What caused the Verizon outage?

WASHINGTON — For nearly half the day Wednesday, Verizon customers were left without service. Tens of thousands of customers could only place SOS calls to 9-1-1, prompting the phone carrier to apologize and offer a rebate credit. 

But as of Thursday afternoon, it remained unclear why Verizon services went down or whether it could happen again. 

The massive outage for Verizon’s mobile service Wednesday was “resolved” after more than 10 hours, according to the company. 

The outage affected the eastern United States and started about noon Eastern. Reports remained elevated throughout the evening with roughly 33,000 as of 8 p.m. Eastern. 

Downdetector, a website that tracks outages, reported a spike nationwide, with tens of thousands of reports from across the country. Locations with reported outages include New York City, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, and Dallas.

The short answer is that nobody outside Verizon knows exactly what caused the outage. But in the hours since the problems were first reported, some details have come to light. 

USA Today reported Wednesday that the problem was unlikely to be the result of a cyberattack. 

In a report published Thursday in the New York Post, a Verizon spokesperson apparently told them a “software issue” was to blame. ABC News tracked the outage to Verizon servers in New Jersey but didn’t provide details on what exactly the issue was. 

Any customers still experiencing issues were told to restart their devices and reconnect to the network.

“We are sorry for what you experienced and will continue to work hard day and night to provide the outstanding network and service that people expect from Verizon,” the company’s statement said.

It’s not unheard of for software glitches to cause major problems across telecom networks. 

In 2024, an AT&T outage from a faulty update disrupted service for many of its customers for hours. 

When service goes out, however, some emergency services remain available for users. 

If you have an iPhone, SOS mode is a way for your phone to call or text emergency services through the cellular network.

iPhone 14 or newer models also have satellite SOS capability, so you’re able to call 9-1-1 even when outside of any cellular service range, unless you’re some place where signal can’t get out at all. 

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

Verizon is apologizing and offering customers a $20 account credit after the disruption.

Customers can redeem the credit by logging into the myVerizon app to accept, the company said. The credit will cover multiple days of service for average customers, while business customers will be contacted directly about their credits.

The company said on social media that customers will receive a text message when the credit is available. 

“This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened,” Verizon’s statement said. “No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging our customers’ time and showing that this matters to us.”