Reliance Jio users across India were caught off guard on Sunday evening as the mobile giant suffered a widespread outage, sparking confusion, anger, and a flood of online complaints.
Phones went silent just after 8 PM. Cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Chennai — usually bustling with digital life — saw Jio’s mobile signals vanish without warning. Users were left staring at their phones, seeing either “Emergency Calls Only” or no bars at all.
By midnight, more than 11,000 complaints had already hit Downdetector, with users venting frustration on social media. The bulk of them — around 81% — reported complete signal loss. Others flagged broken mobile data and downed JioFiber connections. Jio, India’s largest telecom operator, had yet to issue an official explanation at the time of writing.
‘Emergency Calls Only’: The Panic That Spread
For many, the outage wasn’t just annoying — it was jarring. People couldn’t make calls, hail rides, or even send a basic WhatsApp message.
One Bangalore resident posted on X, “I thought my SIM had gone rogue. Restarted my phone five times before realizing half the country’s offline.”
In several apartment complexes in Delhi and Noida, residents reported being cut off not just from mobile data, but also their landline broadband. Some turned to neighbors using Airtel or Vodafone for hotspot sharing.
It wasn’t just individuals panicking. Small businesses that rely on UPI payments via Jio data were stuck. Grocery stores, petrol pumps, and food stalls scrambled for alternatives. For digital-only setups, the situation turned brutal fast.
Downdetector Lights Up, But Jio Stays Silent
As reports piled up, Downdetector’s India portal glowed red. In a span of just two hours, it recorded over 11,000 problem submissions.
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81% cited “No Signal”
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13% had internet issues
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6% flagged other disruptions, including JioFiber broadband failures
Despite this surge, Reliance Jio offered no immediate comment. Its official support channels — including the 198 helpline and MyJio app support — were unresponsive or showed automated replies that didn’t match the gravity of the issue.
To make things worse, even customer care numbers routed through Jio were down — leading to a surreal loop where users couldn’t report a network issue… because the network was down.
One user quipped: “It’s like calling the fire brigade during a fire and realizing the phone itself is burning.”
Jio Outage Map: Disruption Widespread Across India
Here’s how the service breakdown looked across cities as per Downdetector reports:
| City | Status | Common Issues Reported |
|---|---|---|
| Mumbai | Severe outage | No signal, data down |
| Delhi NCR | Major disruption | Voice calls failed |
| Bengaluru | Full blackout | Mobile + Fiber affected |
| Hyderabad | Moderate issues | Slow recovery |
| Chennai | Intermittent | Signal dropped repeatedly |
| Pune | High complaints | Emergency calls only |
| Ahmedabad | Mild impact | Patchy service |
| Kolkata | Light disturbance | JioFiber slowdown |
That’s at least 10+ Tier-1 cities reporting major hiccups — not counting towns and rural pockets where complaints were harder to verify but still noticeable.
Users Lash Out Online: ‘Pay for What?’
By 9 PM, hashtags like #JioDown, #JioOutage, and #SwitchToAirtel began trending on X (formerly Twitter).
The anger was sharp, especially from prepaid users who had just recharged and now found themselves signal-less. “Can we please get an hour-by-hour refund?” one user asked, tagging Jio’s handle in all caps.
And it wasn’t just ordinary users. Tech YouTubers, digital creators, and even some journalists pointed out the eerily similar collapse on June 16 in Kerala. Back then, Jio blamed a “fiber cut” — but many now wonder if something more serious is brewing behind the scenes.
For corporate users relying on Jio Business solutions, the silence felt even worse. “If Jio wants to be taken seriously in enterprise services, blackouts without updates can’t be the norm,” wrote one frustrated startup founder from Gurugram.
Jio’s Second Major Stumble in a Month
It’s not even been three weeks since Jio faced a similar (though localized) collapse in Kerala. On June 16, thousands in Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram found themselves offline for several hours. At the time, Jio blamed damage to underground fiber lines and promised better safeguards.
Now with this nationwide outage, the reliability question is back on the table.
The lack of a timely public statement from the company isn’t helping. As of 12:15 AM Monday, neither Reliance Jio’s main site nor their verified social handles had issued a status update. Their X support page was replying to some users with, “We regret the inconvenience caused,” but offered no ETA for a fix.
Just one sentence. That’s all users got.
Competitors Smell Opportunity
Meanwhile, rival operators were quick to capitalize. Airtel and Vodafone Idea users posted speed test results and signal screenshots with a sense of smugness — like finding your neighbor’s lights are out but yours are shining.
Some Airtel distributors even started offering doorstep SIM swaps in metros late into the night. And several e-commerce platforms saw a noticeable bump in Airtel and Vi SIM orders, if brief.
A few users on Reddit and X claimed this was the final straw. “Enough is enough. I’m porting first thing in the morning.”
That sentiment, if widespread, could dent Jio’s image in a segment where loyalty is already fickle.
What Happens Next?
At the time of publishing, service appeared to be slowly returning in patches. Reports from Hyderabad and Mumbai suggested signal restoration started around 11:30 PM — nearly three and a half hours after the blackout.
But the frustration hasn’t faded.
This isn’t just about technical glitches. Users today expect fast communication, accountability, and yes, compensation when they’re left in the lurch.
And with India’s telecom scene more competitive than ever — with 5G, bundled OTT perks, and enterprise targets — Jio’s Sunday stumble may echo louder than they think.
