[Update] Massive Verizon outage: Customers nationwide left without service, phones in 'SOS mode' | Mashable.
[Update] Massive Verizon outage: Customers nationwide left without service, phones in 'SOS mode'
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| There's a widespread Verizon outage today. Credit: T. Schneider / Shutterstock.com |
UPDATE: Sep. 30, 2024, 5:44 p.m. EDT Verizon claims in an X post that "service has started to be restored."
Check out our live blog coverage on the Verizon outage for more up-to-date details on the major cellular network issue.
On Monday, Sept. 30, a massive Verizon outage has caused widespread, nationwide connectivity issues for customers across the U.S.
Based on Google Trends, there's been an uptick of people searching for, "Why is my phone in SOS?" This captures the experience that numerous Verizon users have been reporting; many have claimed that their phones are now limited to SOS service.
Verizon down: Widespread outage disrupts customers across U.S.
As of 5:03 p.m. ET, DownDetector (a site that shares the same parent company as Mashable) revealed on X that there have been over 1.6 million reports of Verizon outages.
Fifty percent say that the issue involves their mobile phone, 35 percent say they're not getting any signals, and 14 percent say they're experiencing a total blackout.
According to DownDetector's outage map, it appears that outages are concentrated in the following states: New York, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, and North Carolina.
DownDetector said that most reports, however, are coming from the following cities: Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Las Vegas.
Interestingly, the platform said that there isn't a major influx of reports coming from the following states:
North Dakota
South Dakota
Wyoming
A site that has been tracking the issue claims that outage reports began piling up at around 9:04 a.m. ET.
On X, users have been flooding Verizon Support, the company's official help page, regarding the issue.
"We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers," Verizon said on X at around 11 a.m. ET. "Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue," Verizon said on X.
Several hours later, at around 5 p.m. ET, Verizon announced on X that it has begun to make progress on its "network issue" and "service has started to be restored." The telecommunication company says that it will continue to work around the clock to fully resolve the problem.
The company, according to CNN, has 114 million subscribers in the United States.
Phones stuck in SOS mode: What to do
Your phone being in SOS mode is an indication that your device cannot connect to a network, but it can reach certain personnel via satellite connectivity.
SOS mode is Apple's "Emergency SOS via Satellite" feature that lets users connect to satellites to reach emergency services in poor coverage areas.
Although technically not a "fix," there is a way around a dropped network via a method called Wi-Fi calling. As the name indicates, Wi-Fi calling lets you make calls and texts on popular communication apps, like WhatsApp, FaceTime, and iMessage — without cellular service. Just make sure you can connect to a non-Verizon-based Wi-Fi network.
(For a visual tutorial on how to turn on Wi-Fi calling, here's a great one on YouTube.)
T-Mobile and AT&T say their networks are working
If you are a T-Mobile and AT&T user, and you've been experiencing some issues, it's more likely you're encountering troubles because you've been trying to contact a Verizon user dealing with poor connectivity.
According to CNET, T-Mobile and AT&T reported that their respective networks are currently up and running.
The FCC is investigating
According to a report from Reuters, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it is "working to determine the cause and extent of these service disruptions."
This story is developing ... Check back at Mashable for more.
Topics Verizon
Utah outage all day so far
ReplyDeleteIn PA I still have SOS . I’m not going to pay Verizon if they can’t resolve this issue. Been going on for a week!!
ReplyDeletefrr just paid them over $300 and now no service 😂🤦🏽♀️
ReplyDeleteHahah come to Australia and enjoy no service all year around with Vodafone Australia 🤣
ReplyDelete😄
DeleteAnd our bills will still ridiculous 😫
ReplyDeleteThat was me this morning
ReplyDeleteService was the best now I don't get Service anymore anywhere time for change
ReplyDeleteI’m stuck on SOS for days. Version is going to refund my payment if I have a say!!
ReplyDeleteI have dealt with SOS for weeks. I’m refusing to pay for phone service because you don’t respond to any calls.
