WhatsApp down?: Users report issues accessing the messaging service on web

New Delhi: WhatsApp Web, the popular browser-based extension of the messaging app, experienced a major outage on Friday morning, leaving millions of users unable to connect and syncing chats through their computers. According to outage-tracking website Downdetector, reports of complaints went up sharply around 9 am.

When did the problem increase?

Users of WhatsApp, are facing disruptions on the web version of the service, with screens showing login errors and missing chats, leaving some people unable to work or catch up with messages. 

According to outage-tracking website Downdetector, reports of complaints went up sharply around 9 am.

What exactly is not working?

The issue appears to be isolated to WhatsApp Web, the version used in a browser by scanning a QR code from your phone. Users took to social media and outage sites to say they couldn’t link their phone to the web session. Some said chats wouldn’t sync even after logging in. 

Users across India and several other countries reported that WhatsApp Web was stuck on the "connecting" screen or failed to load chats altogether.

Is the phone app affected too?

At the time of reporting, there were no major complaints about the WhatsApp phone app failing. Most problems were reported only on the desktop browser version. 

What is Downdetector saying about the outage?

The outage-tracking website, Downdetector, registered at least 16 user reports of disruption around 8:54 am in India on Friday, indicating a spike in complaints linked to the service.

A sudden spike of user reports is usually a sign of a wider issue with a platform’s service. T

Has WhatsApp responded yet?

Till now, WhatsApp has not issued an official statement on the problem. In past outages, the company has typically said it is aware of issues and working on a fix, but no word has come out yet for this incident. 

What should users do now?

For now, affected users can try refreshing their browsers, logging out and back in, or switching to the phone app until the problem is resolved. If the web interface is critical to work, users should watch for updates from WhatsApp’s official channels or outage reporting tools.