Airtel subscribers across India faced a prolonged mobile network outage on Monday, August 18, 2025, with complaints peaking in the evening. Many users reported being unable to make calls, send texts, or access mobile data for several hours.
According to Downdetector, a platform that tracks service disruptions, reports of network issues surged past 3,600 at around 4:32 PM, compared to the usual baseline of fewer than 15.
Outage Begins in Delhi-NCR, Spreads Nationwide
The disruption was first observed in Delhi-NCR before 5 PM and soon extended to major metro cities including Mumbai and Bengaluru. By late evening, similar complaints surfaced from other regions, indicating that the outage had spread nationwide.
For many customers, the sudden disruption led to difficulties in communication and reliance on alternative networks. Social media platforms also saw a spike in user complaints and outage updates during the period.
Gradual Restoration by Late Evening
While the outage caused inconvenience for several hours, reports on Downdetector showed a steady decline in complaints as the evening progressed. By 10:30 PM, the number of outage reports had dropped below 150, suggesting partial restoration of services.
Customers also began receiving official messages from Airtel, assuring them that services were being restored and apologizing for the inconvenience.
Customer Concerns and Reliability of Networks
This outage has reignited discussions about network reliability in India’s telecom sector, where millions depend on uninterrupted connectivity for both personal and professional use. Users highlighted the need for timely communication from service providers during such technical glitches.
Disclaimer: This article is based on publicly available outage data and user reports. Official statements from Airtel regarding the exact cause of the disruption were not available at the time of writing.