ReplyDeleteHeads up. Verizon down for millions of users.
ReplyDeleteI'm in Wisconsin and I'm having the problem. Not sure how accurate this map is
ReplyDeleteMines been sos all day in Keizer Oregon
ReplyDeletenot that helpful of an article 🙄
ReplyDeleteNods
ReplyDeleteNo cellular service. Hand over your cell phone to an adult.
ReplyDeleteThank you for working so diligently for us.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteI feel that with this outage it should take off how much we pay this month in my opinion because what is the point of paying in full if we didn't have service for a while?
ReplyDeletenow you can call them and ask for your measly 1.50$ or less back
DeleteThat's a great point. I believe, in fact, that if you look closely at your bill, they include a pretty hefty "reliability charge" or something like that. At the minimum everyone should get that charge refunded!
DeleteI agree. for how much some of us pay. We should have some sort of discount.
DeleteLet's bombard them with refund requests and force them to do the right thing -- which is to give everyone a credit.
DeleteIn my experience, the company might not voluntarily reduce your bill for the month. You may have to call them and ask for a refund. More than likely, they'll comply with your request.
DeleteDivide your bill by the number of days in the month. That’s how much you pay a day/ how much to call and ask for a refund
Deletegreat. I'll get like $.83
DeleteOutage in Salt Lake City. Tried everything on my end.
ReplyDeleteDitto in Utah County
DeleteAustin Tx area is down
DeleteTucson, Az is down
Deletesame
Deletesame here in Elko Nevada
DeleteWhy isn’t my WiFi calling available?? I have great WiFi service and can not make or receive any calls.
ReplyDeleteIn order for WiFi calling to work it verifies that you're registered with the mobile network. Since the network is the issue & it cant do that it doesn't want to work.
DeleteThe fact that you cannot use wifi calling means one of two things. Either A. a Major wifi tower that makes that possible being hacked or destroyed or B. they had a serious system malfunction that says deny it. I'm betting on a tower or subsystem fell somewhere because of the flooding...
DeleteI am having the same issue
Deleteall 3 iPhones in our household are having the same issues and wi-fi calling is not working.
DeleteWhat about messaging through WiFi?
DeleteText is NOT working. But iMessage and FaceTime are working through WiFi
Deletealthough my Android is working
DeleteAfter trying everything this morning that included updates and rebooting we couldn’t contact Verizon via phone, chat or message so we went to the store where we found a lot of people with the same issue. The store told us it was a nationwide outage but we wouldn’t have know that because we couldn’t access the internet at home. We are in Northern Colorado. Finally got access to the internet with another family members phone. I guess not all Verizon phones were impacted.
ReplyDeleteNo they werent. My husband and daughters both work fine. Mine is the only one in our household effected by it.
DeleteSame
DeleteSame here, just southeast of Loveland. My phone just now connnected to the internet but I still can’t make phone calls.
DeleteMy wife, son and daughter and I are all on the same Verizon account. Phones range from 6 months old to 3 years old. Since this morning my phone has no service if I am outside of WiFi. My wife and sons work fine and daughters phone is the same as mine. I am in the same room with them and they have phone service and my daughter and I don’t. Time to look at ATT.
DeleteI'm out, only SOS available. No Calif. Bay Area.
DeleteSo what do we do ? Just sit and wait ?
DeleteYes. Chill out and smell the roses and take a welcome break from your phone.
DeleteMy cell is in SOS mode as well. I’m in Southern California.
DeleteAccording to the article you know nothing about
ReplyDeleteDNS
ReplyDeleteadd Northern MN to the list of outages
ReplyDeleteAnd the twin cities!
DeleteMy partner has a Samsung Galaxy S23 and it's not working for her. I also have a Samsung Galaxy S23, but mine is an Ultra. I'm not having any issues so far. We are in Saint Paul Minnesota.
DeleteAnd southern MN
DeleteShreveport/Bossier City Louisiana to the list
Deleteadd NM to the list
DeleteAdd CA
DeleteAdd Hawaii
DeleteAdd California to the list.
