A major telecommunications outage is unfolding, with a surge of reports pointing to widespread service disruptions across AT&T, T-Mobile, and Verizon. In particular, many Verizon customers are reporting that their phones have gone into SOS mode, though they should still be able to make 911 calls via satellite.
According to Downdetector, user error reports started to spike around 11:55 a.m. ET on Wednesday. (Disclosure: Downdetector and Mashable are both owned by Ziff Davis.) While some users on AT&T and T-Mobile networks have also reported issues, Verizon customers appear to be bearing the brunt of the disruption. On X, "Verizon" quickly began trending as users attempted to figure out what was happening.
With the outage still developing, details remain limited. So far, Verizon is the only carrier to publicly acknowledge the issue.
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In a post on X, the company said: “We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience.”
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That same message has been repeated in replies to multiple users who tagged Verizon Support seeking help. Mashable reached out to Verizon for comment, and we received the same message that was previously posted on social media.
Downdetector categorized the Verizon outage as "Very High," and the service received a peak of 140,850 error reports within a 15-minute window on Wednesday afternoon. Among Downdetector users, 63 percent reported "phone issues," while 31 percent reported a "complete lack of signal."
Downdetector also reports that Verizon user error reports have spiked in New York City, Houston, Atlanta, and Charlotte in particular.
T-Mobile, meanwhile, has not issued a formal statement. In a response to a user on X, the company stated that it was not currently experiencing any widespread coverage issues on its network.
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There’s been no official comment yet from AT&T.
This story is developing and will be updated as necessary...
Chance Townsend is the General Assignments Editor at Mashable, covering tech, video games, dating apps, digital culture, and whatever else comes his way. He has a Master's in Journalism from the University of North Texas and is a proud orange cat father. His writing has also appeared in PC Mag and Mother Jones.
In his free time, he cooks, loves to sleep, and greatly enjoys Detroit sports. If you have any tips or want to talk shop about the Lions, you can reach out to him on Bluesky @offbrandchance.bsky.social or by email at [email protected].
