PA UC weekly claim website down with maintenance message - anyone else blocked from filing?
Is anyone else having trouble filing their weekly PA unemployment claim today? I've been trying since 6am and keep getting redirected to a page that says: "The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania web site that you are trying to reach is either not available or is undergoing maintenance. Please try back later. Thank you for your patience." I'm freaking out because today is my filing day and I've never missed a week. Called the regular number but can't get through to anyone. Is the system down for everyone or just me? Any idea when it might be back up?
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Misterclamation Skyblue
yep same here. tried 3 times already this morning. guess the systems crashed again lol
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Gabriel Ruiz
•Phew, at least it's not just me! Do we get extra time to file when this happens? My benefit week ends today!
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Peyton Clarke
This happens at least once a month, usually around the 1st or 15th when system volume is highest. PA UC doesn't announce maintenance in advance, but typically the system is back online within 4-6 hours. Don't worry - when the system is down due to maintenance, they extend the filing deadline by at least 24 hours. Keep trying throughout the day, but if you can't file today, you can still complete it tomorrow without penalty.
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Gabriel Ruiz
•Thank you so much! That's really helpful. I'll keep trying every couple hours then. Just worried about my payment being delayed.
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Vince Eh
UGGGHHH NOT AGAIN!! this is the THIRD TIME this month the site has been down!!! My rent is due next week and I NEED this payment to hit my account on time. PA unemployment is literally the WORST system ever. They expect us to file on time but their website never works!!
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Sophia Gabriel
•its not that bad, chill. theyre prob just updating something. always works again by afternoon
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Vince Eh
•Easy for you to say! Some of us have bills due EXACTLY when our UC payments should hit. Even one day late means late fees I can't afford right now.
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Tobias Lancaster
The system is definitely down for everyone - I just spoke with someone who confirmed it's scheduled maintenance that should be completed by 2pm today. They've automatically extended the filing deadline by 48 hours for anyone whose regular filing day is today. For what it's worth, if you ever need to speak with an actual PA UC representative about urgent matters like this but can't get through on the regular line, I've had success using Claimyr (claimyr.com). It's a service that helps you bypass the busy signals and actually get through to a live agent. They have a video that shows how it works: https://youtu.be/CEPETxZdo9E?si=WL1ZzVZWG3KiHrg2. Saved me tons of frustration last month when I had a similar issue with an open claim problem.
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Ezra Beard
•How did you get through to someone if the system is down? I've been calling and can't reach anyone...
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Tobias Lancaster
•I used Claimyr earlier this morning before the phone lines got completely overwhelmed. That's how I found out about the 48-hour extension. If you need to talk to someone urgently, I'd recommend trying it.
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Statiia Aarssizan
This happened to me last month too. If your filing day is today, don't panic! When I called the next day, they told me they automatically flag accounts affected by system outages so there's no penalty. My payment was only delayed by one day. Just make sure to file as soon as the system is back up.
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Gabriel Ruiz
•That's reassuring! I'll try again after 2pm based on what others are saying. Thanks for sharing your experience.
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Misterclamation Skyblue
its working now just got in and filed
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Gabriel Ruiz
•THANK YOU! Just tried and got in too! Filed my weekly claim successfully. What a relief!
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Sophia Gabriel
does anybody know if we still have to do the work search activities for this week even tho the site was down? i wasnt able to log them when i normally do
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Peyton Clarke
•Yes, you still need to complete and log your work search activities. The maintenance only affected the filing system, not the work search requirements. You can add them retroactively when you file your weekly claim. Just make sure you have your 3 activities completed for the week regardless of the system issues.
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Ava Garcia
Just wanted to update everyone - I was able to get through around 3:30pm and successfully filed my weekly claim! For anyone still having issues, try clearing your browser cache or using a different browser. I was stuck on Chrome but it worked immediately when I switched to Firefox. Thanks to everyone who shared their experiences - it really helped calm my nerves knowing this was a system-wide issue and not something wrong with my account!
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Anna Kerber
•Great tip about switching browsers! I had the same issue with Chrome earlier but didn't think to try a different browser. Will definitely remember that for next time. So glad everyone was able to get their claims filed despite the system issues today!
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Natalie Khan
Same thing happened to me around 8am this morning! I was panicking because I've never had to deal with a system outage on my filing day before. Really glad to see from the comments that the system is back up and running now. Just successfully filed my claim after reading everyone's advice about trying different browsers. The Firefox tip from Ava really worked for me too - Chrome kept timing out but Firefox went right through. Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and keeping each other updated throughout the day!
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Aileen Rodriguez
•This whole situation really shows how much we all rely on each other in this community! I'm new to filing UC claims and was completely lost when I hit that maintenance page this morning. Reading through everyone's experiences and tips has been so helpful - especially learning about the automatic deadline extensions and the browser switching trick. It's reassuring to know that system outages happen regularly and there are protections in place. Thanks to everyone for being so supportive and sharing real solutions!
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