ReplyDeleteAdd Michigan as well
DeleteI live in Detroit, MI and this is for the birds!! What if we had an emergency? We ALL deserve a credit!!
DeleteWisconsin
DeleteAdd Idaho
DeleteAdd Arizona
DeleteAdd Spokane too the list
DeleteIowa as well
DeleteFlorida- all day
DeleteOutage in Meridian ID
ReplyDeleteNebraska too
DeleteAdd Ohio to the list
ReplyDeleteMichigan
DeleteIt's not thousands, it is MILLIONS of customers and accounts. Did they get hacked and our accounts are now being pilfered and accessed? FCC FBI need to investigate NOW; Verizon is sitting on their hands and not being proactive and responsive. Went to the local Verizon store and they were SO RUDE to everyone who had a question. Completely unprofessional and absolutely rude to the customers. One of the Verizon employees yelled out "If your here about the outage, GO HOME, we can't do anything for you!"
ReplyDeleteY'all gotta chill. Seriously. The reps were rude because you're the thousandth person they've told the same thing to... You can't even be bothered to Google something before driving to the store to ask them the same question anyone else is. While they're rude, and that's unfortunate... your post tells me everything I need to know about the attitude YOU bring to the table. If you're not getting service immediately, it's NOT because their IT department is sitting by doing nothing. If it's something intricate, or difficult to repair (IE a broken cable), no amount of you being unreasonable and "calling the FBI" is going to make that tech problem go faster. Stop. Check yourself. And realize you're being unreasonable about an outage you know nothing about. Be angry. Be upset. But if THIS post is the energy and education you bring to a Verizon rep, I'd be rude to you too.
DeleteNobody even said anything in the store. There was a line and everyone there were calm and simply waiting when the customer service person just looked up from the ipad he had in his hand and yelled out "If your here about the outage, GO HOME, we can't do anything for you!" another customer outside said that their phone number had been ported out and they were told by customer service that they may have cybersecurity issues and told them to change all their passwords. If that is the case, they really need to tell everyone and not sit idle. There has not been a single update from Verizon since this morning. If they need help, they need to let people know and call in the government experts. No one wants to hear a day, week or month from now that they were hacked or cyber attacked. I left when the customer service person yelled at the people patiently waiting in line. I never even said a word, your off base with your presumptions. Bottom line is they need to be patient and empathize with people. Some people depend on their phone for work and most everyone that has two factor authentication relies on their phone for a text or authentication apps to work. Not even Wi-Fi calling is working and all the customers received was "If your here about the outage, GO HOME, we can't do anything for you!" That is NOT customer service that is being bothered by people when you should be doing your job. Verizon should be posting regular updates even if they don't have a lot of details. Communicate
DeleteHad the same thing happen to me at a Verizon store today. Just downright rude to everyone having issues. My phone has not worked since 9am and it is not close to 3pm.
DeleteSame here hasn’t worked all day and it’s almost 5:00 pm
Deleteme too
DeleteHusband's verizon phone works. Mine does not. Has been out all day
DeleteSame in my house hold. Husbands and daughters work just fine
DeleteI have the same problem. All household works but mine
Deletethat is very unprofessional honestly i wouldn't take that kind of disrespect and move to another service like spectrum or something maybe they would treat us with more respect
DeleteSpectrum runs on Verizons network lol
DeleteStrange enough, things that do work on Verizon's network (like Visible for instance) still work. This makes me think it's not a physical networking thing, but a programming / access thing.
DeleteAGREE! My whole family plan is Verizon and my phone is the only one not working! Something fishy going on!
DeleteWas this in Bellingham, WA?
Deletegrays harbor has the same issues
DeleteYup...that's how we're treated here in California.
DeleteSeems E-sim related. Iphone 13 and below have service but not 14 and above in same household.
