SAN FRANCISCO — Many Verizon customers across the U.S. are seeing their phones in “SOS mode” and reporting outage issues Saturday. 

A service disruption affected more than 20,000 customers, as reported by the outage monitoring site DownDetector, with problems starting to surface shortly after noon ET.

However, not all users experienced the Verizon service disruption on Saturday. The reason behind the inconsistent service availability among Verizon users remains unclear.

Verizon says they’re aware of a “software issue impacting wireless service for some customers.” 

Employees at one Verizon store were greeting concerned customers outside and telling them their systems were down as well.

Verizon spokesperson Karen Schulz stated, “Our engineers are actively working to identify and resolve the issue swiftly. We understand the importance of our service to our customers and apologize for any inconvenience caused. Your patience is appreciated.”

They encourage Verizon users to check their Network Status page for live updates. The page also mentions an ongoing “Wireless Service Impact.”

SOS mode on an iPhone indicates that the device lacks a proper cellular connection, allowing only emergency calls or texts to be sent via the network.

For those with an iPhone 14 or later versions, satellite SOS functionality is available, enabling emergency calls to 911 even outside conventional service areas, except in locations where signals cannot penetrate.

Android phones will also let you call 911 without service, although it’s not called SOS mode. 

When service is disrupted, the SOS symbol will appear in the top right corner of an iPhone’s display, replacing the usual cellular signal bars.

On an iPhone 13 or earlier, if you go out of range for any cellular service, the icon will swap to “No service” until you’re back within range. 

SOS mode automatically turns on when there isn’t any cell service available from your phone carrier. If you’re experiencing an outage, you simply have to wait until service is restored to your area. If you have SOS mode activate because you’re out of your network’s coverage area, you’ll have to travel back inside the coverage area before you can make calls. 

Although SOS mode indicates you don’t have cellular service, it doesn’t mean the phone is useless. Most modern phones allow calling, texting and internet browsing over wi-fi. So if you have an internet connection through a wi-fi signal, you’ll be able to use your phone like normal. You’ll only be able to contact other phones that are on a wi-fi network while in SOS mode. 

Wi-Fi calling is a built-in feature on most Android devices and iPhones and can be turned on under the phone’s settings.

If Wi-Fi isn’t available, there are few options for cell phone users. It’s possible to switch services if a phone is unlocked, but that requires signing up online and porting your phone number.

Some apps, including Google Maps, have limited service offline. Payment apps also do not use a phone’s cell service to work and should also be useable.