Do You Need to Know if Facebook Is Down? Here’s a Quick Way to Troubleshoot

While I’d wager Facebook being down for a few hours or days could be a net good for humanity, many people globally still depend on it for work, family, and connection. Therefore, when social media goes down, people quickly look for answers. You’re in luck because you came to the right place (to get to the wrong place).

Before checking the servers, we need to go through the motions of seeing if it’s Facebook having a larger, server outage or your connection. If you’re reading this page, your connection is likely not the issue. Still, try opening something more taxing on your device, like a Google Chrome tab or video streaming service. If you’re on Wi-Fi or a VPN, try disconnecting from those and seeing if it works then. Additionally, try restarting the app, signing back in (if possible), and restarting your device. If this all fails, it’s time to check Meta and Facebook.

Facebook or Meta servers

The Meta (a.k.a. the Facebook company’s new name to distance themselves from their most infamous product) consists of Facebook, Instagram, Giphy, Whatsapp, and more. Under Facebook, there is Facebook itself, Messenger, Facebook Watch, and Facebook Portal. If they are all up, that doesn’t mean Facebook is fine. However, if their other services are all down then it’s looking bad for Facebook and it’s time to check the Facebook server.

Common places to check include Is It Down Right Now?, Down Detector, and Down For Everyone or Just Me. While the last one doesn’t give you cool charts and takes an extra few seconds, it is the most straightforward yes or no. I gave you three because your browser might not vibe with one or another.

If the servers are down and deleting the app isn’t an option (after all, you might want to download some photos first), then kick back and relax because you’re on their time. Maybe read a bit about Facebook and Meta. Don’t worry about a sustained outage, though, because like all free apps and networks—when you aren’t paying them, you are the product.

(image: SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

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Alyssa Shotwell

(she/her) Award-winning artist and writer with professional experience and education in graphic design, art history, and museum studies. She began her career in journalism in October 2017 when she joined her student newspaper as the Online Editor. This resident of the yeeHaw land spends most of her time drawing, reading and playing the same handful of video games—even as the playtime on Steam reaches the quadruple digits. Currently playing: Baldur's Gate 3 & Oxygen Not Included.

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