Guide · Internet outages & faults
Internet completely down? How to check for an outage and get it fixed.
Here's the short version. When the internet is fully dead, not just crawling, the first job is telling an area outage apart from a fault on your own line, because that decides everything you do next. Restart the modem once. Check your provider's status page. Then, if it's a fault, report it to the one company that can act, the provider who bills you, and get a reference number. If the fix drags, you escalate: a formal complaint first, then the TIO. Below, each step in plain terms.
Last updated 4 July 2026 · by Alien IT Solutions
First, is it an outage or a fault?
These two problems look identical from your couch, a dead connection, but they need opposite responses. Getting this right first saves you an hour on hold for something you can't fix and can't be blamed for.
An outage is an area-wide loss. Something upstream fell over, a cut cable, a failed exchange, planned maintenance nobody warned you about, and everyone on that patch loses service at once. There is nothing to fix at your end and nothing to gain by restarting your gear ten times. You confirm it, then you wait for the update.
A fault is yours alone. The street is fine, the neighbours are streaming happily, but your connection is down or drops every few minutes. That one needs reporting, and it won't fix itself while you refresh a status page hoping.
The quickest tell is a neighbour on the same provider. If they're down too, it's an outage. If they're fine, it's pointing at you: your modem, your cabling, or the bit of network that runs to your place specifically.
The three-minute check before you call anyone
Do these in order. Most people who ring support end up doing them anyway, slower, guided by someone reading a script.
Restart the modem, once
Pull the power, wait a full two minutes, plug it back in. One clean restart clears a genuine glitch and is the first thing support will ask you to do. If it comes back, you're done. If it doesn't, stop rebooting and move on.
Read the modem lights
A steady bank of green usually means the line is fine and the trouble is further out. A red or flashing light on the connection indicator points at the line itself. You don't need to decode every light, just note what you see for the call.
Check the outage page
On phone data, not the dead WiFi, open your provider's status or outage page and put in your address or suburb. If your area is listed, it's a known outage and there's nothing to report. If it's clear, you're likely looking at a fault.
Who you actually call, and who you don't
This trips people up constantly, so here it is plainly. You call the provider who sends you the bill. Only them. Whether your internet runs over the national broadband network, a fibre line, fixed wireless or a mobile connection, the company you pay is the one that owns your service end to end and the one that raises faults with the network operator on your behalf.
You do not call the network operator direct. As a home or business customer you are not their customer, your provider is. They will send you back to your provider, and you'll have lost half an hour. The provider is your single door in, and they carry the responsibility to get it fixed no matter whose equipment failed.
One number to keep somewhere offline: your provider's fault line. When the internet dies you can't look it up, so save it in your phone contacts now, along with your account number, and future-you will be grateful.
Report the fault so it actually gets logged
A vague call gets a vague answer. Turn up with the facts and you'll clear the script faster.
Before you pick up the phone, jot these into a note. It takes five minutes and it does two jobs: it gets you past the first-line questions quickly, and it leaves you a written record if this turns into a longer fight.
- Your account number. On the bill, or in the provider's app. Having it ready skips a whole verification loop.
- When it dropped. Roughly what time the connection died, and whether it's fully out or dropping in and out.
- What the lights show. The colour and behaviour of the connection light on the modem, from your check earlier.
- Whether a neighbour is affected. If someone nearby on the same provider is also down, say so early, it changes the whole diagnosis.
Then ask for two things before you hang up, and write them down: a fault reference number, and a promised timeframe for the fix or the next update. Those two details are what let you hold anyone to account later. A call with no reference number barely happened, as far as the record is concerned.
When to escalate, and where
Most faults clear on the first call. This is the map for the ones that don't.
A fair word for the providers, because most faults really do get fixed without any of this. Networks break, cables get dug up, and a first call usually books a fix inside a few days. Escalation is for the times the process stalls: a date that slips twice with no explanation, a fault that keeps getting closed while your internet stays dead. That's when you stop being patient and start being on the record.
What the TIO is, and what it can do
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is a free, independent complaints scheme for phone and internet in Australia. It sits above the providers, not inside them, and it exists precisely for the customer who has tried the normal channels and hit a wall.
The one rule worth knowing: you're expected to have complained to your provider first. The TIO is an escalation, not a shortcut. Go to them with a fault the provider hasn't fixed, and they can refer it back with weight behind it, which often unsticks a case that's been drifting. Go to them cold, before you've raised it with your provider, and they'll simply point you back to do that first.
Their service costs you nothing. Keep the name in your back pocket, hope you never need it, and know it's there if a provider decides your outage isn't their priority.
The bits people forget when the panic sets in
Have a backup way online before you need one. Mobile data on your phone, or a hotspot, keeps you working and lets you check the outage page and report the fault. The moment to sort this out is not while you're staring at a dead modem with a deadline looming.
An outage isn't your fault, so don't burn hours on it. If the status page confirms an area outage, there's genuinely nothing to fix your end. Note the time it started, keep an eye on the updates, and get on with your day on mobile data. Restarting your modem for the fortieth time changes nothing.
Keep your own timeline. Every call, every reference number, every promised date, in one note. If this becomes a complaint, that record is your strongest card, and memory alone won't cut it three weeks and four phone calls later.
Questions people ask
How do I tell an outage from a fault on my own line?
An outage hits a whole area at once, so a neighbour on the same provider is down too and your provider's status page lists your suburb. A fault is yours alone: the street is fine but your connection isn't. Restart the modem once, and if that fails, check both signals before you decide which one you're dealing with.
Who do I call when the internet is completely down?
Call the provider who sends you the bill, and only them. They own your connection end to end and they raise any fault with the network operator on your behalf. Ringing the network operator direct gets you nowhere, because retail customers are not their customer, your provider is.
Should I restart my modem before I call?
Yes, once, and give it a full two minutes off. A single restart clears a genuine glitch and it is the first thing support will ask you to do anyway. If it comes back, you are done. If it does not, stop restarting and start reporting, because repeated reboots just delay the real fix.
What information should I have ready before I report a fault?
Your account number, the time the connection dropped, which lights show on the modem, and whether a neighbour on the same provider is also down. Write it in a note before you call. Five minutes of prep gets you past the script faster and gives you a record if this drags on.
How long should a fix take before I escalate?
Get a reference number and a promised timeframe on the first call, then hold them to it. If the date passes with no fix and no honest update, raise a formal complaint with the provider first. Only after that runs out of road do you take it to the TIO, who expect you to have tried the provider.
What is the TIO and when should I contact them?
The Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman is a free, independent scheme that handles complaints about phone and internet providers in Australia. Contact them once you have complained to your provider and either got nowhere or waited past a reasonable time. A referral from them tends to move a stuck fault quickly.
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