ReplyDeleteI have a 13 and mine is out. My kids have 12 and 7 and they are ok
DeleteOn my family plan everyone is 14 and up and all the phones work. This must be a complicated issue.
DeleteMy son and I both have Pixels and have no service. Two I know with iPhones have no problem
DeleteI have a 14 and it works but the 13 on our plan is not
Deletei have a 13 without service in AZ
DeleteOutage in Parker, Co
ReplyDeleteThis outage is impacting millions of Verizon customers, not thousands.
ReplyDeleteFor us it seems to be more phone type related than service area. Two family members in the same city have service - one is on an android phone and one is on an Iphone 11. The two Pro 15 phones are unable to connect to Wifi calling or a cellular network.
ReplyDeleteSoCal user, out of service since at least 8am this morning. Definitely not a small scale, there are clearly millions of people without service and the real reason behind this is not being disclosed. This has some hallmarks of another ransomeware attack.
ReplyDeleteWell im in Oregon and i cant make or receive calls half my friends can't either my phone woke me up with an update? Around 5am this morning and hasn't worked since i called them like 20 time never talking with a human 😑 i hate that automated junk I've been a Verizon customer for over 17 years but this might be the straw that drives me to another carrier
ReplyDeletecant access my bank, my verizon account, my intuit, all requiring 2 step verification, needing to send me a text..... I CANT GET TEXTS RIGHT NOW
ReplyDeleteI hope I get a discount or some credit issued to my acct been 2 hours soo far couldn’t use phone
ReplyDeleteI will also be expecting a pro rated bill
DeleteTheir website clearly states no reimbursement for Network outages
Delete2? try 6
DeleteHOW LONG BEFORE THEY FIX THE ISSUE?
ReplyDeleteI went to the local Verizon store, there was a crowd outside and the store employee said there is an outage, and there is NO ETA.
ReplyDeleteA lot of people are upset as they need their cell phone to be able to work. This is a mess.
Verizon needs to pick it up and get our phones working!!
Add Pennsylvania to that list
ReplyDeleteScary how fast they can take communication from us! Probably a government test. This happened during COVID but so many people didn't notice it. I'm a realtor and worked through all of COVID and every carrier lost service one day for about 20min, it was nuts. That one was definitely a test!
ReplyDeleteThis outage appears to be a 5G related cell phone issue. San Diego is impacted also.
ReplyDeleteadd Minnesota to the list - calls say Call failed
ReplyDeleteMy partner has a Samsung Galaxy S23 and it's not working for her. I also have a Samsung Galaxy S23, but mine is an Ultra. I'm not having any issues so far. We are on Minnesota.
Deletethanks dude
DeleteOgden, UT same issue. Phone is crucial for work. Couldn't work today. Who is compensating me.
ReplyDeleteAdd Chicago to the list.
ReplyDeleteSOS mode does not mean “satellite only” lol. It means you can connect to a cell tower but that it’s not one of your carrier’s towers, so you can only call emergency services with it. Not sure if this article was written with AI or if the author just isn’t well versed in this stuff.
ReplyDeleteAdd Iowa to the list.
ReplyDeleteIve been out since 9 this morning. How frustrating
DeleteI live in Eastern North Carolina. My phone has been showing SOS since 1000 EST. This is a very rural area, and Verizon is the only carrier that normally has signal. Unfortunately, I don't have the option to shop around due to the limited services.
ReplyDeleteI kinda like the quiet.
ReplyDeleteJust like leaving the house in the 90s.
Why is there no reporting on the Verizon Fios outage, that’s affecting the east coast, DC hit extremely hard? Verizon declares that network issues are fully resolved and that’s the end of it? We’ve had no internet, no wifi for more than 12 hours now.
ReplyDeleteHas been out more than 5 hours now in Fargo, ND... It is more than a little concerning, and frustrating. Hopefully it gets figured out soon, I also agree, it is NOT 1000's, it is MILLIONS. They need to knock off the misinformation, because from what I am reading here, we have almost all 50 states affected.
ReplyDeleteDon't have service in Portland oregon eather....
