It’s not just Slack, there’s a Google Home and Chromecast outage, too. A Google spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch that there’s an issue affecting “some” of its customers of these platforms, and it’s currently investigating the issue and working on a solution. The company declined to share other information about the nature of the outage or how many customers were without access.
It’s not unusual for cloud services to go down at times due to software issues or data center problems, but it can be difficult for users to get information when such an event occurs. Even when the service provider offers an online health dashboard, they’re aren’t immediately updated when issues are occurring.
In the case of Chromecast, users on the Chromecast Product Forum noticed the problem in the wee hours of the morning today – noting that Chromecast icon disappeared from streaming app like Netflix, HBO and YouTube. The problems were reported around the world, and those who were able to reach support channels were told its a global issue, they said.
Google would not confirm if the issue was related to a broken software patch, though that’s being reported on Twitter.
The @madebyGoogle Twitter account is responding to some incoming customer complaints with apologies, but little other info on the cause or timeframe to a resolution.
The issue is also bricking Google Home devices too, many have noticed. The Google Home Help Forums are filled with similar complaints about the outage, also from users worldwide.
We’ve confirmed this here ourselves with our own Google Home Mini.
Saying “Hey Google” will have the device immediately answer “there was a glitch, try again in a few seconds” or “sorry, something went wrong, try again in a few seconds.”
A Google spokesperson has offered the following comment:
“”We’re aware of an issue affecting some Google Home and Chromecast users. We’re investigating the issue and working on a solution.”
More to come….