Verizon outage disrupts voice and data services for customers nationwide

Many Verizon wireless customers across the United States experienced widespread service disruptions on Wednesday, interrupting voice calls, mobile data, and text messaging. The outage affected users in major cities and smaller communities alike, prompting warnings about potential impacts on emergency communications.

Verizon confirmed the disruption, saying it was aware of an “issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers.” The company did not disclose the cause but said engineering teams were working to restore service as quickly as possible.

Reports of problems began surfacing around midday on the U.S. East Coast. According to outage-tracking website Downdetector, user complaints rose sharply around noon Eastern Time, peaked in the early afternoon, and remained elevated through the day. By about 4:30 p.m. ET, nearly 50,000 reports were still active on the platform.

Affected customers reported seeing “SOS” or “no signal” indicators on their devices, suggesting an inability to connect to Verizon’s cellular network. The disruptions appeared to impact both voice calling and mobile internet access.

Emergency service concerns in major cities

In some locations, local authorities issued alerts warning that the outage could interfere with 911 calls. In New York City, officials advised residents who could not place emergency calls on Verizon devices to use landlines, phones on other carriers, or to go directly to nearby police or fire stations if immediate help was needed.

Downdetector data showed particularly high concentrations of outage reports in major metropolitan areas, including New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Atlanta. However, users from many other parts of the country also reported service interruptions, suggesting the issue was not confined to a single region.

Verizon has not said whether emergency calling was fully unavailable or only intermittently affected, but public warnings underscored the potential risks of widespread cellular disruptions, especially in densely populated areas.

Other carriers report normal operations

As Verizon customers reported problems, some users also flagged connectivity issues involving other major U.S. carriers. T-Mobile and AT&T, however, said their networks were operating normally.

Both companies noted that some of their customers might have difficulty contacting people who use Verizon, indicating that the issue was likely isolated to Verizon’s network rather than a broader, cross-carrier failure.

Large-scale outages at major telecommunications providers are relatively uncommon but can have outsized effects due to the scale of their customer bases. Verizon is the largest wireless carrier in the United States, serving tens of millions of subscribers.

What users can do during cellular outages

When cellular networks experience disruptions, carriers and emergency officials often advise customers to connect to Wi-Fi networks where available and use internet-based calling or messaging services. Apps that support Wi-Fi calling can sometimes function even when cellular voice networks are down.

If Wi-Fi access is unavailable, options can be limited. Some newer smartphone models, including recent iPhones, support satellite-based messaging features that allow users to send basic texts to emergency services or contacts when cellular and Wi-Fi connections are not accessible. These features are designed for emergencies and may not support full voice calling.

Verizon did not provide a timeline for full service restoration on Wednesday, and updates shared by the company focused on ongoing repair efforts rather than estimated completion times.

Broader implications of network disruptions

The outage highlights the dependence of daily communication, commerce, and emergency response on reliable cellular networks. Even short-term disruptions can affect millions of users simultaneously, from individuals trying to make routine calls to local governments managing public safety communications.

Regulators and industry analysts have long emphasized network redundancy and resilience as mobile networks grow more complex, especially with the expansion of 5G infrastructure. While carriers typically design systems to prevent single points of failure, unexpected technical issues can still lead to widespread service interruptions.

As of late Wednesday, Verizon continued to say it was working to resolve the issue and restore normal service levels. Customers were advised to monitor official company updates and local emergency guidance until connectivity was fully restored.