[Update] Massive Verizon outage: Customers nationwide left without service, phones in 'SOS mode'

UPDATE: Sep. 30, 2024, 9:43 p.m. EDT At 7:18 p.m. ET, Verizon said that it has "fully restored today's network disruption that impacted some customers."

Check out our live blog coverage on the Verizon outage for more up-to-date details on the major cellular network issue.

On Monday, Sept. 30, a massive Verizon outage has caused widespread, nationwide connectivity issues for customers across the U.S.

Based on Google Trends, there's been an uptick of people searching for, "Why is my phone in SOS?" This captures the experience that numerous Verizon users have been reporting; many have claimed that their phones are now limited to SOS service.

Verizon down: Widespread outage disrupts customers across U.S.

As of 5:03 p.m. ET, DownDetector (a site that shares the same parent company as Mashable) revealed on X that there have been over 1.6 million reports of Verizon outages.

Chart showing outage reports across three telecommunication companies Credit: DownDetector

Fifty percent say that the issue involves their mobile phone, 35 percent say they're not getting any signals, and 14 percent say they're experiencing a total blackout.

DownDetector percentages regarding Verizon outage Credit: DownDetector

According to DownDetector's outage map, it appears that outages are concentrated in the following states: New York, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, and North Carolina.

DownDetector map shows where the Verizon outage is concentrated Credit: DownDetector

DownDetector said that most reports, however, are coming from the following cities: Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Las Vegas.

Interestingly, the platform said that there isn't a major influx of reports coming from the following states:

• North Dakota

• South Dakota

• Wyoming

A site that has been tracking the issue claims that outage reports began piling up at around 9:04 a.m. ET.

On X, users have been flooding Verizon Support, the company's official help page, regarding the issue.

"We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers," Verizon said on X at around 11 a.m. ET. "Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue," Verizon said on X.

At around 5 p.m. ET, Verizon announced on X that it has begun to make progress on its "network issue" and "service has started to be restored." The telecommunication company says that it will continue to work around the clock to fully resolve the problem.

About two hours later, Verizon confirmed on X that it has fully resolved the issue.

Screenshot of @VerizonNews' announcement of the issue being fully resolved Credit: Mashable / X

The company, according to CNN, has 114 million subscribers in the United States.

Phones stuck in SOS mode: What to do

Your phone being in SOS mode is an indication that your device cannot connect to a network, but it can reach certain personnel via satellite connectivity.

SOS mode is Apple's "Emergency SOS via Satellite" feature that lets users connect to satellites to reach emergency services in poor coverage areas.

Although technically not a "fix," there is a way around a dropped network via a method called Wi-Fi calling. As the name indicates, Wi-Fi calling lets you make calls and texts on popular communication apps, like WhatsApp, FaceTime, and iMessage — without cellular service. Just make sure you can connect to a non-Verizon-based Wi-Fi network.

(For a visual tutorial on how to turn on Wi-Fi calling, here's a great one on YouTube.)

T-Mobile and AT&T say their networks are working

If you are a T-Mobile and AT&T user, and you've been experiencing some issues, it's more likely you're encountering troubles because you've been trying to contact a Verizon user dealing with poor connectivity.

According to CNET, T-Mobile and AT&T reported that their respective networks are currently up and running.

The FCC is investigating

According to a report from Reuters, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it is "working to determine the cause and extent of these service disruptions."

This story is developing ... Check back at Mashable for more.