping. We have resolved the issue, which was related to a software code deployment, and website and app are now running smoothly.”