(Credit: NurPhoto / Contributor / NurPhoto via Getty Images)
UPDATE 5PM ET: Verizon says its "engineers are making progress on our network issue and service has started to be restored." It apologized for the downtime and says it continues "to work around the clock to fully resolve this issue."
Original Story:
A widespread outage has left Verizon customers nationwide unable to use their phones.
People began reporting issues around 9:30 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector. Reports peaked at 105,000 two hours later. Verizon issued a statement on social media shortly after.
"We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers," Verizon says. "Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue." Verizon has not disclosed the reason for the outage.
User-reported issues have come down to about 50,000 as of this writing, but cities from coast to coast are still experiencing issues. Those affected by the outage say their phones are in SOS mode, and they can only make emergency calls, according to comments on Downdetector. Some cannot send texts, while others report texts are going through.
"Do you understand how insanely dangerous and irresponsible this is for a cell service to be down THIS long? This is insane," says one X user.
Hurricane Helene also caused widespread Verizon outages in the Southeast, though it's unclear if there is any connection to this outage. Verizon has dispatched portable generators and 20 mobile satellites (with 21 more on the way) to keep service running in areas affected by Helene, the company says.
"Fiber cables, which connect cell sites to the rest of the network, have been broken or are without power in many places throughout the region, and teams are working to restore those connections or move alternative forms of connectivity such as microwave or satellite in place," Verizon says.
Earlier this month, Verizon bought Frontier for $20 billion. Frontier customers will be moved to Verizon plans, expanding Verizon's footprint in the US.
Disclosure: Downdetector is owned by PCMag parent company Ziff Davis.