FAQ
Frequently asked questions
How the statuses, checks, reports, speed test and website checker work.
What does “No problems reported right now” mean?
Nobody has reported a problem on this site in the last hour, and the provider doesn’t publish an official status feed we can read. It doesn’t confirm the service is working. It means there isn’t enough evidence to say either way. See how we decide what to show.
What do the green, amber and red lights mean?
They show the latest automated check of the service’s homepage. Green: it answered. Amber (“Can’t confirm”): it ignored or refused our automated check, which many large sites do, or only one check has failed so far. Red: two or more checks in a row failed. A homepage that answers can still have problems with signing in, payments or other features.
Why does a site that works for me show “Can’t confirm”?
Some providers use bot protection that ignores or refuses requests from data centres, which is where our checker runs. That isn’t an outage, so we show amber instead of red. We don’t disguise our checker to get around a provider’s security.
Where do your checks run from, and how often?
From a server in Sydney, Australia (Fly.io). Every service’s homepage is checked automatically every 5 minutes, and anyone can press Check status on a service page for a fresh check.
Why does “Check status” sometimes show the previous result?
If someone checked in the last 1 minute, we show that result instead of contacting the provider again. This stops the button being used to flood a provider with requests.
Are the community reports verified?
No. Anyone can report a problem, so we treat reports cautiously: we only say “People are reporting problems” after at least 10 reports in an hour from 5 or more different people, and reports alone never produce an “outage” status.
Why don’t you show official outage information for my provider?
We only show official incidents where a provider publishes a machine-readable feed we’re allowed to use, such as Discord. Many Australian providers only offer an address-lookup checker on their own website, and some don’t allow their content to be reproduced, so we link you to their official checker instead.
How accurate is the speed test?
It measures your connection to the nearest Cloudflare server using Cloudflare’s open-source speed test engine. Results vary with Wi-Fi, other devices using your connection and the time of day, and can differ from other speed tests or your plan’s advertised speed. Our guide explains the results.
Can I check any website?
Yes. Enter any public website in the search box or on the Check a website page. We load its homepage once from our server and tell you whether it answered. We don’t check private networks, IP addresses or internal names.
What do you store about me?
For a report we store only the service, problem type, state or territory and time, plus a daily-changing scrambled code for abuse prevention that’s removed after 48 hours. We never store your IP address. See privacy and data.
Are you connected to Telstra, the banks or any provider?
No. Is It Down AU is independent and isn’t affiliated with, endorsed by or operated by any provider listed. We can’t fix problems with your account or service.
My service is down. Who should I contact?
Contact your provider using the details on its official website or app. If a phone or internet complaint isn’t resolved by your provider, the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman may be able to help.
Can you add another service?
Yes. Tell us which one on the contact page. We add services that many Australians use and check their official links first.
Still stuck? Contact us.