“Is the internet down in my area?” is usually a question about Chorus, because Chorus owns the fibre and copper lines behind most New Zealand broadband regardless of which company sends the bill. Its outage map answers the question by address, and knowing how to read it saves a lot of pointless modem restarts.
How to check for an outage in your area
- Open the Chorus outage map and search your address. It shows reported faults, the affected area, which services are hit, the current status and an estimated restoration time.
- Check your provider’s status page too. A fault inside your provider’s network — a DNS problem, a billing system failure, a faulty exchange card — will not appear on Chorus’s map. Our national outage guide lists every provider’s page.
- Check the power. If your street has a power cut, the fibre box and modem go down with it. Your electricity lines company runs its own outage map.
- Ask a neighbour on a different provider. If they are down too, the fault is almost certainly on the network rather than inside your house.
If Chorus is not your fibre company
Chorus covers most of the country, but not all of it. Christchurch and Canterbury run on Enable, Hamilton, Tauranga, New Plymouth and the Whanganui region on Tuatahi First Fibre (formerly Ultrafast Fibre), and Whangārei and Kaipara on Northpower Fibre. Each publishes its own network status page, and in every case faults are reported through your provider rather than to the fibre company directly.
What the fibre box is telling you
The white box on the wall — the ONT — is Chorus’s equipment, and its lights show whether the network reaches your house. On the common ONT 500:
| Light | Normal | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| POWER | Solid green | Off: no power. Flashing: self-test in progress |
| PON | Solid green | Flashing: trying to connect. Off: no link to the network |
| LOS | Off | Flashing red: low signal. Solid red: loss of signal — contact your provider |
| GE1 (modem port) | Solid or flashing | Off: the cable to your modem is unplugged or faulty |
Older ONT 100 and 200 models label things differently, with POWER, OPTICAL and ALARM lights; an ALARM light means the box itself has failed, and Chorus notes that restarting it is unlikely to help. Our Chorus ONT guide covers every model.
Red LOS light? Stop troubleshooting
A red LOS light means the fibre signal is not arriving. Restarting your modem, changing cables or resetting the Wi-Fi will not change that. Log the fault with your provider, who raises it with Chorus; a technician may need to visit if the fault is on your property’s lead-in.
Copper lines and the switch-off
Chorus is retiring its copper network. It brought the nationwide switch-off forward from 2030 to the end of 2028, and about 44,000 copper lines remained at the end of June 2026. Under the Copper Withdrawal Code, Chorus must give at least six months’ written notice plus two reminders, can only withdraw copper where fibre is available, and must install fibre before copper stops if you have ordered it.
If your copper connection keeps failing, a fibre installation is usually the lasting fix. Check anything that depends on the copper line — medical alarms, security systems and EFTPOS terminals — before it moves. Our fibre speeds guide covers what you get when you switch.
When it is not an outage
If the map is clear and the fibre box lights are normal, the problem is inside your house. Work through our internet-not-working guide — modem restart, cables, Wi-Fi, account status — and if the connection works but keeps cutting out, the dropouts guide goes further. For provider-specific steps, see the guides for Spark outages, One NZ outages and 2degrees outages.
Complaints and compensation
Your contract is with your provider, so complaints go to them first. If a fault is not resolved after six weeks, the Telecommunications Dispute Resolution service is free for households and small businesses and can award up to $15,000; claims above that go to the Disputes Tribunal, which handles up to $30,000.
Disclaimer
General information only. Chorus’s outage map, copper switch-off timetable and fibre company coverage are as at September 2026. Always follow your provider’s advice during an active fault.
Reference sources
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if the internet is down in my area?
Search your address on the Chorus outage map (or your local fibre company’s status page) and on your provider’s status page. If both are clear, the problem is most likely inside your home.
Can I report an outage to Chorus directly?
No. Chorus takes faults from providers, not households. Report it to the company that bills you, which raises it with Chorus.
What does a red light on the Chorus box mean?
A red LOS light means the fibre signal is not reaching the box. It is a network fault, so contact your provider rather than restarting equipment.
How long do Chorus outages take to fix?
The map shows an estimated restoration time for each fault. Small faults are often fixed within hours; damaged cables after storms or roadworks can take longer.
When is copper broadband being switched off?
Chorus plans to finish switching off copper nationwide by the end of 2028, with notice periods of at least six months under the Copper Withdrawal Code.
Does a power cut take down fibre internet?
Yes. The fibre box and modem need mains power, so during a power cut the connection stops unless you have a battery backup for both.
