Why is Google down? Problems with Gmail and Calendar applications explained, as thousands report ‘Error 500’

Google and some of its applications appear to be down for thousands of users.

On the morning of Wednesday 8 December, there was a spike in reported Google outages on Downdetector.

There had been 230 outages reported at just past 9am as the traditional working day began for many using computers.

The majority of the problems reported - 86% - were from the website, 8% of the issues were related to search and 6% login errors.

While there were also reports of some of Google’s on site applications, such as Calendar and Meet applications, not accessible to many users.

What has been the response to Google being down?

Social media platforms are awash with comments asking ‘is Google down?’, ‘is Google calendar not working?’ and ‘what has happened to Google Maps?’, among others.

It didn’t take long for the memes to arrive, with Twitter users having fun as they battle the daily grind without their trusty Google and its applications to help with the working day.

One Twitter post read: "Google Calendar be like "let me help you out with your No Meeting Wednesday" #googledown"

Another said: "Great start to the day!"

While someone else posted with a screenshot of a ‘500 - error’ page: "What the beginning of chaos looks like :) #googlecalendar #googledown"

When will Google be back up and running?

The problem appears to be widespread, with US, UK and users from other European countries all registering issues with Google, Gmail, Calendar and Maps.

Some are reporting a ‘Google Error 500’ message: "There was an error. Please try again later. That’s all we know.

"If the problem persists, see the Google Workspace Status, Dashboard or visit the Help Center."

Google is yet to address the issues users are facing though some problems have been fixed.

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