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TORONTO — Cell service provided by telecom giant Rogers Communications was restored late Wednesday evening after five hours of being down across Canada as the company continued to investigate the cause of the outage.

Both voice and text were not working for many customers, as reports of outages poured in from across the country around 6:30 pm ET. The problems were also plaguing Rogers’ alternative brands Fido and Chatr.

READ MORE: What’s the best, cheapest Canadian cellphone plan out there?

Shortly before midnight the service was fully restored and Rogers said they would continue to investigate the root cause of the problem.

A couple of hours later Rogers said they will credit all postpaid customers for one day of service to thank them for their patience with the disruption.

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“I recognize this service interruption was unacceptable for our customers,” said Rogers President and CEO Nadir Mohamed in the statement. “We worked as quickly as possible to restore service and it was gradually restored over the course of the evening. I sincerely apologize to all of our customers for this significant inconvenience and appreciate their understanding and patience.”

The company said the outage affected all Rogers and Fido customers’ voice access across the board and some SMS texting.

Initially the company only confirmed outages in Ontario and Quebec, but, over an hour later, they updated their Twitter account saying the outage was nation-wide.

We have reports of voice service interruptions affecting wireless customers in ON & QC. We apologize and are working to resolve ASAP. — RogersHelps (@RogersHelps) October 9, 2013

We are experiencing a wireless outage nationally, affecting voice and some SMS service. We apologize & are working to resolve it ASAP. — RogersHelps (@RogersHelps) October 9, 2013

A spokesperson for the company could not be reached and the company was refusing interviews all evening.

Many complained of an overall lack of communication with users online, as the company’s customer service lines were jammed with calls.

One unflappable Brooklyn native with the Twitter name @Rogers said, “Nothing like another Rogers outage to liven up my feed *grabs popcorn*” as the angry messages and jokes piled up for the unaffiliated account.

The wrath of a thousand Canadians is a mighty sight. #rogersoutage — Glenn Rogers (@rogers) October 9, 2013

Can't imagine the hate this guy is seeing tonight RT @rogers: Nothing like another Rogers outage to liven up my feed. *grabs popcorn* — Brian McKechnie (@bamcat) October 10, 2013

Hey @Rogers sorry Canadians hate you so much tonight…I'm sure your a decent guy :) — kurt fawthrop (@kurtfawthrop) October 10, 2013

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READ MORE: Twitter user @Rogers unfazed by ‘wrath of 1,000 Canadians’

The city of Calgary issued an alert urging citizens to find alternate means, such as a landline or payphone, for access to emergency services.

Rogers’ website was also down for four hours, along with Chatr’s and Fido’s.

Once service was restored, the company advised anyone with continuing difficulties to turn their phone off and on again, which Twitter users jokingly foreshadowed earlier in the evening.

Has anyone asked #Rogers if they unplugged it, waited 30 sec, and then plugged it back in? — Cause We're Canadian (@MadelnCanada) October 10, 2013

Rogers has about 10 million wireless customers across Canada.

Canadians’ reactions to Rogers’ downed cell service

ITS THE END OF TIMESSSS Rogers is down! It's dooowwwnnnnn !!! — amber.aleisya (@aerdeen) October 9, 2013

https://twitter.com/MelanieTardivo/status/388078966151467008

Don't bother attempting to get info on the Rogers cell service outage from their website – jammed #rogersoutage pic.twitter.com/lz3qnO36Yj — George Browne (@GCBrowne) October 10, 2013

Here's what a #Rogers phone will likely say if you make a call. "All circuits are busy" for incoming calls. pic.twitter.com/ETuTQ6T95M — Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyGlobalTV) October 9, 2013

For what it's worth, the lights are all still on at #Rogers HQ @ Mt Pleasant and Bloor in #Toronto pic.twitter.com/ItWu5cAgjM — Jeremy Cohn (@JeremyGlobalTV) October 9, 2013

https://twitter.com/GeeNyneteen/status/388090625679437825

Currently imaging a room full of switchboard operators taking their smoke break, gabbing about the advent of convection ovens. #rogers — Justin Ling (@Justin_Ling) October 9, 2013

https://twitter.com/colonyoflosers/status/388119943255830530

Why have I not been able to make calls or text for the last 4 hours!!! #rogers #blackberry — DJ Cooper (@DJCooperMusic) October 10, 2013

Rogers has a lot of angry customers. I have no one to call or text so I'm just meh about this. — Cass (@CassAguiar03) October 9, 2013

Noww my phone is slow, thank you Rogers — S.M.O.K.E UP (@JALAN_TOR6) October 10, 2013

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Oh Rogers customer, you just know your grandma wants to call you up on her rotary just to mock your pain, you know, if you could take a call — Andy Bowers (@evilpez4) October 10, 2013

As long as the internet is working I'm not too concern with the Rogers service outage. If the internet goes down there will be blood. — Matthew Rygiel (@msmr) October 9, 2013

Well my Rogers phone is working fine lol — #sav (@_chrsav) October 9, 2013

Downside to being in #Ottawa tonight: Rogers cell phone network is out. Upside: the #AuroraBorealis set to make appearance. Related? — Alex Wood (@ALEXatSP) October 9, 2013

https://twitter.com/Rushae_/status/388091129071009794

Right on cue, my iPhone has given up the ghost just before the end of my 3-year contract. (4000km from the closest Rogers store). — Jon Lasiuk (@WorldlyCanuck) October 10, 2013

I hate rogers i hate rogers i hate rogers i hate rogers i hate rogers — Marry Toyota (@MarrNissan) October 10, 2013

Folks, keep piling on Rogers, ok? They deserve it. — L.L. (@Withane_Lindsey) October 10, 2013

https://twitter.com/_michibabie/status/388130825830952960

Rogers, quit playing games with my heart. Either you're working or you're not.. decide. — kristen (@KristenGonneau) October 10, 2013

Seeing posts about Rogers on Facebook. & I'm sitting here like "I didn't even know anything was wrong bc I never talk on the phone". — Riley McGilvray (@rileymcgilvray) October 10, 2013

1/2 Wireless voice and SMS services are fully restored. We continue to investigate the root cause. We apologize to our customers and thank — RogersBuzz (@RogersBuzz) October 10, 2013

2/2 them for their patience. We recommend customers turn their devices off and on again should they continue to experience difficulties. — RogersBuzz (@RogersBuzz) October 10, 2013