Plusnet down: Internet not working as provider suffers technical issues

Users find workaround for widespread problem

Plusnet’s internet appears to have broken, with users reporting that they are unable to get online.

Some managed to find a fix, however, because of the limited nature of the issue.

On Monday afternoon, users across the country began reporting that they were unable to get online through their Plusnet connections. The outage came at the end of the working day.

Tracking website DownDetector saw a vast number of reports of issues, right across the country.

But some noted that the issue appeared to be with Plusnet’s DNS servers. Those are used to allow computers to know where websites are, in order to connect to servers and get the information required to show a website.

Luckily, it is possible to use other DNS services, such as those run by Google. The company offers a detailed guide to doing so on its website.

It does however advise that users only undertake such changes if they are “proficient with configuring operating system settings make these changes”. Those who are more anxious about making such changes should perhaps wait until the system comes back online.

Plusnet gave no indication of when that might be. At the time of publication, the company had not addressed the outage on its social channels, and did not immediately respond to a request for more information from The Independent.

The company does not run a service status page on its website, like some other internet service providers. But it does have a devoted page on its website where users can make complaints about issues.

Plusnet is owned by BT, though the parent company did not seem to be having the same widespread issues.

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