On Wednesday night, Verizon Wireless successfully restored service following a widespread outage that left tens of thousands of phones in SOS mode. Customers were left without service for more than 12 hours, leading to widespread frustration.
Verizon announced via social media at approximately 10:20 p.m. that the issue had been resolved. “If customers are still experiencing problems, we recommend restarting their devices to reconnect to the network,” the company stated.
For those impacted, Verizon promised to offer account credits, with further details to be communicated directly to the affected customers. “We sincerely apologize for the disruption,” the company added.
At the peak of the outage, Downdetector recorded over 175,000 reports of service disruptions nationwide. Some customers first noticed issues as early as 9 a.m. ET, and the problem gained significant attention on social media by midday.
Customers from across the United States expressed frustration as their phones remained in SOS mode, unable to make calls or access any service.
The outage also led to emergency alerts in cities like New York City and Washington, DC, informing residents that Verizon customers might face difficulties reaching 911.
An hour before the outage was resolved, the nation’s largest wireless carrier copped to letting its customers down.
“Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry. They expect more from us. We are working non-stop and making progress,” Verizon wrote on X.
The carrier also vowed to “make this right” and offer account credits to customers affected by the massive outage. Verizon said details on the credits will be shared directly with customers.
Republican New York State Assembly member Anil Beephan, Jr. announced on Wednesday that he had asked the Federal Communications Commission to look into “the repeated Verizon wireless outages that have occurred over the past year,” which have posed a “serious threat” to public safety.
The outage “had a significant and unacceptable impact on public safety, including disruptions to reliable access to emergency communications and critical response systems,” Beephan wrote in a letter to FCC chairman Brendan Carr.
“In addition to public safety risks, these outages have caused substantial and ongoing inconveniences to residents, businesses, and local institutions, many of whom rely on wireless service for employment, healthcare access, education, and daily operations,” he continued.
In an earlier statement, the FCC said it is “aware of today’s wireless outages impacting some Verizon customers.”
“We are continuing to monitor the situation,” the FCC wrote on X.
