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NOAA is reporting R3 activity. Solar flare outage seems likely

by BuckYeah 3y ago

alephnerd 3y ago
Then why isn't Starlink down
- BuckYeah 3y ago
  Does starlink use the same bands and same equipment? I doubt it
sumtechguy 3y ago
getting BOFH vibes here...
LinuxBender 3y ago
There was an earth directed X class, but not a big one. If that could affect SS7 I would expect it to also take out a chunk of the internet but I am not seeing that. [1] There are many cellular networks having issues but some could be and likely are resellers of others. [2] Probably more likely SS7 related as marcus0x62 mentioned. Another potentially SS7 related possibility? [3] [1] - https://www.thousandeyes.com/outages/ https://www.thousandeyes.com/outages/ [2] - https://downdetector.com/ https://downdetector.com/ [3] - https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=318230 https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=318230
Waterluvian 3y ago
Then why is this a U.S. only problem? Edit: I’m getting 1 bar when I usually get 4 in southern Ontario. But I see no broad reports of issues.
relbeek2 3y ago
A solar flare targetted at ATT Infra only? Unlikely. Could be a hack Could be a single point of failure Could be a config change that borked the system Could be other things that make more sense we will have to wait for more info.
- IAmGraydon 3y ago
  I know the other carriers are saying they aren't affected, but one look at DownDetector shows that nearly every carrier was affected, and all at the same time.
  - miah_ 3y ago
    A user who has a working cell phone could contact a user who is on a network experiencing issues. Because the call fails, that user may decide their cell network is also faulty. Downdetector only works on user reports. Its basically useless for actual measurement because people are bad at troubleshooting.
  - joecool1029 3y ago
    That site counts mentions over social media, if you said 'T-Mobile/Verizon isn't having an outage' it'd still show up as outage activity on it. Plus people report issues calling AT&T customers.
themaninthedark 3y ago
https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/news/view/522/20240222-two-x-class-solar-flares-only-7-hours-apart.html https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/news/view/522/20240222-t... We did have Two Class X flares from sunspot 3590 but they did not result in a coronal mass ejection. There was a CME from another sunspot not visible but it is not aimed at the earth.
- EMCymatics 3y ago
  NOAA did release a statement saying the two X class flares were unlikely to effect cellular networks. https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/two-major-solar-flares-effects-cellular-networks-unlikely https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/two-major-solar-flares-effect...
swagmoney1606 3y ago
I don't think this is likely

NOAA is reporting R3 activity. Solar flare outage seems likely

alephnerd 3y ago

Then why isn't Starlink down

BuckYeah 3y ago
Does starlink use the same bands and same equipment? I doubt it

sumtechguy 3y ago

getting BOFH vibes here...

LinuxBender 3y ago

There was an earth directed X class, but not a big one. If that could affect SS7 I would expect it to also take out a chunk of the internet but I am not seeing that. [1] There are many cellular networks having issues but some could be and likely are resellers of others. [2] Probably more likely SS7 related as marcus0x62 mentioned. Another potentially SS7 related possibility? [3] [1] - https://www.thousandeyes.com/outages/ https://www.thousandeyes.com/outages/ [2] - https://downdetector.com/ https://downdetector.com/ [3] - https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=318230 https://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=318230

Waterluvian 3y ago

Then why is this a U.S. only problem? Edit: I’m getting 1 bar when I usually get 4 in southern Ontario. But I see no broad reports of issues.

relbeek2 3y ago

A solar flare targetted at ATT Infra only? Unlikely. Could be a hack Could be a single point of failure Could be a config change that borked the system Could be other things that make more sense we will have to wait for more info.

IAmGraydon 3y ago
I know the other carriers are saying they aren't affected, but one look at DownDetector shows that nearly every carrier was affected, and all at the same time.
- miah_ 3y ago
  A user who has a working cell phone could contact a user who is on a network experiencing issues. Because the call fails, that user may decide their cell network is also faulty. Downdetector only works on user reports. Its basically useless for actual measurement because people are bad at troubleshooting.
- joecool1029 3y ago
  That site counts mentions over social media, if you said 'T-Mobile/Verizon isn't having an outage' it'd still show up as outage activity on it. Plus people report issues calling AT&T customers.

themaninthedark 3y ago

https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/news/view/522/20240222-two-x-class-solar-flares-only-7-hours-apart.html https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/en/news/view/522/20240222-t... We did have Two Class X flares from sunspot 3590 but they did not result in a coronal mass ejection. There was a CME from another sunspot not visible but it is not aimed at the earth.

EMCymatics 3y ago
NOAA did release a statement saying the two X class flares were unlikely to effect cellular networks. https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/two-major-solar-flares-effects-cellular-networks-unlikely https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/news/two-major-solar-flares-effect...

swagmoney1606 3y ago

I don't think this is likely