Is O2 down? Customers unable to make or receive calls

According to Down Detector, issues began shortly after 8am, with numbers steadily rising.

In a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter, O2 reponded: "We're aware of an issue currently and we're working to get this fixed asap".

This follows last week's issues with Three, where thousands were unable to make or receive calls.

Hi @O2 - is this any reason why I can’t make phone calls and it’s saying my numbers isn’t recognised?!??

— Wattsy (@ros_watts) July 1, 2025

Morning outages are often an issue as Britons reach for their mobile phone as soon as they wake up – with spikes in network traffic detected immediately after 6am, 7am and 8am, figures show.

Millions of people pick up their phone on the hour – likely when most alarms are set for – and begin scrolling, Virgin Media O2 data suggests.

The firm said the morning data jumps had emerged as part of its broadband network analysis, which it said was a reliable indicator of the connectivity habits of the British public.

It found three jumps – evident almost immediately following the hours of 6am, 7am and 8am – suggesting people reach for their phones to turn off their alarms and immediately begin scrolling.

Some 81% of Britons said they reached for their phones first thing most days, with 75% immediately checking their social media feeds and more than half (52%) checking news feeds.

A fifth (21%) said they looked at the day’s forecast, while 18% checked for disruptions to their commute.

Some 6% scanned the stock market before they got out of bed.

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As well as a third of people looking to reduce their screen time, three quarters said they were hoping to improve their mental health – with a further two thirds (65%) wanting to sleep better.

Half of those polled (49%) admitted to previous unsuccessful attempts to reduce screen time.

Virgin Media O2 said this explained record levels of data consumption and an overall uptick of 8.1% in broadband usage on its network last year.

While three quarters of people said they relied on their screens for everyday tasks, two thirds (65%) are worried they would miss out or be socially disconnected if they cut down their screen time.

Those polled cited social media as the hardest to cut down on (78%), followed by messaging apps (75%) and video streaming (68%).

Jeanie York, chief technology officer at Virgin Media O2, said: “Our data shows the importance of connectivity to people’s lives and the role it can play in kicking off the day.”