How we check if a service is down

This page explains, in plain words, how we decide whether a service is working, having issues, or down. We have tried to keep it honest, because the whole point of this site is to not fake a verdict. If anything here is unclear, do tell us through our Contact page.

The short version

We look at two things and put them together:

1. What people across India are reporting. This is our main signal.

2. An automated check from our own server, to see if the service is responding.

Reports come first. A server can reply "all fine" while the app is actually broken for real users, so what people are facing on the ground tells us more than a single machine check ever can.

Why user reports come first

Most outage problems in India are not "the website is fully offline". They are things a simple check cannot see. UPI failing at the payment step while the bank site opens normally. IRCTC hanging during Tatkal. An app that loads but won't let you log in. OTP not coming. A basic ping from a server does not notice any of this, but a real user does, and when many users notice the same thing at the same time, that is a real outage.

So when we see reports rising for a service, from different parts of the country, we treat that as the strongest sign that something is genuinely wrong.

What our own check does, and does not do

Alongside the reports, we run an on demand check from our server(s) to see whether the service responds. This is useful, but it has limits, and we want to be upfront about them. Our check runs from one or more locations. It sees whether the site answers, not whether the app works for you in your city, on your network, inside the login. So we use it to support the reports, not to overrule them.

This is why we are careful with the word "down". If our check(s) cannot reach a service but nobody is reporting a problem, we will say we could not reach it, and not that it is down. It may be a real outage, or it may just be our check. We wait for users to confirm before we call it down.

How the verdict is decided

Putting the two signals together, this is roughly how we land on what you see at the top of a status page:

• Working. Our check reaches the service and people are not reporting problems.

• Users reporting issues. The service may respond for us, but reports are coming in. Often this is login, payments, or in-app trouble that a basic check cannot see.

• Possibly down or down. Our check cannot reach the service and users are reporting problems too. When both point the same way, we are confident enough to say it.

• Could not reach. Our check failed, but reports are not there yet. We tell you honestly that we could not reach it, rather than declaring an outage.

For some services that sit behind a login, an automated check simply cannot verify them from outside. For those, we lean fully on user reports and we say so on the page.

The report count, and not crying wolf

A couple of reports is not an outage. People mis-tap, or one person has a local issue. So we wait for reports to cross a small floor before we raise the status to "issues", and we need either a failed check or a real volume of reports before we say "down". A handful of reports on a long-tail service shows up as something we are simply watching, not as a red alarm. This keeps us from scaring people over nothing.

"It's working for me"

On each status page you can also tell us it is working fine for you. This is not just a button. These confirmations feed back into the same count, so if a service is being reported by a few people but working for many others, that pulls the status back towards normal. It helps us correct a false alarm quickly.

How we verify helpline numbers

Our helpline directory is compiled from official and public sources, and we check the numbers from time to time. Each listing shows roughly when it was last checked. Numbers do change, and a helpline can be busy or rerouted on a given day, so we always suggest confirming on the official website before you call about anything urgent. If a number has stopped working, the "did this number work" feedback on each helpline page helps us catch it and fix it.

What we cannot do

We should be clear about our limits. We are an independent site and we are not affiliated with any of the services we list. We have no inside access to their systems, and we cannot fix an outage, recover your money, or process anything on their behalf. Our status is a best-effort estimate built from reports and a light check, so it can be wrong in either direction. Please always confirm on the official site before making any decision that matters.

Keeping this honest

We would rather say "we are not sure" than show you a confident verdict we cannot stand behind. If you ever see a status here that looks wrong, that is exactly the kind of thing we want to know, and it genuinely helps other users. Do reach us through the Contact page.