Why Is Robinhood Not Working & How To Fix It

Hi there! If you‘ve landed on this page, I‘m guessing you might be wondering: Why is Robinhood not working for me and how can I fix it? Don‘t worry, you‘re definitely not alone! As a wildly popular trading app with over 22 million users, Robinhood also has its fair share of technical issues.

I‘ve been a Robinhood user for years and have experienced my frustrations when the app is down during key trading times. I know how annoying it can be! In this comprehensive troubleshooting guide, I‘ll walk you through the most common reasons Robinhood crashes and simple tips to get it back up and running. I‘ve got you covered!

Why Does Robinhood Go Down So Often?

Before jumping into solutions, let‘s quickly understand why Robinhood seems to have more frequent outages than some other trading platforms. A few key reasons:

Exponential growth: Robinhood has added millions of users extremely rapidly. Scaling infrastructure to match this growth causes growing pains.
Peak usage spikes: Robinhood usage and demand skyrockets during major trading sessions like market open/close. Traffic overwhelms systems.
Technical glitches: Coding issues and bugs frequently cause downtime. Complex options trading features are prone to interrupting service.
Cyber attacks: DDoS attacks and hacking attempts plague Robinhood regularly, aiming to take advantage of market volatility.
High frequency trading: Robinhood‘s order volume is massive. More trades = more stress on servers.

According to status tracking site Downdetector.com, Robinhood faced over 50 reported outages just in the last 12 months. The average outage duration was 2-3 hours, impacting thousands of traders.

Compared to traditional brokers like E*Trade or Fidelity, who might see only a handful of minor interruptions annually, Robinhood‘s outage record reflects the challenges of scaling a fintech startup so rapidly. Nonetheless, they‘ve made infrastructure investments that are steadily improving reliability.

Robinhood Outage Statistics

2020 Outages	63
2021 Outages	54
2022 Outages*	32
Average Duration	2 hrs 13 mins
Average Users Impacted	37,000

*2022 data through Nov 30

Now let‘s get to the good stuff: how can you actually resolve Robinhood problems when they pop up?

Troubleshooting Robinhood Outage Issues

If Robinhood isn‘t working, try these troubleshooting steps to get trading again:

1. Confirm the outage.

Check Downdetector or Robinhood‘s status page at status.robinhood.com to confirm if there‘s an ongoing widespread outage. This will clue you in so you know it‘s not just you!

2. Update the Robinhood app.

On your phone, visit the Play Store or App Store to ensure you have the latest version of the Robinhood app installed. Update it if needed. New versions often address bugs causing crashes.

3. Try deleting and reinstalling the app.

If updating doesn‘t help, uninstall the Robinhood app entirely and redownload a fresh copy. This clears out any corrupted data. Sign back in after installing.

4. Restart your phone.

Power your smartphone down completely and restart it. This refreshes the operating system and clears up any lingering app issues.

5. Double check your internet connection.

Make sure WiFi is enabled on your phone or computer. For Robinhood desktop site access, restart your home router and modem. Verify internet access is working normally.

6. Try a different web browser.

On computers, attempt to access Robinhood on browsers like Chrome, Firefox, Safari or Edge. If one browser has an extension conflict, another may work fine.

7. Clear your browser cache & cookies.

Delete your browser history and website data cache. On desktop Robinhood, try this if you see loading or crashing issues.

8. Follow Robinhood on social media for updates.

Robinhood will often post outage statuses and updates on Twitter or Facebook. Following them (@RobinhoodApp) provides real-time alerts.

9. Contact Robinhood customer support.

Reach out to Robinhood support through email or automated chat if these steps don‘t get the app operational again during an outage window.

10. Be patient and wait it out.

If all else fails, sit tight until Robinhood engineers restore services. Outages rarely last over 24 hours. Avoid panic selling when its back.

Case Study: 2020 Black Monday Outage

Robinhood‘s most infamous outage occurred on March 2, 2020, dubbed "Black Monday" – a day of massive market plunges and volatility. The entire Robinhood app and website crashed from open to close of markets. Nearly two million traders were locked out during the critical trading session.

This 100% total outage lasted over 16 hours. No users could buy, sell or even access their portfolios. The outage was blamed on a "thundering herd" effect, as panic selling triggered a domino effect across Robinhood‘s infrastructure.

After the outage lifted, users flooded back in, causing additional interruptions. In the following months, Robinhood raised $3.4 billion in funding to scale up IT systems and prevent recurrence. However, smaller outages continue regularly, indicating difficulty sustaining smooth operations at large scale.

Managing Robinhood Interruptions

Despite frustrations, how can you deal with Robinhood outages or freezes in a strategic way when they strike?

Avoid panicking and making rash sell-offs when service is restored. The market may have moved against you.
Use backup communication channels like email or Twitter to reach support during an outage.
Turn on Robinhood‘s real-time outage notifications within app settings.
Consider trading only small amounts on Robinhood due to reliability concerns. Use other platforms for larger investments.
Maintain perspective – all technology has occasional hiccups. Don‘t immediately abandon Robinhood due to temporary issues.
Practice patience and understand Robinhood technicians work hard to restore service promptly during interruptions.

The Bottom Line

Like any high-growth technology platform, Robinhood will have its bumps in service as its systems strain under heavy demand. But armed with this troubleshooting guide, you now have the tools to quickly identify and resolve many common Robinhood problems. Stay in tune with their status updates, keep the app updated, and don‘t hesitate to contact support if you need a hand getting issues fixed.

With patience and the right techniques, you‘ll have Robinhood up and running smoothly again in no time. Here‘s to successful trading! Let me know if you have any other questions.