back to article EE!? The sound customers make when the interwebz don't work

EE broadband customers have been unable to get online this morning, due to what seems to be a major nationwide outage. According to monitoring site Down Detector, the problem began this morning with customers reporting access issues in Wales, Exeter, Manchester and Birmingham. One EE customer tweeted that the biz had …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Asked for comment?

    I'm sure they'd love to but their broadband is down...

    Perhaps they should stop paying Kevin (bringing home the) Bacon so much and spend a bit more on making their network a whole lot more resilient.

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

  2. Julian 8 Silver badge

    @matty

    I do like his tweet about changing the DNS.

    especially the google it bit

    Customer : I have no internet

    techie : can you ping 8.8.8.8

    Customer: Yes

    techie : your internet is fine, DNS is the problem

    customer : eh

    techie : google it - bye

    1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge
      Facepalm

      Re: @matty

      Thats what I was going to comment on , its similar to

      customer "hi , I cant get my email"

      Techie "I'll email you the fix"

    2. Roland6 Silver badge

      Re: @matty

      Looking at the EE DNS settings in my Brightbox2

      Primary: 87.237.17.169

      Secondary: 87.237.17.201

      I suspect these servers are located in the same data centre (and same rack?).

      Given the number of DNS outages in recent years (not just EE), it does look as if good practice is to specify two different DNS providers. now that EE is part of BT Group, this shouldn't be difficult to achieve without having to use a third-party.

  3. Ol'Peculier

    To be fair, it's not nationwide, although I don't use EE's DNS.

  4. Steve Evans

    Given the bad PR a failed DNS can generate for a company, it amazes me they still continue to pretend to be more than a dumb pipe, and insist on providing their own servers.

    I forget the number of times I have improved friend's internet just by pointing their machines (or router when permitted) to some proper DNS servers.

    1. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge
      Thumb Up

      ooh good tip, so whats your favorite "proper" DNS?

      Wasnt there a heated debate on here a couple weeks ago along the lines of "Dont use google's 8.8.8.8 - they're eeeeevil !!!!"

      1. This post has been deleted by its author

    2. JetSetJim
      Windows

      This can bork a Mac attempting to connect to a subsequent wifi network later on unless that DNS is explicitly linked to the domestic wifi AP. After my ISP's DNS fell over, I updated my home machines.

      Later on, we had to take eldest rug-rat to hospital. The local hospital wifi does a redirect to an internal address to insist you accept the T&Cs before letting you loose on the internet - if you have a DNS specified on a Mac, the redirect fails/is blocked, and you cannot get on to the system. First you need to delete the custom DNS (or I think you can associate one with a specific "location", but I'm a Windows user, not a Macophile).

      Took much cursing to figure that one out on a recent trip there

  5. Ian Chard

    They run their own DNS so that, if they so choose, they can exercise control over DNS traffic and potentially monetise it. See VM's obnoxious 'Advanced Error Search' which gives you a search page instead of NXDOMAIN and thereby breaks VPNs.

    1. John Robson Silver badge

      Why would failed DNS break VPNs - surely if you are running a VPN then you either have split DNS or you use DNS provided by you VPN provider?

      1. Roland6 Silver badge

        Re: VPNs

        For a 'reasonable' explanation see:

        https://help.virginmedia.com/system/templates/selfservice/vm/help/customer/locale/en-GB/portal/200300000001000/article/HELP-2236/Advanced-network-error-search

        Basically, if you want the Internet to work the way "it's supposed to work" then you need to opt out of the Advanced Network Search function:

        https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/18/virgin_advanced/

        https://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/08/17/dzuiba_virgin_media_opendns/

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    EE

    Everything Erased ?

  7. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    DNS failure with EE

    Nice to see nothing has changed since it was Orange then

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: DNS failure with EE

      Outsourced abroad gives the same result.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: DNS failure with EE

        So new location, same script monkeys?

  8. mark l 2 Silver badge

    I have been tethering my phone using EE to connect to the interenet since 08:30 today and it has been working fine but then i remembered i have changed my DNS to use 8.8.8.8 a while ago so it does appear it is a DNS problem.

  9. Roland6 Silver badge

    Nice to have backup...

    Discovered the failed EE DNS service this morning, so simply reverted to Three mobile broadband.

    Okay only 3~5 Mbps as opposed to 30+, but still usable for normal office work.

    I see the EE DNS seems to be back up as the iPad is connecting to the BBC.

    What is probably irritating to many is that EE's website isn't really that helpful if what you want to know is network status or report a problem, resulting in large numbers of people calling their customer services line with the inevitable consequences...

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Resilience lacking.

    This must either be a configuration error or a lack of resiliency. Come on EE, which is it?

    1. This post has been deleted by its author

      1. Ole Juul

        Re: Resilience lacking.

        I know the average user has difficulty finding DNS settings, if they even know what that is, but whoever sets them should set a failover server.

        1. theN8

          Re: Resilience lacking.

          "...but whoever sets them should set a failover server."

          The issue, in this case, is that the failover, whilst configured - was for a DNS server in the same Data Centre - so any outage of the primary likely FUBARed the secondary at the same time.

  11. ifraser

    Virgin issues also

    Interesting, my virgin also went through as period of flaky access

    this morning,

    They claimed nothing was wrong but I have my doubts

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