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📡 Monitor your APIs — know when they go down before your users do
Better Stack checks uptime every 30 seconds with instant Slack, email & SMS alerts. Free tier available.
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you
Is Facebook Down? How to Check Facebook & Meta Status Right Now
Facebook has 3+ billion monthly users. A Facebook outage affects Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger simultaneously. Here's how to check if Meta's services are down and what to do about it.
⚡ Quick Status Check
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⚠️ Meta Services Are Linked
Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Messenger run on shared Meta infrastructure. If all four are down simultaneously, it's a Meta-wide outage — not individual app problems.
How to Check if Facebook is Down
1. APIStatusCheck
Check Facebook on APIStatusCheck for automated health monitoring plus user reports. Also check Instagram and WhatsApp status simultaneously.
2. Downdetector
downdetector.com/status/facebook aggregates user reports in real time. During the 2021 outage, Downdetector received record traffic as billions of users tried to confirm the outage.
3. Twitter/X
Search "Facebook down" — ironically, Twitter/X becomes the real-time status page for Facebook outages since it's a competing platform that stays up.
4. Test facebook.com directly
Try opening facebook.com in your browser. If it times out completely (not just slow), check if you can ping it: ping facebook.com. No response = DNS/routing issue.
Keep your social content flowing during Facebook outages
Buffer lets you schedule posts across Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms from one dashboard. Content publishes automatically when the platforms recover.
Try Buffer Free →The 2021 Facebook Outage: What Happened
On October 4, 2021, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Oculus were all unreachable for approximately 6 hours. It became one of the most significant internet outages in history.
Root Cause
A routine BGP (Border Gateway Protocol) maintenance change accidentally removed all Facebook's DNS routing records. This made facebook.com unreachable globally — as if the internet forgot Facebook existed.
Why It Lasted So Long
Facebook's internal tools (used to fix the problem) also depended on the same broken infrastructure. Engineers couldn't access servers remotely. They had to physically travel to Facebook's data centers and use override codes to restore access — a process that took hours.
Financial Impact
Facebook lost an estimated $60-100 million in ad revenue. Meta's stock dropped ~5% during the outage. Mark Zuckerberg personally lost ~$7 billion in net worth that day.
Common Facebook Problems & Fixes
Facebook won't load
Check if Facebook is down globally. If not, clear browser cache, try incognito mode, or switch devices.
Can't log in to Facebook
Try "Forgot Password" to reset. If all login methods fail, the issue is likely server-side.
Videos won't play on Facebook
Check internet speed, update the Facebook app, clear cache. Facebook video requires 2-5 Mbps.
Facebook Marketplace not loading
Marketplace has occasional separate outages. Try reloading; if persists 30+ min, check Downdetector.
Facebook ads not delivering
Check Ads Manager status — ad delivery issues can affect campaigns during partial outages or billing problems.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I check if Facebook is down right now?
Use APIStatusCheck, Downdetector, or Twitter search "Facebook down". Facebook has no official public status page.
What caused the 2021 Facebook outage?
A BGP routing configuration change accidentally removed Facebook's DNS records, making all Meta services (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) unreachable for ~6 hours.
If Facebook is down, will Instagram and WhatsApp also be down?
Often yes — they share Meta's infrastructure. A major outage typically affects all Meta services simultaneously.
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