ReplyDeleteCell over wifi is not working during this outage....
ReplyDeleteAdd Whitefish Mt to the list big sign on door nation wide outage
ReplyDeleteAdd Peyton, CO to the outage list too.
ReplyDeleteAdd Texas to this list of outage. Haven't had service since 8 am this morning
ReplyDeleteAdd northern New Hampshire to the list
ReplyDeleteCoincidence seems unlikely. In the early morning of Sept 30th there was a substantial mobile phone disruption impacting AT&T, Verizon, and BAM in the Denver area. The reported cause was "vandalism." According to reports, recently numerous fires have been set that have disrupted fiber optic cables.
ReplyDeleteAdd Arizona to the list - although, my husband has a Samsung and it's working for calls and texts. My iPhone 14 Pro is not and has been stuck in SOS since about 7:15am this morning.
ReplyDeleteMy partner has a Samsung Galaxy S23 and it's not working for her. I also have a Samsung Galaxy S23, but mine is an Ultra. I'm not having any issues so far. We are on Minnesota.
DeleteAdd Middle of Kansas to the list as well.
ReplyDelete"And you can’t switch your number to another carrier because you can’t receive the unlock pin via verizon network text. And local verizon sgore employees are kying and saying the other carriers are down too."
ReplyDeleteAdd South Dakota to the list! Down since 9:15 am so over 4 hours
ReplyDeleteOur enemies will one-day shut down ALL phones and the internet because they know Americans are so dependent on cellphones. Americans need to wake up and act like adults before it's too late.
ReplyDeleteSan Francisco East Bay Area. I've been in SOS mode since approximately 6:30 am.
ReplyDeleteoutrage here in California as well
ReplyDeleteAdd northern Texas to the list too!
ReplyDeleteAdd Arizona to the list..
ReplyDeleteYep. I’m in Peoria, a suburb of Phoenix and I have no service. Can’t even use Wi-Fi calling.
DeleteRapid City, SD as well...
ReplyDeleteIts odd that out of the 5 people I've talked to on Verizon, 2 have no issues while the rest of us can't do anything
There is a lot more than several hundred thousand. Most people cannot get into use down detector and don’t use it anyway. They are not even showing my city on the map and nobody in our City can get it. State of Missouri impacted
ReplyDeleteThis is ridicules, that Verizon leaves their customers without cell phones service. when we call Verizon's main number, we get an automated message to reboot your phone. but they don't say anything about the outage situation. No Updates for more than 8 hours now. Poor Service!
ReplyDeleteWe are supposed to have wifi calling but it doesn't work either. unacceptable.
ReplyDeleteI'm in the Twin Cities and have been in SOS mode since this morning. This is the THIRD time in 6 months my phone has gone into SOS mode. Verizon needs to get this figured out. This affects my ability to work!
ReplyDeleteWifi calling can only be turned on while connected to the verizon network, which if you are in SOS mode, you are not
ReplyDeleteAdd Medford, OR to the list, but with an Idaho number.
ReplyDeleteoutage in Louisville KY Verizon store has no internet and a full parking lot of users trying to connect.
ReplyDeleteWi-Fi Calling is also not working on my phone and my wife's phone.
ReplyDeleteI’m in SOS mode with no incoming or outgoing calls in San Antonio, TX. Visited a Verizon store to find out about outage.
ReplyDeleteSouth Carolina too, the Verizon staff don’t even know what’s going on. Salesperson tried to make me buy a new phone.
ReplyDeleteAdd colorado
ReplyDeleteAdd Oregon to the list. Why are some folks affected & others are not...? My husband has a different plan that I do, still Verizon, yet he is not affected at all. I have been unable to make calls or have service since 7am this morning...this is ridiculous.
ReplyDeleteI have five cell phones on my account and my phone is the newest, which is 5G. All others on my account are working and they are all older cell phones.
Deletemight as well add oregon to the list while your at it..
ReplyDeleteAdd parts of Northern Nevada to this list...
