Verizon Wireless outage leaves phones in SOS mode across the United States

Verizon Wireless customers across the United States experienced a widespread service outage Tuesday that left many phones stuck in SOS mode, preventing regular voice and data connectivity while allowing only emergency calls. The disruption began around noon Eastern Time and extended into Wednesday evening, affecting users nationwide rather than a single region.

Verizon Wireless, the U.S. telecommunications provider serving tens of millions of wireless subscribers, acknowledged the issue and said engineering teams were actively working to restore service. The company said its top priority was returning customers to full connectivity as quickly as possible and apologized for the inconvenience caused by the interruption.

Customers reported that affected devices displayed an SOS indicator, signaling the absence of a usable cellular connection. Calls placed to impacted Verizon numbers resulted in recordings stating that the called party was temporarily unavailable. While not all subscribers were affected, the outage disrupted communications for a significant number of users.

Service tracking platform DownDetector showed a sharp spike in outage reports beginning shortly after noon ET, with tens of thousands of complaints logged from cities across the country. Reports originated from major metropolitan areas including New York City, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, and Dallas, indicating a broad national impact.

Emergency management officials in Washington, D.C. and New York City issued alerts warning that the outage could interfere with some users’ ability to reach 911. Verizon customers were advised to use phones from other carriers, landlines, or visit police stations or firehouses in the event of an emergency.

Other mobile carriers reported normal operations. T-Mobile and AT&T confirmed their networks were functioning as expected, though both noted that their customers could encounter difficulties when attempting to contact Verizon subscribers during the outage. US Cellular was also observed in customer reports showing some service issues during the same timeframe.

The SOS indicator seen by many customers reflects a device state in which cellular service is unavailable. On iPhones, SOS mode allows emergency calls over any available network, and newer models can use satellite connectivity to reach emergency services when cellular coverage is absent. Android devices provide similar emergency calling capabilities without using the SOS label. Phones in SOS mode can still function normally over Wi-Fi, enabling calls, messages, and internet access through Wi-Fi connections.

Verizon said its teams remained fully deployed and on the ground addressing the service interruption, emphasizing that restoring reliable connectivity for affected customers remained the company’s highest priority as work continued to resolve the outage.