Technical problems reported at McDonald’s in Japan, Australia and elsewhere

McDonald’s customers in Australia, Japan and Hong Kong reported Friday they were having trouble ordering from the fast-food restaurants, as some operators cited technical problems with ordering systems.

In a message on X, McDonald’s Japan said his restaurants were having technical problems due to a system glitch.” Later, a separate post said there are “many” stores across the country suspended operations because of the problem, without saying how many. Japan has about 2,900 McDonald’s restaurants, the third largest in the world after the United States and China.

McDonald’s Hong Kong said on Facebook that it was also experiencing a “computer system glitch,” stating that “the mobile ordering and self-ordering kiosks are not functioning” and asking customers to order directly from restaurant counters.

People in Australia posted photos on social media showing signs on the doors of some McDonald’s stores, apologizing to customers for causing inconvenience. Australian news outlets reported that some restaurants had closed, while others had returned to an analogue approach, with some employees taking orders with pen and paper.

On Friday evening, some restaurants in Australia appeared to be back at full capacity.

At a restaurant in Richmond, Melbourne, customers ordered shakes and burgers, crowded around self-service ordering machines and lingered over shared fries. Employees at the restaurant said the outage lasted about two hours and customers paid in cash.

Jeremy Ruz, a customer in Newcastle, Australia, had been at the drive-through to pick up dinner for his children when their plans were thwarted by a system glitch, he said.

“People came out with a pad and a pen and said they couldn’t take cards,” he said. “There was a line a mile long.”