Verizon down LIVE updates: Latest on outage as thousands report 'SOS' and Verizon 'appreciates your patience'
Phones forced into SOS mode
We're over four hours into a sustained outage of Verizon's cell network across parts of the USA, and we're going to be here all night to keep you updated on what's happening.
If you missed the beginning, around roughly 12:30 PM Eastern/9:30 AM Pacific today (Wednesday) Verizon's wireless network service abruptly stopped working, forcing phones into SOS mode up and down the eastern seaboard.
Still no service in NY
From where I'm sitting in California Verizon's cell network appears to be working just fine, but my colleagues in New York say as of 6:30 PM they still can't access the cell network on Verizon phones.
That's a big disappointment given that folks out there have now been without cell service from Verizon for over eight hours. If it goes on another three or four we'll have hit a full 12 hours of Verizon being offline, and I sure hope it doesn't continue on through the night.
Stay tuned!
Did you get a donut?
As a reminder, Krispy Kreme is offering free Original Glazed donuts between 5 and 7 pm today in response to the Verizon outage.
If you're on the East Coast you have an hour to get one.
So, did you get a sweet treat?
Coming back online?
A couple of readers have reported that their devices have started to get service back. One out of D.C. said her iPhones gained service first but her Android phones finally kicked on about an thirty minutes later.
Since around 2:30 p.m. ET, reports on Down Detector have been on a slow but steady decline. Currently, reports are holding at 45,000 on DD.
The comments in the DD page have devolved into insanity but a few people are saying that they've received service again. Though more are still reporting they still can't make calls.
The outage just the 5 hour mark
Reports on Down Detector took a steady dive after its initial peak, but slowed down to the current 48,000 reports.
As mentioned, Verizon has been largely silent beyond recurring messages stating that they are working on it. We just don't know what caused the disruption.
We don't have a timeline for resolution.
Tom's Guide readers have reported in from up and down the eastern seaboard and as far west as Texas. Those in the West seem to be better off, even though outage maps are showing some reports spread across the Pacific states.
Silence from Verizon
Since the outage started, Verizon has had periodic updates saying largely the same thing. Here's the most recent from an hour ago:
"Verizon's team is on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue that is impacting some customers. We know this is a huge inconvenience, and our top priority is to get you back online and connected as fast as possible. We appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this issue."
I've reached out to Verizon for more clarity on the situation and to see if they have an ETA or what the company's policy is regarding providing relief to customers when service goes down like this. If I receive a response I will provide an update.
Krispy Kreme offers free donuts to Verizon customers
Krispy Kreme is offering free "Original Glazed" doughnuts to customers between 5 and 7 pm local time.
"SOS got you down? We can hear you now — and we’re serving up.
Swing by today, 1/14, from 5–7pm for a FREE Original Glazed® doughnut 🍩 — because some days need a sweet backup plan you can rely on," the company posted on Instagram.
A representative told a local Fox affiliate that you don't need to provide proof that you use Verizon and that no purchase is necessary to get a doughnt.
A tour of Tom's Guide lock screens
Several Tom's Guide writers and editors are on Verizon's service, but surprisingly, only one of us has actually been hit by the SOS interruption.
To be fair, three of us, myself included, are located on the West Coast in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, where Verizon seems to be operating without issue.
Others work in our Manhattan office or live around Brooklyn.
Holding pattern
Verizon has not provided a substantial update for more than two hours.
The most recent post on the Verizon News account has similar language to previous updates, but it does mention crews are on the ground, suggesting the issue is related to a wiring or station problem. We've reached out to Verizon for clarification.
SOS Mode from a colleague
If you haven't seen it, here's what SOS mode can look like for iPhone users.
My colleague Michael Desjarden has been stuck with SOS mode for a while now. "SOS mode stinks," he said, adding that he needs cellular data, not SOS.
We have entered hour three of the outage.
A cheekier statement from AT&T
AT&T put out their own statement on X that's a bit cheekier than the one from T-Mobile.
"Our network? Solid. If you’re experiencing issues, it’s not us.....it’s the other guys. Some things are just out of our hands! - BUT if you're interested in giving us a try," the post reads.
Again, any issues you may have with T-Mobile or AT&T right now are probably related to Verizon's ongoing issues.
Official T-Mobile statement
Earlier we shared a statement that customer service rep for T-Mobile shared in response to a customer on X.
We now have an official statement from T-Mobile:
T-Mobile’s network is keeping our customers connected, and we’ve confirmed that our network is operating normally and as expected. However, due to Verizon’s reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time.
Likely any disruption T-Mobile customers are seeing are probably related to them trying to connect with people on Verizon's network.
More readers respond
Even more Tom's Guide readers have reached out to let us know how the outage is affecting them.
We're now getting reports from Washington D.C., Buffalo, New York, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Bulverdere, Texas.
One reader said they've been stuck in SOS mode and can only use their phones if they connect to WiFi. Another said her Galaxy S21 wasn't connecting but that GalaxyS20FE is able to get service.
A reader from Clarence, New York said they tried to reach out to Verizon via its app on WiFi but couldn't login because the security was being sent by text...which they couldn't receive.
