\n<\/p>\n
W<\/span>orkers were sent home, exams were delayed, coffee machines had to be turned on manually and language app users feared their hard-won progress was lost as a result of the global outage of Amazon Web Services on Monday, as some made light of their briefly tech-free existence.<\/p>\n A glitch in the AWS cloud computing service brought down apps and websites for millions of users around the world affecting more than 2,000 companies, including Snapchat, Roblox, Signal and language app Duolingo as well as a host of Amazon-owned operations.<\/p>\n Many of the sites were restored after a few hours, but some experienced persistent problems throughout the day. By Monday evening, Amazon said all of its cloud services had \u201creturned to normal operations\u201d.<\/p>\n But amid the chaos affecting vital services around the world, some more unexpected consequences arose.<\/p>\n Amazon workers posted videos of themselves on TikTok relishing a slower work day, with some dancing in quiet warehouses, while others told CNN they had been sent home.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking for Amazon Flex we\u2019ve been sent home due to their systems not being able to check us in or release us with pay. Because of this outage there\u2019s no telling if the 80 of us here are going to be paid,\u201d James from Texas told the network.<\/p>\n Tiffini in Florida said she was hoping to start her Amazon delivery route at 3.30am but the systems were down. \u201cI submitted a ticket but there has been no confirmation that we will get paid for the blocks that we missed due to Amazon\u2019s system issues this morning.\u201d<\/p>\n Other social media users described facing delays to medical and vet appointments, while some customers using Amazon\u2019s virtual assistant, Alexa, faced issues with their smart homes.<\/p>\n \u201cI use Alexa-enabled smart plugs to control the lamps in my room,\u201d Christina, who uses crutches to get around, told CNN. \u201cDuring the outage my smart plugs became unresponsive. Before I realised why the plug wasn\u2019t working, I tried unsuccessfully to reset one of them. Now I can\u2019t get it to work at all.\u201d<\/p>\n Some Alexa users, however, were quick to make light of the outage.<\/p>\n \u201cDue to the Amazon outage, Alexa wasn\u2019t working this morning, so I had to stumble out of bed in the dark, find my way to the kitchen, and turn the coffee-maker on MANUALLY. I can\u2019t live like this. You guys go on without me,\u201d one X user posted.<\/p>\n \u201cI had to turn on my light by hand without Alexa\u2019s help. Rough start to the day,\u201d another posted to Reddit.<\/p>\n Some avid users of Duolingo, which records how many days in a row a customer has practised, known as \u201cstreaks\u201d, were beside themselves with anxiety about their progress.<\/p>\n Some threatened to \u201criot\u201d if their streak was lost, others complained their 900+ day streak had reset to zero, while one poster on X took aim at Amazon\u2019s founder and chief executive, Jeff Bezos. \u201cIf I lose my 1,300-day Duolingo streak because of the pissing AWS [Amazon Web Services] outage, I will personally throw an egg at Bezos\u2019 bald head.\u201d<\/p>\n Duolingo reassured customers on Tuesday their streaks would be safe.<\/p>\n