On 2025-10-20, AWS reported significant API errors and connectivity issues in its US-EAST-1 region, affecting multiple services. The incident began at 7:14 a.m. PT, and AWS indicated early signs of recovery mere minutes later at 7:29 a.m. PT while investigating the root cause.
Regional Service Disruptions
Services such as Venmo and Robinhood began to recover, while others, including Reddit, continued to face challenges. DownDetector noted the intermittent resumption of several applications, reflecting a patchy recovery curve.
The outage, traced to a DNS issue, spotlighted AWS's critical role in cloud infrastructure where even modest disruptions can ripple across major platforms. Although AWS has mitigated the underlying issue, certain services still report elevated error levels.
Widespread Impact and Concerns
By mid-morning, reports from Bloomberg suggested financial services like Robinhood were functional again, and user complaints about Alexa and Ring had significantly decreased. Nevertheless, AWS confirmed ongoing elevated error rates, with resolution efforts in progress.
This incident highlights the challenges faced in maintaining seamless cloud operations, crucial for businesses relying on AWS infrastructure. The outage's scale, surpassing several of the year's previous incidents, emphasizes the importance of robust cloud service stability.
Operational Insights
Amazon advised customers to monitor the AWS health status page for updates. The event underscores AWS's dominant role in cloud services, demonstrating both the potential reach of its disruptions and the resilience required to manage them effectively.
- AWS reported API errors at 7:14 a.m. PT on 2025-10-20.
- Early recovery signs noted at 7:29 a.m. PT.
- Financial apps like Robinhood resumed functioning as of late morning.
- Underlying DNS issue mitigation completed, but error rates remain elevated.
- Emphasizes AWS's pivotal cloud position amid widespread disruption.
