On Monday, a widespread service outage impacted Verizon customers in various parts of the United States. The issue, which began in the morning, disrupted cellphone service for tens of thousands of users. Reports from outage tracker DownDetector indicated that over 100,000 customers were affected initially, with the number gradually decreasing but still leaving around 48,000 users facing connectivity issues by late afternoon.
Customers took to social media to express their frustration, noting service disruptions in regions such as the Southeastern U.S., where communities are already dealing with the aftermath of Hurricane Helene. However, the problem was not limited to a specific area, as reports of service outages also came in from the West Coast, Midwest, and Northeast.
A statement from Verizon, headquartered in New York, acknowledged the network problem and issued an apology for the inconvenience caused to customers. While service has been restored for many users, the company's engineers are actively working to completely resolve the issue.
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also recognized the outage and stated that it was investigating the cause behind the disruption. Some Verizon iPhone users reported seeing SOS messages on their devices, indicating difficulty in connecting to the cellular network but still being able to make emergency calls through other carriers.
During such cell service outages, one workaround suggested is to connect to available Wi-Fi networks. Most Android and iPhone devices come equipped with Wi-Fi calling features that can be activated in the phone's settings, providing an alternative means of communication until regular cellular service is fully restored.
