A massive tech glitch linked to Amazon Web Services (AWS) has caused chaos across the UK this morning. Big names like Halifax, Lloyds Bank, Snapchat, HMRC, and Ring doorbells all hit by outages have left thousands frustrated and locked out of their apps.

Halifax and Lloyds Banking Apps Crash

Halifax users were the first to raise the alarm just before 9am, with nearly 4,000 reports flooding in about app crashes and account access failures. Problems are still ongoing with no official fix announced yet.

Lloyds customers are equally miffed. Half the complaints relate to online banking glitches, while mobile logins and app performance are also tanking. One user vented: “Lloyds banking app is failing to log me in.” Another added: “Card payments were being declined, but at least payments are going through now.”

Lloyds responded via X (formerly Twitter):

“Hi! I’m Bev. I understand how frustrating it is when you are unable to access your accounts. Please try these steps: Clear the app’s cache and browsing history. Fully close the app, then reopen. Try logging in using both mobile data and Wi-Fi to see which works better.”

Snapchat, HMRC and Ring Doorbells Also Down

Snapchat faced a surge of complaints from 7.45am with users unable to connect to the app or website. A spokesperson said:

“We’re aware that some Snapchatters are having issues using the app right now – hang tight, we’re looking into it!”

HMRC customers also reported outages from just before 8am, locking them out of their accounts. More than 200 issues have been flagged.

Ring doorbell users took to social media venting about 13 hours of downtime, with problems viewing footage and logging into both the app and website. One frustrated user asked: “Is anybody else’s ring camera account down right now?”

What’s Going On?

AWS confirmed on their status page that there are “increased error rates and latencies” affecting multiple services in the US-EAST-1 region. Engineers are scrambling to fix the issue and find the root cause.

With AWS powering many critical online services, this knock-on effect caused widespread disruptions across banking, social media, government, and smart home gadgets this morning.

How to Check if Your Service Is Down

The outage reports have been pouring in on Downdetector, a popular website that tracks service status worldwide.

Downdetector collects user reports and social media buzz to flag when services behave unusually. If you think you’re affected, head over to Downdetector.co.uk to see if your area is hit.

Are your apps down today? Let us know in the comments!