Yahoo Mail is down: Email service crashes for millions of frustrated Britons

• At 07:00 BST, around 2,000 issues had been logged on Down Detector 
• Yahoo said: ‘Some users may be experiencing issues with the Yahoo Mail app’ 

It’s one of the go-to email services for users around the world, but it appears that Yahoo Mail has crashed.

According to Down Detector, the problems first started yesterday afternoon, and continue on into this morning.

At 07:00 BST, around 2,000 issues had been logged.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Yahoo said: ‘Some users may be experiencing issues with the Yahoo Mail app.

‘We are investigating and will update as needed.’

It’s one of the go-to email services for users around the world, but it appears that Yahoo Mail has crashed

According to Down Detector, the problems first started yesterday afternoon, and continue on into this morning. At 07:00 BST, around 2,000 issues had been logged

Commenters have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to criticise Yahoo’s response to the outage, claiming it has not been fixed quickly enough

How to fix the issue 

1. Open your smartphone and long press the app icon. 
2. Click the info icon on the top right corner to open the app settings.
3. Next, scroll down to the usage section and storage row, and open it.
4. Clear cache and clear data, then reopen the app. It should now work as usual. 

The issue began last night as the app began crashing for thousands affected by an unknown bug.

Of those who reported issues with Yahoo Mail, 77 per cent said the problem was with the app, while 13 per cent said it was an issue with login.

The remaining 10 per cent said they were struggling with server connection.

However, Yahoo says that customers should begin to regain access to their accounts throughout the day.

Already, reports on Down Detector have fallen from a peak of 8,000 at 14:00 BST on Tuesday.

But with the free email service remaining a popular option for an estimated 225 million monthly users, this glitch has led to widespread frustration.

Several irritated users have taken to X (formerly Twitter) to discuss the outage.

‘Yahoomail STILL NOT WORKING waiting for HOSPITAL RESULTS AND APPOINTMENTS . It’s been 24 HRS NOW and yes I’ve tried clearing the cache and still NOTHING won’t even open,’ one user vented.

Another added: ‘Any chance we can get our emails @YahooCare what’s going on??’

Meanwhile one frustrated commenter wrote: ‘I haven’t been able to access my email since around 14:00 GMT UK. I know you are trying to resolve the issue but it’s not good enough! When will it be fixed??’

Several Yahoo Mail users have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to vent their frustration and complain that they have not been able to access their emails

Should I uninstall and reinstall the app?

Yahoo Customer Care originally recommended this as the fastest way to resolve the issue.

However, they recommend not doing this if your login credentials are not known or saved with a password manager.

If you know your password or have recovery channels set up then reinstalling could fix the app quicker.

However, if you don’t have a way of regaining access to your account, uninstalling  could leave you permanently locked out.

If you’re having issues with Yahoo Mail, thankfully there is a fix.

Yahoo Customer Care suggests that the quickest way to resolve the issue is to uninstall and reinstall the app.

However, in a post on X, Yahoo Customer Care added: ‘We recommend not uninstalling your App unless your login credentials (password etc.) are known, or your recovery channels are up to date, as you will be required to log back in upon reinstall.’

This means that if you do not have your account details memorised you will be unable to access your account upon reinstalling.

This could potentially leave users permanently locked out of their email accounts.

Already, a number of social media users have reported that this has happened to them.

One commenter responded to the suggestion, writing: ‘Doesn’t work. My pw [password] doesn’t work and the app now says there are no recovery options.’

‘I was on the phone for over 4 hours in total,’ wrote another user.

‘I was asked by the guy on the phone why I uninstall my app because this is the reason it is not working any more. And he said that I lost it.’

Some users have reported that uninstalling and reinstalling the app has left them locked out of their accounts

However, Yahoo has since posted an alternative solution which does not involve uninstalling.

To get the quickest fix to the issue all you need to do is clear the cache and data on the app, which should allow you to access your emails without logging you out.

To do this on an Android device, first open your smartphone and long press the app icon.

Click the info icon on the top right corner to open the app settings.

Next, scroll down to the usage section and storage row, and open it.

Clear cache and clear data, then reopen the app.

In a statement on X, Yahoo Customer Care says that a fix has been rolled out but that it could take up to 24 hours to reach customers. Uninstalling and reinstalling the app can give a faster resolution but if your account details aren’t saved you could be stuck out of your account

For Apple users, close any session of the Yahoo App then open settings on your iOS device.

Search for the Yahoo App and click on it. At the bottom of the list of options you should find a button labelled ‘Reset All Accounts’.

Toggle this on and relaunch the app to fix the problem. You may be asked to log in again but if your credentials are saved on your device there should be no issue.

While some users have confirmed that this quick fix has worked, others say that this method has not been effective.

Yahoo Customer Care shared these instructions for regaining access to your account without having to uninstall the app

One commenter wrote: ‘This does not work. I can’t even log in to your website to get emails that way.’

Another added: ‘Done that, didn’t work. Also can’t log in on website, it isn’t just the app that’s the issue. I’ve had no email access since 1pm uk time.’

Yahoo says that a fix for the issue has been rolled out but that this might take up to 24 hours to reach your device.

This is not the first time that Yahoo service outages have caused mass disruption for users.

In 2020, Yahoo’s UK servers crashed for around two hours, locking thousands from their accounts.

The ‘undiagnosed problems’ also left BT and Sky customers unable to access their accounts.

MailOnline has contacted Yahoo for additional information.

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