O2 down: Phone network stops working as people left with no signal and unable to make calls

3G data, calls and texts are all broken

O2, the phone network, has broken across the UK.

The carrier has been hit by a major outage, according to the monitoring site Down Detector. It is also affecting other companies that uses O2's network, such as Giffgaff.

Problems include failure to access data, make or receive calls or send text messages, according to users on Twitter. But it does not appear to be affecting all O2 users, and it is not clear how some people are still able to use their phones.

Those that are affected by the problem might not even know it: phones look like they are working, showing normal coverage and the 3G sign. But calls and texts will simply not come through.

The easiest way to check whether any O2 phone is affected is to try and call another number. If that handset is affected then it will simply fail to connect.

The issue was confirmed on phones in The Independent's office. But some other handsets, right next to them, appeared to be working absolutely fine.

Those complaining included footballer Gary Neville.

"Hey @O2 your network is down in Old Trafford," he wrote on Twitter. "Not a surprise normally but it’s not match day!"

O2 said it was aware of the problem and that it had been fixed, but that the problems might continue as people's phones settle back onto the network.

"Some customers may have experienced an issue when using their mobile earlier today," a spokesperson said. "This was fixed within 40 minutes. Some customers may continue to experience some intermittent issues when reconnecting to the network. We’re investigating what happened and apologise for any inconvenience this may have caused."

The outage came at the same time as O2 announced a new service, known as Popcorn Pass, which will give eligible customers 40 per cent off cinema tickts for two years. Anyone buying its more expensive sim-only or handset deals will get access to the new membership.

It also followed a major outage at Instagram, which left users unable to load their feeds or see pictures on the app.