On November 18, 2025, X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, faced a significant outage that left users worldwide frustrated and searching for answers. This disruption emerged from a critical failure within Cloudflare, a key player in network infrastructure, during routine maintenance at various U.S. hubs.
The outage, which began around 11:48 UTC, quickly generated a wave of complaints as users encountered a myriad of issues, from loading errors to login loops and blank feeds. Many reported seeing messages like “Cannot Retrieve Tweets,” timelines that seemed stuck forever, and “Bad Gateway” errors in their web browsers. In some cases, images and user avatars failed to display, with gray placeholders taking their place.
Cloudflare’s status page indicated that engineers were executing planned updates at crucial locations, including Los Angeles, Chicago, and Atlanta, when the problems surfaced. Even though X’s internal systems were functioning normally, the breakdown at Cloudflare rendered the service unreachable for millions. As one expert put it, the situation created a “locked front door,” preventing users from connecting with X’s servers.
The impact of this incident was felt well beyond X. Downdetector, a widely used service to confirm outages online, also fell victim to the same failure, complicating efforts to gauge the extent of the outage. Users turning to Downdetector found themselves facing connection errors, further hindering attempts to verify the service’s status.
Clever users adapted to the situation amid widespread frustration. One particularly insightful tweet gained traction for suggesting a workaround: using advanced search filters. While the timeline was down, users could still access updates from accounts they followed. Such adaptability showcased the ingenuity of X’s user base, even in challenging circumstances.
This latest incident adds to the growing list of technical problems that have plagued the platform since Elon Musk’s acquisition in October 2022. Since the rebranding to X, users have faced various changes, including alterations to direct messaging and the removal of certain text formatting options. These adjustments were intended to simplify the interface, yet many users have noted increasing technical instability as a troubling side effect.
Past outages have also caused widespread frustration. In mid-2023, a notable disruption resulted in around 15,000 reports of issues, with complaints about account access, delays, and erroneous login warnings. The November 18 failure illustrates how user confidence can erode when reliability falters.
Cloudflare acknowledged the incident in a bulletin, stating, “Issues escalated around 11:48 UTC on Nov 18, 2025. Investigating – Cloudflare is aware of, and investigating an issue which potentially impacts multiple customers.” The company committed to reviewing its maintenance procedures and response strategies, which is a step forward, albeit a reactive one.
For many users, this outage represents more than mere inconvenience. Individuals depend on X for a wide array of functions—news, business outreach, political discourse—and losing access can provoke real-world consequences. The lack of formal acknowledgment or communication from X during the outage only heightened frustration among users eagerly seeking information.
Meanwhile, users on the Reddit community dedicated to X discussions worked tirelessly to help each other. They directed users facing account issues or feed disruptions to a dedicated monthly discussion thread. Moderators emphasized the need to centralize discussions to keep the forum organized, reminding users that off-topic threads would be removed for the sake of order.
In light of the outage’s severity and global reach, a public post-mortem from X would seem necessary to restore user trust. Despite the common practice in the tech industry to rely on external infrastructure like Cloudflare, X’s dependence on such systems can lead to vulnerabilities during outages. Observers have pointed out that while reliance on external services may provide cost efficiencies, it also introduces new risks when those services fail.
The repeated outages have triggered a change in user behavior. Experienced users are now seeking alternative channels for news, turning to methods such as RSS feeds, email alerts, and SMS notifications. Others are sharing innovative workarounds and tips to mitigate the impact of service disruptions. This shift highlights a crucial point: as users increasingly question the platform’s reliability, they are looking beyond X to fulfill their information needs.
As X continues to navigate its restructuring phase under Musk’s leadership, restoring user confidence will depend on achieving basic reliability. For many, X serves not only as a social platform but as vital communication infrastructure. Unless X can improve its technical stability and establish transparent user communication, it risks alienating the very audience that once relied on it.
"*" indicates required fields
