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Reports Spiking Back Up
It appears I spoke too soon. Outage reports for X spiked to over 6,000 just after 8 a.m. on Saturday morning after hovering around 100 most of the night. We’re not out of the woods yet. I tried accessing X on both mobile and PC , only to be met with an error page. Meanwhile, the developer status page is still showing degraded performance.
X Comes Back Online for Many
Weekend editor Alyse here, taking over! After being out of commission for most of Thursday and Friday, X seems to have finally come back online for many. According to Down Detector , functionality returned early Saturday night, with outage reports now hovering at under 100 from a peak of over 1,000 on Friday at 11 a.m. ET . X has yet to comment on the outage’s cause, but here’s hoping whatever fix they implemented lasts.
No End in Sight
There is no apparent end in sight for the ongoing problems on X . Yes, the main feeds are back on and DMs appear to be working, but accessing them has proven to be a struggle due to issues with logging in. Many users have reported issues with two-factor authentication ( 2FA ), making it harder to access their accounts.
The Status page still lists the login feature as degraded. The only official acknowledgment has come from the X Engineering account , which tweeted yesterday that they were aware of the issues but has not provided an update since then. Reports of about 500 ongoing issues on Down Detector have persisted since around 1 p.m. Pacific on May 22.
Here are some *workarounds* suggested by X’s AI Grok:
- Log in using alternative methods (Google, Facebook, or Apple accounts).
- Access X via a web browser like Chrome or Safari , as mobile apps are more affected.
- Update the X app, clear its cache, or restart your device.
- Avoid logging out; issues may prevent re-login.
Maybe Try Some Alternatives
With X being down, many of your internet scrolling habits are probably all out of sorts. If you usually seek information on X, you might not know what to do with yourself. Thankfully, plenty of X alternatives exist where you can fulfill your social media cravings.
If you don’t feel like doomscrolling through another social network, consider subscribing to Tom’s Guide on TikTok for engaging short-form videos. For longer content, browse Tom’s Guide on YouTube , which features compelling reviews and other informative material. If that’s not sufficient, check our in-depth guide on Bluesky to explore this burgeoning social network.
On It Rolls
For the most part, if you are still logged into X, it should be functioning as usual. The feeds are updating, and you can browse to your heart’s content. However, if the outage forced you to log out, you may experience difficulties logging back in.
The two-factor authentication system appears malfunctioning, prompting reports from users that X support had to manually disable their 2FA to allow them to log in. There seems to be little immediate relief available, aside from reaching out to X support, which is likely inundated today.
A Change
After hours of fluctuating functionality with DMs not working and the API showing degraded performance, we see a change . The dev status page indicates that the API has returned to normal, but now there’s a new issue at hand. “Login with X (OAuth) and other platform login flows are reportedly facing degraded performance.” This incident emerged around 10:35 a.m. Pacific , though reports of flaws had surfaced well before that time. Users have complained about logging in only to find the login screen unresponsive.
X Outage Recap and Where Are We Now?
Outage reports on DownDetector first appeared around 11:00 a.m. Pacific on May 22. For roughly two hours, the platform was slow-loading, wouldn’t load at all, or displayed tweets out of order in the feeds. The Developer status page initially showed the API experiencing downgraded performance . After the initial spike, reports decreased significantly from nearly 5,000 to a steady 1,000 which has lasted since around 1:00 p.m. Pacific .
Despite this, the main feeds have appeared mostly functional, with sporadic slowdowns. The primary concern seems to be with DMs and chats that either won’t load or are stuck in pending status. Reports late yesterday evening suggested that a fire at a data center in Hillsboro influenced the outage. This was corroborated when the Oregonian reported that the data center was ablaze for at least five hours.
Interestingly, at least one user alerted that 2FA had also been impacted. Yet, X has remained tight-lipped regarding any official statements about the outages or their causes. CEO Elon Musk , usually vocal, returned to Twitter today to discuss solar energy while queries about the platform’s dysfunction remained unanswered.
