Key keywords: Reddit server down, Reddit app not working, 2024 Reddit widespread outage, Reddit user reports, Reddit status page, Downdetector Reddit alerts, Reddit server routing issues On July 16, 2024, a massive service outage hit Reddit, leaving millions of users across North America, Europe, and East Asia unable to access the platform via its mobile app or desktop website starting at 1:15 PM ET. Outage tracking platform Downdetector logged more than 127,000 user complaints in the first 60 minutes after the first disruption reports emerged, with 73% of reports citing crashes or failed loading on the official Reddit mobile app, 22% noting error pages on the desktop site, and the remaining 5% reporting issues with account login, third-party API access, and embedded media loading. Many users reported seeing generic 503 Service Unavailable errors when attempting to visit Reddit, while others said the app would close immediately upon opening, or show empty feeds even when connected to a stable high-speed internet network. Frustrated users flocked to alternative social platforms including X (formerly Twitter), TikTok, and Discord to share their complaints, pushing the hashtag #RedditDown to the number one trending spot in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia within 45 minutes of the first outage reports. As of 2:00 PM ET, Reddit's official status page published its first public update, acknowledging a "widespread service disruption affecting core platform functionality" and noting that its engineering teams were investigating the root cause with top priority. The platform did not initially share details on what caused the outage, leading to widespread speculation among users ranging from DDoS attacks to untested software updates. This outage marks the largest disruption to Reddit's services since the 2023 API protest period, when thousands of popular subreddits went private for days to protest the platform's steep API pricing hikes. Early statements from Reddit's engineering team later ruled out user action as a cause, confirming that the outage was tied to an unexpected error in the platform's core server routing configuration during a routine backend update. By 2:45 PM ET, Reddit shared a second update noting that it had identified the full scope of the routing error and was rolling out a fix to all server clusters. Partial service was restored for roughly 35% of global users by 3:10 PM ET, with the platform estimating full service recovery for all users within 2 to 3 hours of the update. No data loss or account security issues have been reported in connection with the outage as of press time.