Why internet slowed down in UAE — AWS outage explained, what you can do

Dubai: Many UAE residents found themselves refreshing their apps and reloading websites today — only to see “error” messages. The reason? A global outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud platform that powers much of the modern internet.

Even though the disruption began in Amazon’s US-East-1 data centre in Virginia, it quickly spread across continents, affecting users in the UAE, Europe, and Asia.

Engine behind apps

AWS is Amazon’s global cloud computing service, used by millions of companies worldwide — from small start-ups to global giants.

Instead of buying and maintaining their own servers, businesses rent digital space from AWS. It’s cheaper, faster, and allows apps to scale instantly when demand spikes — like during shopping festivals or streaming premieres.

AWS isn’t just one system. It’s a network of over 30 “regions” with hundreds of data centres. These run everything from:

• EC2 (virtual servers)

• S3 (cloud storage)

• DynamoDB (databases)

• AI and analytics tools

Globally, AWS controls about one-third of the cloud computing market, serving companies such as Netflix, Airbnb, Samsung, and NASA.

That’s why when something goes wrong, half the internet seems to break.

Why the UAE feels it too

Even though AWS doesn’t have a full-scale region based in the UAE, many local and regional platforms use AWS hosting through linked servers in Europe, India, and the US.

That means:

• Streaming platforms like Netflix or Prime Video may buffer or crash.

• Ride-hailing and delivery apps can fail to connect to drivers.

• E-commerce websites may not load checkout pages.

• Online banking or fintech services can slow down.

• Even smart devices — such as Amazon Ring or Alexa — can stop responding.

Because most UAE services rely on global cloud links, when AWS experiences issues elsewhere, UAE users feel the shockwave instantly.

How the outage unfolded

Amazon confirmed problems in its US-East-1 region, one of its busiest hubs. That single region handles millions of connections per second for apps, streaming platforms, and online tools.

As Amazon engineers worked to restore systems, users around the world — including the UAE — experienced:

• High latency (slow response times)

• Login errors

• Service interruptions

• Payment and data syncing failures

Apps hosted on AWS’s EC2 and DynamoDB services were especially hit.

Everyday life, disrupted

For many UAE residents, the effects were immediate:

• Office tools like Slack and Zoom went down during work hours.

• Gamers faced long connection times or “server unavailable” messages.

• Online shoppers saw checkout errors on e-commerce sites.

• Smart home devices didn’t respond to voice commands.

Even users with strong internet connections noticed the slowdown, proving that outages like this aren’t about your Wi-Fi — they’re about the global cloud backbone running behind it.

Can this happen again?

Yes — but rarely. AWS maintains a 99.99% uptime record, and global outages are infrequent. Still, when they do happen, they expose how dependent the world has become on just a few major cloud providers: Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

For UAE businesses, this raises questions about redundancy — whether critical services should rely solely on one provider, or diversify across multiple regions or platforms.

What UAE users can do

When apps stop working, here’s how to check what’s really happening:

• Visit status.aws.amazon.com or the app’s status page.

• Check social media updates for confirmation of a global issue.

• Use alternative platforms or offline options until services recover.

• For smart home users, enable local control modes where possible — so your devices still function when the cloud is down.