Orange faces nationwide outage

On October 21, 2026, the mobile operator Orange experienced a nationwide service disruption that cut calls, SMS, and mobile internet for its users as well as those of its subsidiary Sosh, according to the French newspaper Le Parisien.

Wi-Fi calls offer a workaround

A screen displaying "No service" typically means no options, but recent smartphones allow users to use Wi-Fi calls to restore voice and messaging services through their home gateway, providing a temporary solution during the outage.

Outage reported nationwide

The first reports of the outage emerged around 11:20 a.m., and by midday, the website Downdetector, which tracks service disruptions, recorded more than 11,000 incidents. The message "No service" appeared on screens across major cities like Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, Marseille, Lille, and Bordeaux.

Sosh affected due to shared network

Since Sosh uses Orange's mobile network, its subscribers were affected in the same way as Orange users, experiencing the same service disruptions across calls, SMS, and mobile internet.

Home gateways remain functional

While fiber home gateways continued to function, only a few 5G gateways experienced issues. The signal partially returned around 12:30 p.m. on some phones, although Orange did not immediately explain the cause of the incident.

Services restored after 10-hour outage

Orange France announced yesterday evening that its mobile services had been fully restored in France. In a statement, Orange said that calls, SMS, and mobile internet were once again operational for both individual customers and businesses.

Cause linked to 5G network migration

The incident, which lasted nearly 10 hours, was caused by an equipment migration on the mobile core network, related to the switch to 5G SA, according to specialized press. Orange noted that its technical teams remained fully mobilized throughout the incident and continue to monitor the network for stability.

Home gateway as a backup option

When the mobile network fails, even with full signal bars, a phone can become unusable. However, users with a home gateway and the correct settings can still make calls through Wi-Fi, a solution that the October outage reminded many of.

Wi-Fi calls available on recent phones

The workaround involves a feature often overlooked: Wi-Fi calls, which Orange and Sosh offer on most recent smartphones. Once activated in the phone's settings, voice and SMS use the home gateway connection rather than the mobile network.