Videoconferencing app Zoom suffered a significant outage early Monday. It disrupted online classes throughout the U.S. just as students, who have been relying on Zoom, were about to head back to schools.
Zoom Video Communications Inc. said on its website it was aware of the problem and had already identified the cause. It later posted an update stating that it had resolved the problem and that users should be able to start and join meetings and webinars.
During the hourslong outage users were reportedly unable to sign up for paid accounts, manage their services or upgrade to paid subscriptions. Apart from disrupting classes the outage caused many people to miss weekly meetings. Thousands of businesses in the country have been using Zoom to communicate with their remote staff.
Around noon Eastern Standard Time Zoom posted a tweet saying it had restored its service. The company added it was monitoring the situation to ensure no more outages. Zoom apologized to its users for the disruptions.
Despite lasting a few hours only the disruption was still significant. Since the pandemic Zoom users have increased significantly. In April, the company reported a peak of 300 million meeting participants a day compared with 10 million reported before the pandemic.
It has faced some issues - mostly involving allegations of low-grade security. But the company has since become common in offices and homes worldwide. Zoom has fixed most security deficiencies with its CEO, Eric Yuan, committing to improving its systems. The Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a warning over the continued use of the platform because of a proliferation of videoconferencing hijacking and "Zoom Bombing" incidents.
Since the start of the year Zoom's share price has increased by more than 314.86 percent. On Monday the stock closed at $282.28 a share from a high of $293.20 per share. Zoom is expected to release its second-quarter earnings results later this month.
