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October 22, 2025
The 9 weirdest things that happened during Amazon's huge AWS outage
Yesterday's big AWS outage took out dozens of apps and services, but what were some of the strangest glitches and unexpected consequences?
**The 9 Weirdest Things That Happened During Amazon's Huge AWS Outage**
Yesterday's widespread Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage brought chaos to the internet, disrupting everything from streaming services to online banking. While the disruption itself was significant, it also spawned a series of bizarre and unexpected consequences, leaving many users scratching their heads. Here are nine of the weirdest things that occurred during the downtime:
1. **Smart Home Havoc:** Forget turning off the lights with your voice. Many smart home devices, heavily reliant on AWS for connectivity, went haywire. Reports surfaced of automated blinds opening and closing randomly, thermostats stuck on incorrect temperatures, and even robotic vacuum cleaners going on unscheduled cleaning sprees.
2. **Delivery Delays…and Disappearances:** Amazon's own delivery services were, unsurprisingly, affected. However, the issues went beyond simple delays. Some users reported seeing their packages marked as "delivered" despite never receiving them, while others claimed their tracking information vanished completely.
3. **The Case of the Silent Smart Fridges:** Modern refrigerators with built-in screens and smart features suddenly went silent. Users found themselves unable to access recipes, shopping lists, or even play music, rendering their expensive appliances essentially dumb.
4. **Gaming Glitches Galore:** Online games that depend on AWS for server infrastructure experienced widespread connectivity issues. But the weirdness didn't stop there. Some players reported experiencing bizarre graphical glitches, character teleportations, and even the sudden appearance of in-game items that shouldn't have been there.
5. **Restaurant Reviews Revolution:** Online ordering systems for restaurants took a hit, leaving many customers unable to place orders. Consequently, some restaurants found themselves bombarded with negative online reviews, unfairly blaming them for a problem entirely out of their control.
6. **Streaming Services Stuttering and Stalling:** Streaming services relying on AWS to deliver content suffered significant buffering and playback issues. However, some users reported even stranger problems, such as audio and video being completely out of sync or encountering error messages in languages they didn't understand.
7. **Password Problems Proliferated:** With many websites and services relying on AWS for authentication, password resets became a nightmare. Users struggled to log in to their accounts, and the password reset process itself was often broken or unresponsive.
8. **The Rise of the Error Message Memes:** As frustration grew
Yesterday's widespread Amazon Web Services (AWS) outage brought chaos to the internet, disrupting everything from streaming services to online banking. While the disruption itself was significant, it also spawned a series of bizarre and unexpected consequences, leaving many users scratching their heads. Here are nine of the weirdest things that occurred during the downtime:
1. **Smart Home Havoc:** Forget turning off the lights with your voice. Many smart home devices, heavily reliant on AWS for connectivity, went haywire. Reports surfaced of automated blinds opening and closing randomly, thermostats stuck on incorrect temperatures, and even robotic vacuum cleaners going on unscheduled cleaning sprees.
2. **Delivery Delays…and Disappearances:** Amazon's own delivery services were, unsurprisingly, affected. However, the issues went beyond simple delays. Some users reported seeing their packages marked as "delivered" despite never receiving them, while others claimed their tracking information vanished completely.
3. **The Case of the Silent Smart Fridges:** Modern refrigerators with built-in screens and smart features suddenly went silent. Users found themselves unable to access recipes, shopping lists, or even play music, rendering their expensive appliances essentially dumb.
4. **Gaming Glitches Galore:** Online games that depend on AWS for server infrastructure experienced widespread connectivity issues. But the weirdness didn't stop there. Some players reported experiencing bizarre graphical glitches, character teleportations, and even the sudden appearance of in-game items that shouldn't have been there.
5. **Restaurant Reviews Revolution:** Online ordering systems for restaurants took a hit, leaving many customers unable to place orders. Consequently, some restaurants found themselves bombarded with negative online reviews, unfairly blaming them for a problem entirely out of their control.
6. **Streaming Services Stuttering and Stalling:** Streaming services relying on AWS to deliver content suffered significant buffering and playback issues. However, some users reported even stranger problems, such as audio and video being completely out of sync or encountering error messages in languages they didn't understand.
7. **Password Problems Proliferated:** With many websites and services relying on AWS for authentication, password resets became a nightmare. Users struggled to log in to their accounts, and the password reset process itself was often broken or unresponsive.
8. **The Rise of the Error Message Memes:** As frustration grew
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Technology