Thousands of internet users across the UAE reported disruptions on Saturday as undersea cable cuts in the Red Sea caused widespread connectivity issues. According to Downdetector, reports came in from major cities including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Al Ain, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Jebel Ali, and Umm Al Quwain.
Internet Services Impacted Across the UAE
Most of the problems were linked to landline internet, TV streaming, and mobile data. Users described the internet as slow, unstable, and nearly unusable for gaming or video streaming.
- Muhammad Yousuf, a Dubai resident, said: “Internet is stuttering, gaming is impossible, YouTube videos don’t run smoothly.”
- Another resident added that multiple households were experiencing extremely slow internet speeds.
- Waseem Ahmed from Sharjah shared his frustration after being unable to call his family abroad due to the outage.
Social Media Users Voice Frustration
Social platforms, including X (formerly Twitter) and Reddit, were flooded with complaints. One user wrote: “What is happening with the internet today!? It’s extremely slow across the whole of Dubai.” Another user commented on heavy packet losses, joking that it was “time to read some books.”
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NetBlocks and Microsoft Confirm Issues
NetBlocks, an internet watchdog organisation, confirmed disruptions on UAE telecom networks. The group reported slow speeds and intermittent connectivity affecting users across the region.
Microsoft also issued a statement acknowledging that its cloud platform Azure had been impacted. It confirmed that:
- Increased latency began at 05.45 UTC (9.45am UAE time) on September 6, 2025.
- Traffic across the Middle East experienced delays due to the Red Sea undersea fiber cuts.
- While internet traffic was rerouted to alternate paths, some services continue to face delays.
Microsoft added that regions outside the Middle East were not affected.
Restoration Efforts Underway
Engineers are currently working to restore services. Local telecom providers have yet to release official statements on the timeline for complete recovery. Khaleej Times has contacted UAE telecom operators for updates.