The PHD is always updated first, long before the global status page is updated. Every single one of my clients that use AWS got updates on the PHD literally hours before the status page was even showing any issues, which is typical. It’s the entire point of the PHD.

Through reading Reddit and HN during this event I learned that most people apparently aren’t even aware of the existence of the PHD and rely solely on the global status page, despite the fact that there is a giant “View my PHD” button at the very top of the global status page, and additionally there is a notification icon on the header of every AWS console page that lights up and links you directly to the PHD whenever there is an issue.

The PHD is always where you should look first. It is, by design, updated long before the global status page is.