Massive Verizon outage: Customers across the country without service, phones in 'SOS mode'

Check out our live blog coverage of the Verizon outage Further current information on the major mobile phone problem can be found here.

A massive Verizon outage has caused nationwide connectivity issues for customers across the US

According to Google Trends, there has been an increase in searches for “Why is my phone in SOS mode?” This reflects the experience that numerous Verizon users have reported. Many have claimed that their phones are now limited to the SOS service.

Verizon Outage: Widespread outage impacts customers across the US

As of 12:00 p.m. ET, DownDetector (a website that shares the same parent company as Mashable) shows that there have been over 100,000 reports of Verizon outages. Fifty percent say the problem is related to their cell phone, 35 percent say they have no signal, and 14 percent say they have a total power outage.

DownDetector percentages related to Verizon outages
Photo credit: DownDetector

According to DownDetector's heatmap, the outages appear to be concentrated in the following states: New York, Florida, Georgia, Kansas and North Carolina.

The DownDetector map shows where the Verizon outage is concentrated
Photo credit: DownDetector

DownDetector said most reports, however, are coming from the following cities: Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, Indianapolis, Minneapolis, Omaha and Las Vegas

A website that has been tracking the issue claims that the outage reports began increasing around 9:04 a.m. ET.

On X, users have flooded Verizon Support, the company's official help site, with the issue.

“We are aware of an issue affecting service for some customers. Our engineers are committed and we are working quickly to identify and resolve the issue,” Verizon said on X.

The company has 114 million subscribers in the United States, according to CNN.

Phones stuck in SOS mode: what to do?

If your phone is in SOS mode, it is an indication that your device cannot connect to a network may Reach specific personnel via satellite connectivity.

SOS Mode is Apple's Emergency SOS via Satellite feature that allows users to connect to satellites to reach emergency services in areas with poor coverage.

While not technically a “solution,” there is a way to bypass a down network via a method called Wi-Fi calling. As the name suggests, Wi-Fi calling allows you to make calls and send text messages through popular communication apps like WhatsApp, FaceTime, and iMessage. without Cellular service. Just make sure you can connect to a non-Verizon Wi-Fi network.

(You can find a great guide to enabling Wi-Fi calling here on YouTube.)

T-Mobile and AT&T say their networks are working

If you are a T-Mobile and AT&T user and have encountered some problems, it is more likely that you are encountering problems because you tried to contact a Verizon user who is having connectivity issues.

According to CNET, T-Mobile and AT&T reported that their respective networks are currently operational.

The FCC is investigating

According to a report by Reuters, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) said it was working to “determine the cause and extent of these service disruptions.”

This story is developing… Check back with Mashable for more.