Verizon experienced a widespread outage on Monday, leaving millions of customers across the United States unable to use their mobile phones. The outage, which began early in the morning, led to phones displaying "SOS mode" - a feature that only allows users to make emergency calls. As reports flooded in from across the country, frustrated users took to social media to voice their concerns about being unable to make calls or send messages, with many calling for compensation for the disruption.
According to DownDetector, a site that tracks outages for telecom providers and other online services, over 100,000 users reported service issues by mid-morning, with complaints coming from major metropolitan areas including New York, Los Angeles, and cities across the Southeast like Atlanta. About 50% of the issues were related to mobile phone service, 35% involved connectivity problems, and 14% reported experiencing total blackouts. Verizon's support team confirmed the outage, stating on X, formerly known as Twitter, "We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue."
The outage left many users stuck in "SOS mode," a safety feature that allows phones to connect to other carriers' networks solely for emergency calls when their own network is down. While this ensured that users could still contact emergency services, many found it frustrating that they were unable to use their phones for regular communication. One user posted on X, "It's been over two hours and we don't even know why this is happening. We all pay a pretty penny for our Verizon bill, this time should be compensated until the issue is fully resolved."
For those unfamiliar with SOS mode, it is a built-in feature on smartphones that activates when the phone cannot connect to its regular network. Typically used in areas with limited or no service, it allows phones to connect with any available network to ensure that emergency calls, like 911, can still be made. While this feature provided some relief, many customers voiced concerns over the lack of connectivity and the inconvenience it caused. One common frustration expressed online was related to two-factor authentication (2FA) systems, which rely on text messages for verification. "How can I log into my Verizon account if I can't verify who I am by getting a text because of an outage?" asked a user on social media, pointing to the potential security risks posed by the outage.
By noon ET, Verizon had not provided a detailed explanation of the cause of the outage. However, reports of the disruption began to appear just after 9 a.m. ET, with the number of complaints escalating rapidly. The outage map generated by DownDetector indicated that the worst-affected areas included New York, Florida, Georgia, and parts of the Midwest, but the impact was felt nationwide. Some customers reported that they experienced no issues early in the day but then lost service without warning. "SOS in Ohio since mid-morning. Was working on my drive into work, but went down several hours ago and hasn't come back," one user commented.
Verizon, which serves around 114 million subscribers in the U.S., has not yet indicated when full service will be restored. However, the company has reassured users that its engineers are actively working to resolve the issue. A Verizon spokesperson told CBS MoneyWatch, "We are aware of the issue impacting service for some customers. Our team is working as quickly as possible to identify and resolve the issue."
In the meantime, customers were advised to use Wi-Fi calling as a temporary solution. Wi-Fi calling allows users to make calls and send messages over a wireless internet connection, bypassing the need for a cellular network. This feature can be useful in situations like these, where mobile networks are down, but users must have access to a working Wi-Fi network.
The widespread nature of the outage also raised concerns for users who depend on their phones for work and critical communication. Many expressed frustration with the lack of transparency from Verizon during the outage. While the company acknowledged the problem early on, there was no immediate explanation for what caused the service disruption, leaving many users in the dark about when they could expect normal service to resume.