ReplyDeleteI am in LeMars Iowa, I am unable to make any calls, I have an I phone, My spouse also has the large version , His phone works and mine won't work at all. How long is this going to go on?????
ReplyDeleteAdd Montana to the list! In SOS mode all morning. I have a Galaxy that is not working. My husband's galaxy is working fine. He is also a verizon customer.
ReplyDeleteI already have wifi calling turned on and it's not helping me at all with this Verizon outage.
ReplyDeleteHow can I contact Verizon when they have to text me a code and my ability to receive texts is part of the issue?!
ReplyDeleteIdaho too. Im in Idaho Falls and no one on verizon has service here either
ReplyDeleteOutage in Northern IL as well. 2 people sitting in the same house and only one of us can use wifi calling and text. I can use messenger thru wifi tho🤷♀️
ReplyDeleteoutage in New Mexico and Texas
ReplyDeleteIf only there were a working theory behind why these three states didn’t have major influx of reports. I guess will simply never know!
ReplyDelete“Interestingly, the platform said that there isn't a major influx of reports coming from the following states:
-North Dakota
-South Dakota
-Wyoming”
I have been in SOS mode since 9am and in total black out and can't even connect to WIFI in my building. I am in NE Ohio.
ReplyDeleteWestern Washington as well.
ReplyDeleteFirst world problem. Our umbilical cord has been cut.
Still unable to receive calls from my daughter asking me for money. This might not be such a bad thing. La Quinta, CA
ReplyDeleteIs it only iPhones that are experiencing this problem?
ReplyDeleteNope - android user here and just looked up why I'm having issues and found this article.
DeleteChicago area.
DeleteNorthern Michigan as well. Traverse City area Verizon blackout
ReplyDeleteAdd from Louisville KY all the way to Lexington KY across I 64
ReplyDeleteNothing like paying for a service that is not being provided! Talk about safety issues. Very frustrated in Ohio.. called Verizon support and you only speak with AI until it hangs up on you! What a joke!
ReplyDeletei have alot of important calls im expecting and im unable to make any calls , its frustrating.
ReplyDeleteAdd Indiana to the list. Total blackout. No calls, texts, or internet
ReplyDeleteIndiana is out of Verizon service since 9am. No internet no phone nothing. Just emergency 911
ReplyDeleteLA and San Francisco are out. Tens of millions of people, not thousands.
ReplyDeleteAdd SW Arizona. Weird we have 3 phones on the same carrier, 2 are fine one is not.
ReplyDeleteWhen will it be fixed
ReplyDeleteMine is still not working but my bf phone on the same plan just came back on. Indiana
ReplyDeleteI’m in Oregon and our service is down!
ReplyDeleteoutage in hawaii also
ReplyDeleteEveryone I know with Verizon in California is effected.
ReplyDeleteAdd Western Montana to the list.
ReplyDeleteAdd Twin Falls Ida
ReplyDeleteadd hawaii to the list
ReplyDeleteOutage in Portland Or too!
ReplyDeleteAdd Washington to the list.
ReplyDeleteAdd Hawaii to the list
ReplyDeleteAdd Logan Square Chicago to the mix
ReplyDeleteLittleton CO. Have 3 verizon phones. 1 is no signal. 2 working fine
ReplyDeleteOutage in Oregon too! Can't even get wi fi calling.
ReplyDeleteAdd Oregon to the list tons of people myself included
ReplyDeleteIn Alaska working and I haven’t had service since this morning. Home base is in Ohio
ReplyDeleteOUTAGE in Oregon too
ReplyDeleteIt hit Traverse City MI also
ReplyDeleteAdd Maine to the list.
ReplyDeleteAdd Las Vegas to the list.
ReplyDeleteOutage since 10am in Tennessee
ReplyDeleteSOS ≠ Satellite mode. Those are separate. SOS just means you still have access to emergency services via other cell carriers.
ReplyDeleteAdd Austin Tx to the list
ReplyDelete