Google Meet, Alphabet’s most popular video-conferencing service, went offline for thousands of users in the United States on Monday, September 8. Nearly an hour of interruption was long enough to stall meetings and online classes. The incident highlighted how important digital tools are for communication and collaboration.
Google later released a statement claiming that the outage prevented users from entering meetings or starting meetings between 1:25 PM ET and 2:18 PM ET. At the peak, over 15,000 outage reports reached Downdetector.com. For schools, businesses, and individuals dependent on the service, the disruption is a reminder that even a small glitch could cascade into daily routine.
Downdetector.com data indicated that nearly 79% of users were unable to initiate or connect calls. Another 16% ran into server issues, while 5% had problems using the app. Complaints were coming from all over the United States, with interruptions to work meetings, online classes, and family use.
The tech giant confirmed the incident on its Google Workspace Status dashboard with engineers working on the issue as of 10:25 AM PDT (1:25 PM ET). At 2:18 PM ET, the company reported the service had been restored to all users.
Google’s official statement read, “We appreciate your patience as we worked to fix the issue.”
An initial check indicated a ‘recent change in content edge cache,’ a feature intended to accelerate data delivery by keeping it closer to users. Real-time services such as video calls depend on such caches. But even a trivial configuration issue can disrupt millions of connections simultaneously.
Google engineers reverted the change, ending functionality. The incident shows that minor back-end changes on global platforms can lead to significant service disruptions.
The outage highlighted the critical role of a stock like Meet. While the app used to be overshadowed by Zoom, it has come into the limelight recently for a smooth integration with Gmail, Calendar, and other Workspace apps. Still, a one-hour disruption translates to lost productivity, delayed projects, and interrupted lessons in a remote setup.
Also Read: Google Meet or GoTo Meeting: Features & Costs Compared
The disruption was accompanied by regulatory stress in Europe. Only a few days ago, the European Commission fined Google almost $3.5 billion for antitrust abuses concerning the tech giant’s advertising business. Regulators charged the company with using its market power to favor the ad exchange, AdX.
Google has been granted 60 days to stop these practices. A spokesman said the company will appeal, claiming its services are competitive and alternatives are available for sellers and buyers.
Google is facing two challenges: maintaining perfect reliability in software like Meet while navigating increasing regulatory scrutiny. Both will be key to determining how the company retains user trust in the years to come.