Some customers of mobile network operator Vodafone UK, specifically those who are currently abroad in a variety of countries and using the operator’s roaming services, have for the past few hours been complaining about connectivity problems (e.g. they’re unable to make any calls and find that mobile broadband / data isn’t working).
Diagnosing problems with roaming can be very difficult, not least because they’re usually more likely to be caused by the remote network operator, rather than your home operator. Despite this, there’s been a notable trend in complaints about roaming from Vodafone’s customers over the past 4-6 hours, which appears to be occurring across a variety of countries.
At the time of writing, it’s not yet clear what the cause is or how many customers have been impacted, although some of the responses by Vodafone’s staff on social media suggest that they are aware of something occurring. “We apologise for the inconvenience caused and we’re currently in the process of identifying the root cause,” said one support agent in response to a complaint from a roaming user in the USA.
Sample Complaint 1
“I’m currently in Greece Athens and having issues with the network. For the past 5 hours I’ve been unable to make any calls nor have I got access to the internet.”
Sample Complaint 2
“We are getting 3G service or SOS in Toronto Canada. Basically no service for a few hours now.. What’s going on? It looks like others in different countries are also having issues. Please update.”
Sample Complaint 3
“I’m abroad and it’s said I have no service for about three hours now. This is also happening to another person I know abroad, also with Vodafone. The app is also down. What is happening and when will it return to normal?”
Sample Complaint 4
“Maybe you have already received a lot of queries regarding Vodafone Roaming issue currently experiencing including my self and my other phone in Europe. But ever since the past two hours there have been no coverage on either of my Vodafone phones.”
We have shot off a query to Vodafone to see if they have any additional comment or insight into the issue.