Users Are Suggesting a DM Workaround
As we pass the 24-hour mark since the first reports began to emerge, many X users are still unable to access or send direct messages . However, some users have shared a suggested workaround: toggling the “filter low-quality messages” option in settings.
To find it, open X’s Settings menu (providing you can log in) and navigate to Privacy and safety . Next, select Direct Messages and click the checkbox next to Filter low-quality messages . Users recommend toggling this setting on, then navigating away from the page to save the adjustment before returning to uncheck it. While it may not be a guaranteed fix, this method could be worth trying for those currently experiencing issues.
X Still Hasn’t Restored Full Functionality
We’re approaching 24 hours since the first reports of outages surfaced, and it appears that X.com still hasn’t restored full functionality to its app or website. Kyle Wiggers , AI Editor at TechCrunch , confirmed that he and many others are unable to load messages or view certain posts without refreshing the page repeatedly.
Reports first started surfacing on DownDetector around 2 PM Eastern on May 22, and users are still awaiting confirmation that everything is back to normal. The current state of the platform is causing frustration among users who rely on X for communication and information.
Reports Are Falling Fast
As evidenced by the screenshot above, reports from DownDetector have plummeted since yesterday’s peak. However, some lingering issues remain for specific users, especially on the East Coast and in New York . It’s crucial to monitor whether these reports indicate a larger ongoing problem that could spiral once again.
Direct Messages Still Affected
The issues affecting X.com seem largely resolved, yet users still report problems with displaying or sending direct messages . The AI chatbot Grok has been answering user queries in real time, detailing that fixes are still in progress.
Fire at a Data Center Reportedly to Blame for Issues
While the main outage appears to have subsided, certain users across the globe continue to experience lingering problems linked to X.com . Reports indicate that a fire occurred at a data center in Hillsboro, Oregon , leading to these complications. Emergency services responded to mitigate the fire, which seemingly began in a battery storage area and affected nearly 6,000 users worldwide.
Problems Have Lasted Over 5 Hours
As of 4 p.m. Pacific on May 22, the X issues have persisted for over five hours , first surfacing around 11 a.m. on the same day. While many problems have reportedly been cleared up, Direct Messages (DMs) remain problematic. Users are still reporting their X chats failing to load or send.
As noted earlier, reports on DownDetector have fluctuated, hovering close to 1,000 throughout the day. There was no official comment from X on the ongoing issues at this point, further fueling user frustration.
No DMs?
Despite a continual stream of reports fluctuating around 1,000 on DownDetector , X seems to be nearly up and running again. However, many users continue to express concern over DMs not functioning properly, mirroring earlier complaints from when the outage first began. Users have been advised against clicking direct messages in the trending tab to avoid potentially sensitive content.
Outage Won’t Quite Go Away
While the outage has lessened in severity, persistent but limited issues still affect users. The outage has stayed around 800 reports for over an hour, with many claiming ongoing problems. The status page currently signals degraded performance, and while it has improved for some users, the platform remains slow overall.
No Clear Cause
Unlike the outage in March , today’s issues have no obvious cause, as representatives from X have remained quiet. Elon Musk had attributed previous outages to massive cyberattacks, but this time he has maintained a relatively low profile, responding minimally to user inquiries and opting to share news about other topics.
Keeping an Eye on X
You may wonder why it is essential to keep a close watch on X, especially given the significant drop in reported outages. This vigilance stems partly from the similarity to previous outages, during which functionality would unexpectedly drop and then spike back up multiple times. Although reports have significantly decreased, we noticed a mild resurgence in outage reports. The peak during the last outage reached upwards of 5,700 incidents.
Reports Dip Again
On DownDetector , reports have dramatically decreased to under 600 recent complaints. It remains uncertain whether the outage is completely over. The developer status page still indicates degraded performance, although the platform appears to be loading faster for many users.