Steep decline on Down Detector
Reports on Down Detector have been on a steady decline since its initial peak of over 180,000.
Currently, as of 3 pm ET, reports sit around 67,000. I am seeing comments on the Verizon outage page with some saying they've had no service the whole time, with others reporting service has been intermittent. One person claimed their service had fully returned in the last 30 minutes.
New York's Emergency Notification system weighs in
For those who live in the New York City, the NYC Emergency notification system, Notify NYC, has commented on the outage on X.
"Nationwide @Verizon Wireless Outage: Outage may affect some users trying to call 911. Call using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police/fire station to report emergencies," the post reads.
It also has a link to help New Yorkers find their fire or police precinct.
MVNOs seem to be okay
Interestingly, it appears that MVNOs that utilize Verizon's network have not been impacted.
These include services like Total Wireless and Visible, which my colleague John Velasco says are still working for him. I'm also not seeing spikes for those services on Down Detector.
Xfinity Mobile and Straight Talk have small amounts of reports, but they're so low that issues may not be related. Those are two of the biggest MVNOs that piggyback on the Verizon network.
Where we stand after 2 hours
Here's where we stand two hours into the outage:
Verizon's outage is impacting voice, text, and data for cellular users. Impacted phones are displaying an SOS icon instead of the network bars and 5G or 4G in the corner.
The outage appeared to start around 12:30 pm ET, with Verizon acknowledging the issue at 1 pm ET.
It appears to be affecting customers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and as far west as Kansas and Texas.
iPhone 14 or later owners should be able to use satellite services including the SOS-related Messages via Satellite.
Verizon statement
A Verizon spokesperson tells me that the company is continuing to work on the outage.
"Verizon engineering teams are continuing to address today's service interruptions. Our teams remain fully deployed and are focused on the issue. We understand the impact this has on your day and remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible," they said in a statement.
Unfortunately, they did not provide clarity or an ETA on how long it will take to get service back up and running.
Down Detector reports dropping but significant number of people still showing issues
After a peak of just over 180,000 reports on Down Detector, the rush has started to decline, but it's still showing over 110,000 concurrent reports, so a significant number of people are still affected.
And as readers shared, it's still widespread.
Tom's Guide readers report in
After our last post, Tom's Guide readers reached out.
On TikTok, central Florida, south Florida and a couple of people in Manhattan said they have no service.
I received messages from readers in Albany, New York, New Jersey, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, and central Massachusetts.
At least one person said their phone has been stuck in SOS mode for over an hour. Another reported they had 5 minutes of service return before it dropped out again.
Thank you for sharing and we'll keep you posted on what's happening with Verizon.
Are you affected?
For what it's worth my colleague, Mike Prospero, is based out of New Jersey but close enough to New York to potentially be affected. He says service is still up.
However, comments on Down Detector and social media show people from around Philadelphia, New York City and New Jersey don't have service.
Let us know on the TikTok video in the comments or email me at scott.younker@futurenet.com to let us know if this outage is affecting your phone.
T-Mobile rep says network is okay
As mentioned, I am seeing spikes for AT&T and T-Mobile, though those may be related more to people trying to connect with Verizon customers.
A rep via the T-Mobile Help X account responded to a customer saying, "Hi, we're not currently showing any service concerns."
How to send messages via satellite on an iPhone
If you have an iPhone that is running iOS 18 or later you can send messages via satellite. It's an expansion of the SOS feature introduced with the iPhone 14.
If you're on Verizon, have an iPhone and need to communicate here's how to send messages via satellite.
If you have a Galaxy S25 or Pixel 9 or 9A, you should have satellite messaging.
What to do if you see SOS on your phone
If you are seeing SOS in the status bar of your iPhone it means you have no network connection.
iPhones after the iPhone 14 do have built-in satellite connectivity (more on that in another post).
Here's a guide on how to troubleshoot your phone if the SOS status appears.
East of the Mississippi down
I found a site called Geo Block which appears to show every state east of the Mississippi river affected by today's Verizon outage.
It also shows outages throughout Texas with scattered reports in California, Washington, Arizona and Colorado.
Verizon is aware
On the official Verizon News X account, the company posted that it is aware of the outage.
"We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience," the post reads.
Verizon has a separate Customer Support channel that is responding to people about the outage with the same message.
Verizon status page down!
When it comes to outages we recommend checking the official status pages of sites or companies (if they have one), but we can't even do that with this outage.
Verizon's network status page is not loading. When I try to use it I just get the spinning loading wheel.
Likely it's crashing as Verizon customers try to check their status but it could be related to the outage.
Other carriers spiking
I am seeing spikes in reports for T-Mobile, AT&T and US Cellular (on MVNO that uses T-Mobile's network), but they're much smaller and it's possible it's because people are trying to contact Verizon customers.
People are not happy
We're seeing a ton of comments on social sites like X, Reddit and the Down Detector comments with people complaining about the outage.
Huge spike in reports
Down Detector received a sudden spike of outage reports around 9:30 am Pacific and the coverage map appears to show the majority of issues is affecting the eastern half of the United States.
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