Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Verizon Outage Knocks Phones Offline Nationwide as Devices Show 'SOS' and Cities Warn on 911 Access

Verizon says engineers are working on restoration without identifying a cause or timeline.

Overview

  • User reports on Downdetector surged to roughly 175,000–180,000 at midday before tapering, with tens of thousands still affected later in the day.
  • Customers lost voice and data service as many phones displayed SOS or no signal in major markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Washington, D.C., Houston and Dallas.
  • Emergency officials in Washington, D.C., and New York advised residents who could not connect to 911 to use landlines, other carriers or go to police and fire stations.
  • Verizon issued multiple statements apologizing and said engineering teams were fully deployed, but it has not disclosed a cause or given an estimated time for full recovery.
  • AT&T and T-Mobile said their networks were operating normally, though customers might be unable to reach Verizon users, and some services using Verizon infrastructure reported varying effects.