This article covers a developing story. Continue to check back with us as we will be adding more information as it becomes available.
Yesterday (September 30), a large number of Verizon customers started their Monday off with phone service issues due to a widespread outage that persisted for more than nine hours for many users.
Reports of problems on Downdetector first started just before 10 am ET, with Verizon customers saying their phones were without cell reception and stuck in SOS mode. Verizon issued an update at 5 pm ET on September 30 that its engineers were making progress, though it didn’t fully restore service at that time.
While the number of reports dropped around 5 pm ET on September 30, it wasn’t until 7 pm ET that most people regained service. Verizon confirmed to Tom’s Guide at 8 pm on September 30 that the service disruption is over. It said in a statement, “Verizon engineers have fully restored today’s network disruption that impacted some customers,” a spokesperson told Tom’s Guide. “Service has returned to normal levels. If you are still having issues, we recommend restarting your device. We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience. We appreciate your patience.”
The number of reports has improved significantly since yesterday, but some are still experiencing phones stuck in SOS mode as of the morning of October 1, according to comments on Downdetector. Additionally, some Verizon customers have said they had service restored yesterday evening but that it’s back to emergency calls only as of today. While Verizon has said it’s fixed, the issue seems to persist for some customers 24 hours later.
Outage reports came from across the country. However, according to Downdetector, the top locations at the height of the outage on September 30 were Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, Indianapolis, Omaha, Minneapolis, Columbus, Los Angeles, and Seattle. As of October 1, the remaining reports of issues are equally spread out across the country.
Verizon customers took to social media to report the outage, sharing their experiences on X (formerly Twitter) and Threads using the hashtag #VerizonOutage. Many noted that only their ability to make outbound calls was impacted, while others couldn’t make calls of any type. Messaging was also affected for some.
Interestingly, not all phones were experiencing these issues, and people with multiple Verizon lines (either for themselves or their families) reported that one line was fine while the other was in SOS mode. The outage impacted Android and iPhone users, and even Wi-Fi calling, typically a backup for lack of service, was affected.
When I tried to make a phone call, I get an error message that says, “Your phone’s not registered on a network, so you can only make emergency calls.”
I first noticed the problem myself when I wasn’t receiving text messages to verify an online account at roughly 10am ET. I then realized my phone didn’t have service and was switching between “Emergency calls only” mode and “Searching for service.” Such messages signify the phone has been disconnected from the network, either from poor connection or problems with the carrier’s network. When I tried to make a phone call, I got an error message that said, “Your phone’s not registered on a network, so you can only make emergency calls.”
Verizon acknowledged the problem on its network status page and in a post on X at 11:48am ET on September 30. However, beyond that messaging, Verizon didn’t communicate with its customers about the outage or the steps it was taking to restore service. We didn’t receive an email acknowledging the issue, and I was only aware of the widespread outage because of my position as a reporter.
The cause of the outage is still unknown, with Verizon offering zero details. Yesterday, September 30, the FCC said it was stepping in to investigate, though, and said it was “working to determine the cause and extent of these service disruptions,” according to a report in Reuters.
Verizon appeared to be the only network impacted by the outage. AT&T released a statement on X that it is did not experience a nationwide outage. It went on to say that any reports from Downdetector are likely a result of its customers trying to connect with Verizon customers. T-Mobile also confirmed to CNET that it did not experience any outages either.
The outage peaked at 104,932 reported outages at 11:13am ET on September 30. Those reports started receding at roughly 12pm ET on September 30, with numbers down to just over 70,000 at 12:10pm ET. However, that dip leveled off not long after, and there were still over 48,000 reports of issues as of 4pm ET. As of 10:20am ET on October 1, there are still just shy of 1,000 reports of issues.
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