Rogers users report mass outage impacting phones, internet, Interac

“We are aware of issues currently affecting our networks and our teams are fully engaged to resolve the issue as soon as possible. We will continue to keep you updated as we have more information to share.”

Meanwhile, reports of the outage have piled up on an outage tracker webpage — with complaints coming from coast to coast.

Over 15,000 Rogers users in Toronto have submitted a complaint, as well as thousands in Montréal, Brampton, and Ottawa. Hundreds of users everywhere from Halifax, N.S. and Victoria B.C. have also reported issues.

The outage is also reportedly impacting ATMs and interac machines across the country, according to reports on social media.

In a statement sent to Global News, a spokesperson for Rogers Communications the outage is affecting both the “wireline and wireless networks.”

“Our technical teams are working hard to restore services as quickly as possible,” the spokesperson said.

“On behalf of all of us at Rogers, we sincerely apologize to our customers, and we will continue to keep you updated as we have more information to share, including when we expect service to be back up. Thank you for your patience as we work to resolve this issue.”

While Rogers has yet to provide details on why this outage is occurring, the Communications Security Establishment confirmed to Global News that their Centre for Cyber Security “has been in contact with Rogers” and “offered assistance, in the event they should need it.”

Toronto Police Operations acknowledged the ongoing issue in a tweet, noting that some people are struggling to call 911 due to the outage.

The Ottawa Police issued a similar warning, urging residents whose 911 calls fail to try again, to call from a “landline” or to try a “cell phone with another provider.”

One in ten Canadian employees are still working from home, according to a July 1 poll from Ipsos conducted exclusively for Global News — which means a number of workers were left scrambling as they tried to log into their laptops this morning.

As a result, coffee shops with working WiFi saw a flood of internet-hungry customers flood their businesses.

“Welcome to the jungle,” a Starbucks barista told Global News’ Colin D’Mello as he walked through the coffee shop this morning.

Service Canada also reported issues as a result of the Rogers outage, warning Canadians that the technical problem is affecting “some call centres and offices, including passport offices.”

It’s the latest issue for the problem-plagued passport service. Unprecedented demand for Canadian passports has led to delays in processing times, putting eager travellers in limbo ahead of the summer travel season.

For weeks, many Canadians have been seen waiting in lines outside Service Canada offices to get their much-needed travel documents.

As the outage dragged on, Innovation Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne took to Twitter to reassure Canadians that the government “is aware of the current Rogers outage” and “has been in contact with the company.”

“We expressed how important it is that this matter be resolved as soon as possible and for the company to provide prompt and clear communication directly to those impacted,” he wrote.

“We will continue to monitor the situation closely and use any tools at our disposal to ensure Canadians stay connected and that the company meets the high standards Canadians deserve.”

Meanwhile, in the face of the frustrating outage, many Canadians have taken to social media to express their annoyance — and to poke fun at the situation.

One user asked if “anyone else” was “relieved to find out that it’s a nationwide outage and that it wasn’t just you forgetting to pay your bills.”

Another Twitter account joked that Rogers customers get an “unplanned long weekend” while Bell customers have to “get to work.”

The satirical publication The Beaverton joked that “Rogers offers Canada’s fastest, most reliable outages across the country.”

The last major Rogers outage took place in April of 2021, when massive nationwide wireless issues left millions without voice calls, texting and data service for several hours.

The telecom giant said the root cause of the intermittent wireless service was a software update by its network partner Ericsson.

Reports of that outage began early in the morning. Services didn’t come back online until the evening, with some services still coming back online after 11 pm ET.

This time around, however, Rogers has yet to explain the cause — or provide a timeline for when Canadians can expect the issue to be resolved.

by Rachel Gilmore/Global News

Rogers users report mass outage impacting phones, internet, Interac

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