Starbucks app outage: mobile ordering down amid wider cloud incident — what’s affected, workarounds, and when service is expected to stabilize

The Starbucks app outage disrupted mobile ordering for millions of customers on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, with users reporting errors at sign-in, basket checkout, and the Order Ahead & Pay feature. The company acknowledged a “temporary outage” for digital ordering while stores continued serving walk-in and drive-thru customers. Reports spiked through the U.S. morning and into the afternoon, with pockets of Canada and the UK also affected.

What’s down right now

• Order Ahead & Pay: Intermittent failures placing or modifying mobile orders.

• Reloads & gift cards: Some users can’t reload balances; stored value remains intact on existing cards.

• Rewards syncing: Stars earned in-store may post later than usual; balances can appear frozen until systems catch up.

• Store status in the app: Hours and availability tiles may show incorrectly while endpoints time out.

In-store point-of-sale remains operational at most locations; staff can ring orders even if the app can’t process new transactions. Drive-thru lines were longer than typical in several metro areas as mobile orders shifted to walk-up and car queues.

Likely cause: upstream cloud turbulence

The outage coincided with a major cloud-service disruption impacting multiple consumer apps and travel sites on Wednesday. While Starbucks hasn’t detailed root cause, timing and shared symptoms across unrelated brands point to an upstream platform incident affecting authentication, payments, or API gateways. That typically manifests as sign-in loops, cart failures, and delayed account updates—exactly what Starbucks users reported.

What Starbucks has said

The company’s customer-care channel flagged a temporary outage of the app’s order-ahead/pay features and noted stores remain open for in-person purchases. Live updates emphasize recovery work and reassure customers that rewards and balances are safe and should sync once services stabilize.

Can you still get your coffee (and Stars)?

Yes—just plan for analog habits until the Starbucks app down episode clears.

• Pay in person: Use physical cards, cash, or standard payment methods at the register.

• Barcodes & balances: If your barcode won’t load, staff can often look up your account with the phone number on file; policies vary by store.

• Stars posting delay: Keep receipts; Stars typically backfill automatically when systems reconcile.

• Reloads: Reload at the register if app reloads fail. Funds usually appear instantly on the same visit.

Tips to avoid duplicate charges or lost orders

1. Don’t spam the checkout button. If the spinner hangs, force-quit and check order history before retrying.

2. Screenshot balances if you plan to reload later; it helps reconcile if posting is delayed.

3. Confirm pickup status at the case before leaving—some orders hit the store even when your app shows an error.

4. Skip customization overload while systems are shaky; complex modifiers are more likely to fail during API timeouts.

Timeline so far (local time varies by region)

• Early morning: Error reports begin rising; users see sign-in loops and “something went wrong” at checkout.

• Late morning–afternoon: Peaks in outage trackers; Starbucks confirms a temporary disruption to order-ahead/pay.

• Afternoon–evening: Gradual recovery in some regions; others continue to see intermittent failures as traffic rebalances.

Recovery from a widespread upstream incident usually rolls out region by region as infrastructure nodes are brought back into service. Even after the green light, data sync (Stars, receipts, gift reclaims) can lag for a few hours.

What this means for stores and partners

Baristas are shifting to manual workflows: prioritizing in-person orders, verifying customizations verbally, and managing a larger proportion of cash/card payments. Expect slower throughput at peak and fewer mobile pickup drinks staged on the counter. Some stores may place temporary holds on ultra-complex customizations to keep lines moving while systems normalize.

Frequently asked questions

Are my Stars and gift card funds safe?
Yes. Account data is preserved. Posting may be delayed until systems reconcile.

Will missed double-star promos be honored?
Historically, promotions are reconciled when logs sync. Keep receipts if you need follow-up.

Can stores scan my member ID if the barcode won’t load?
Many can look up your account by phone number or alternate ID; policies vary by market.

Is this only the app, or the website too?
Mobile ordering and account services were primarily affected; some regions also saw intermittent website issues tied to the same services.

What to watch next

• Official status updates on order-ahead/pay availability by region.

• Backlog clearing: Stars, receipts, and gift transfers catching up within the evening window.

• Post-mortem notes in the coming days on resilience steps (multi-cloud failover, queueing, and read-only rewards during outages).

Today’s Starbucks app outage stems from a broader cloud hiccup that knocked mobile ordering offline for stretches. Stores remain open, your balances and rewards are safe, and service should progressively stabilize as upstream providers finish recovery. If you need your latte now, walk in or hit the drive-thru—and expect the app to catch up after the rush.