Zoom Goes Down as Kids Go Back to Virtual School Everything's back to normal now, but Zoom was experiencing issues for several hours this morning.

By Matthew Humphries

This story originally appeared on PC Mag

via PCMag

UPDATE 12:45 P.M. ET: Zoom says it has "resolved the issue causing users to be unable to start and join Zoom Meetings and Webinars. Users are now also able to sign up for paid accounts, upgrade, and manage their service on the Zoom website." It is now 'monitoring to ensure that these services are operational."

Original Story:
Many millions of people have come to rely on video conferencing services in recent months to keep in contact with friends and family. Mostly these platforms have held up well, but today was a step too far for Zoom it seems.

As ZDNet reports, Zoom is currently down. It just so happens to be the day that millions of students are attempting to go back to school, which in a lot of cases means logging on to virtual classrooms. The result seems to be users of Zoom in the U.S. and UK pushing the service beyond its limits.

Image Credit: DownDetector.com via PCMag

The Zoom status page confirms an incident has occurred and an investigation is underway, "We have identified the issue causing users to be unable to authenticate to the Zoom website (zoom.us) and unable to start and join Zoom Meetings and Webinars, and we are working on a fix for this issue." That message appeared less than an hour ago at the time of writing.

According to DownDetector.com, problems started around 8 a.m. ET, with most of the reported problems (73 percent) affecting logins.

It may be difficult for teachers and students to quickly switch to an alternative video streaming service, so many will simply be waiting until Zoom comes back online, or deciding to give up today and try again tomorrow. That will ultimately result in another big spike in demand tomorrow morning, but hopefully Zoom will be well prepared by then with additional server capacity on hand to cope.

Wavy Line
Matthew Humphries

Senior Editor

Editor's Pick

A Leader's Most Powerful Tool Is Executive Capital. Here's What It Is — and How to Earn It.
Lock
One Man's Casual Side Hustle Became an International Phenomenon — And It's on Track to See $15 Million in Revenue This Year
Lock
3 Reasons to Keep Posting on LinkedIn, Even If Nobody Is Engaging With You
Why a Strong Chief Financial Officer Is Crucial for Your Franchise — and What to Look for When Hiring One

Related Topics

Business News

New York Lawyer Uses ChatGPT to Create Legal Brief, Cites 6 'Bogus' Cases: 'The Court Is Presented With an Unprecedented Circumstance'

The lawyer, who has 30 years of experience, said it was the first time he used the tool for "research" and was "unaware of the possibility that its content could be false."

Business News

More Americans Are Retiring Abroad, Without a Massive Nest Egg — Here's How They Made the Leap

About 450,000 people received their social security benefits outside the U.S. at the end of 2021, up from 307,000 in 2008, according to the Social Security Administration.

Business News

Lululemon Employees Say They Were Fired for Trying to Stop Shoplifters

Two Georgia women say Lululemon fired them without severance for trying to get thieves out of the store.

Business News

Woman Ties the Knot at White Castle Almost 30 Years After the Chain Gave Her Free Food as a Homeless Teen

Jamie West was just 12 years old when she ran away from the foster care system.

Leadership

How to Be a Good Role Model for Your Employees, Customers and Community (and Why It's Important)

How your choices can ignite a positive chain reaction and transform your business.