What are the most common reasons for my internet going offline?
Inclement weather, damage to internet wires and network maintenance are the most common reasons for pauses in your internet service on the network level.
Your internet could also be out because your router or WiFi extender needs a reset, or because your equipment or software needs to be upgraded.
How do I know if it’s just my service that’s out, or if it’s a network-level problem?
The first thing to do when you notice that your internet is out is to unplug the router and WiFi extenders, wait a minute, and plug them back in. If your service is not back up and running, then it might be a bigger problem.
My internet is out, but the sky is clear. What’s going on?
If the weather is not the cause of an internet outage, there’s a good chance that damage has occurred somewhere out in the field. Wildlife, like squirrels, are frequent perpetrators of damage to overhead wires. Drivers sometimes crash into utility boxes containing the wires that connect the internet to a neighborhood. Construction crews, landscapers or gardeners can accidentally cut through delicate fiber-optic lines running just a foot or two underground. And sometimes bad actors damage internet lines on purpose. This can mean the physical damage of wires or cyberattacks targeting infrastructure. Distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks can flood networks with excessive traffic, causing slowdowns or outages.
One common outage explanation is network maintenance, where a network needs to go offline for a few minutes or a few hours for the company to upgrade or fix a problem. You should be alerted to these outages in advance, and they usually happen in the middle of the night when most people are offline.
How can I find out about an outage?
In most of these cases, you should get a notification from your internet service provider or be able to access an outage map on your ISP’s website, app or social media account. You’ll have to use cellular data, if you have it, to access this information via your phone.
In the event of an outage, Ziply Fiber will send impacted customers either an SMS or an email notification.
If the power goes out, will the internet also go out?
Fiber internet stays working even when the power goes out, because fiber doesn’t rely on electricity in the field. Plug your router and ONT into a battery backup unit and you should be back online.
However, if the outage is caused by damage to the actual wires, then you will have to wait for the lines to be repaired.
Learn more: How to keep your fiber internet up during a power outage
What do I do when there’s an outage?
- Check for outage announcements from your ISP via text message, your account or app (using cellular data) or social media.
- Check that you’re not in a “dead zone” or that it’s not one service (like a streaming platform or a website) that’s down. Make sure you’re connected to the correct WiFi network.
- Restart your router and WiFi extenders, if using, by unplugging them for a minute and plugging them back in.
- If you don’t see any announcements from your ISP about an outage, then you can call or use the chat feature to see if there is something going in your area.
Is there anything I should not do during an outage?
Never attempt to repair equipment. Don’t remove the green fiber-optic cord from the ONT. Fiber is very delicate and breaking it will cause even more problems. When in doubt, check in with your ISP. They can test your connection and determine if they need to send a technician to your home.
