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Facebook Says Massive Outage Caused by Backend Changes

Claims no personal data was put at risk

By Joshua Hawkins Joshua Hawkins Freelance Technology Reporter Full Sail University Josh Hawkins is a freelance writer for Lifewire who loves writing about the latest tech and gadgets that help make people’s lives easier. As an avid gamer and VR enthusiast, he also enjoys diving deep into the technology that helps bring those kinds of experiences to life. lifewire's editorial guidelines Updated on October 5, 2021 11:01AM EDT Fact checked by Rich Scherr Fact checked by Rich Scherr University of Maryland Baltimore County Rich Scherr is a seasoned technology and financial journalist who spent nearly two decades as the editor of Potomac and Bay Area Tech Wire. lifewire's fact checking process Tweet Share Email Tweet Share Email Social Media Mobile Phones Internet & Security Computers & Tablets Smart Life Home Theater & Entertainment Software & Apps Social Media Streaming Gaming Facebook has released an official apology concerning Monday’s extended outage, citing changes to the configuration as the main reason Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp were down so long. On Monday, Facebook and several other related sites experienced a prolonged outage, lasting roughly six to seven hours. Following hundreds of thousands of reports worldwide, Facebook addressed the issue Monday afternoon, noting that changes made to the backend of its systems were the primary source of the outage. Austin Distel / Unsplash "Our engineering teams have learned that configuration changes on the backbone routers that coordinate network traffic between our data centers caused issues that interrupted this communication... This disruption to network traffic had a cascading effect on the way our data centers communicate, bringing our services to a halt," Santosh Janardhan, vice president of infrastructure at Facebook, wrote in the apology. Solen Feyissa / Unsplash The outage followed Sunday evening's interview with Frances Haugen, a former Facebook employee who came out about the company's practices and how it perpetuates hateful and toxic stories to help drive engagement. Facebook says it believes the only cause of the outage was the changes made to the router system it uses to coordinate network data, and that there is no evidence user data was compromised in any way as a result. Was this page helpful? Thanks for letting us know! Get the Latest Tech News Delivered Every Day Subscribe Tell us why! Other Not enough details Hard to understand Submit More from Lifewire Can't Connect to the Internet? Try These 10 Tips How to Get Unblocked on Facebook One Home Network Sharing Two Internet Connections How to Fix Problems Caused by Windows Updates 503 Service Unavailable Error Message: What It Is and How to Fix It How to Fix It When Nintendo Switch Won't Connect to Wi-Fi Is Reddit Down... Or Is It Just You? How to Tell If Amazon Prime Is Down Is AT&T Down... Or Is It Just You? Is Discovery Plus Down ... Or Is It Just You? What Is Multiple-In Multiple-Out (MIMO) Technology? Hulu Error Codes: What They Are and How to Fix Them How to Fix It When YouTube TV Isn't Working on Fire Stick How to Fix Netflix Error Code NW-1-1000 What Are the Types of Uninterruptible Power Supplies? How to Fix It When a Firestick Is Not Connecting to Internet Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up Newsletter Sign Up By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. Cookies Settings Accept All Cookies