DoorDash outages often stem from localized issues like low dasher availability, app glitches, or weather disruptions, especially around early 2026 reports of strikes and storms.

Common Culprits

Users frequently report no nearby restaurants or unavailable dashes due to:

  • Dasher shortages : High demand overwhelms available drivers, worsened by economic factors and gig worker trends post-2025.
  • App bugs : Glitches in GPS, order assignment, or pausing dashes, often fixed by restarting or adjusting filters (e.g., lowering star ratings).
  • Restaurant-side problems : Tablets offline, closed apps, or overwhelmed kitchens pausing service.

Latest Context (Feb 2026)

A planned driver strike on February 9, 2026 (2-day event) is sparking warnings for dashers to avoid working, potentially causing widespread slowdowns nationwide. Winter Storm Fern earlier this month spiked demand while cutting dasher numbers, leading to long waits. Recent Reddit threads note "total blackouts" of offers in many markets.

"Dash now unavailable... all gray again." – Frustrated driver on r/doordash_drivers

Quick Fixes to Try

  1. Check status : Toggle filters, verify address/GPS, or switch to pickup.
  2. Restart app : End/restart dash or log out/in; common for pausing glitches.
  1. Contact support : Alert DoorDash and nearby restaurants to flag revenue loss.
  1. Alternatives : Use Uber Eats or local pickup during peaks like strikes.
  1. Wait it out : Issues like unavailable areas often resolve mysteriously.

Issue Type| Frequency (Forum Reports)| Typical Fix Time
---|---|---
No restaurants| High (2024-2026 threads)| 24-48 hours 12
Dash pausing| Medium (app updates)| Restart app 5
Weather/strikes| Trending now (Feb 2026)| Event duration 79

Trending Forum Chatter

  • Dashers see "gray zones" outside peak colors unless Top Dasher.
  • Customers blame algorithms ignoring traffic or real-time data.
  • Speculation: Over-saturation of drivers leads to auto-pauses in slow zones.

TL;DR : Blame dasher shortages, strikes (Feb 9), or glitches—try app restarts and support first. Monitor for storm/strike updates.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.