Verizon customers had a rude wake-up call the morning of Monday, September 30. According to DownDetector, more than 100,000 Verizon users had reported an outage in their area by 11:30 a.m. Social media users vented their frustrations about seeing the dreaded “SOS” signal across New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio and more. So, what caused the huge Verizon outage? The company issued a new statement confirming that service had been restored, but it did not offer an explanation.
Verizon Experiences Widespread Outage
Verizon customers across the U.S. reported network issues on DownDetector past 12 p.m.. One person in California wrote, “Down in San Jose. Can’t even log into my Verizon Wireless account. ‘Cannot authenticate your account….’ BTW, restarting your phone or resetting your SIM card won’t fix Verizon’s backend issue.”
Another user in New York City wrote on the site, “SOS in Manhattan, NY!!! FIX IT! we have business to handle, its been hours!!”
A separate Verizon user in Central Ohio wrote that “all personal phones appear to be in SOS only in the house, and when looking with coworkers. All business Verizon phones are working as normal with no issues.”
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.
— Verizon News (@VerizonNews) September 30, 2024
What Caused the Verizon Network Outage?
It’s still unclear what caused the sudden Verizon outage. According to the company’s X account, a spokesperson for the company issued a statement, noting that they were “aware” of the service interruption.
“We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers,” a tweet from Verizon read. “Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue.”
The company followed up with customers when service was restored later that day. Per CNN, Verizon’s statement read, “Verizon engineers have fully restored today’s network disruption that impacted some customers. 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.”
What Does SOS Mean?
When a Verizon customer sees the “SOS” signal on their phone, it usually means there is an issue connecting to a wireless network. However, each device should still be able to make 911 calls if the user connects to another carrier.
Is Verizon Working Again?
At the time of publication, thousands of Verizon customers are still reporting outages. From New York to California, almost every state in the United States is experiencing a widespread Verizon wireless network outage.
Verizon Outage Map
DownDetector has an updated outage map for all Verizon customers that have reported network issues. The platform cited the areas with the most outage reports: Chicago, Illinois, Phoenix, Arizona, Denver, Colorado, Seattle, Washington, Indianapolis, Indiana, Los Angeles, Omaha, Nebraska, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Columbus, Ohio.