Verizon experienced a massive outage for users across the US on Wednesday.
Verizon customers in North Carolina, California, New York, and Florida said their phones are showing “SOS”.
At least 180,000 customers were affected by the outage.
It is unclear what caused the outage.
Apple Insider reported:
Verizon customers across the U.S. are experiencing a wireless network outage on Wednesday that is disrupting calls, texts, and mobile data.
When Wi-Fi is unavailable, an iPhone relies on carrier connectivity for core communication features. Many affected devices are showing “SOS” or “Emergency calls only,” which points to a carrier authentication failure rather than an iOS or hardware issue.
Reports began surfacing earlier today and spread quickly across multiple regions. Verizon has acknowledged service disruptions and says restoration work is underway, but the company has not shared a timeline.
Verizon said its engineers are working to solve the issue.
“We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers,” Verizon said.
“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,” Verizon said in a statement.
BREAKING: Massive Verizon outages across half the United States. pic.twitter.com/lPBP9vNRB5
— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) January 14, 2026
X users reported on the outages.
Who else has a Verizon outage? I have no service, full SOS in North Carolina.
— chonky (@lolnooonono) January 14, 2026
After being a customer since 1997, I would be a lot more understanding of this Verizon outage if they didn't employ Infinity Indians.
— Mark Mitchell, Rasmussen Reports (@honestpollster) January 14, 2026
This Verizon outage has me doing a very not-fun thing where I have to physically find colleagues to tell them something, and leave the halls in order to get WiFi or look at messages or use this godforsaken app
— Andrew Desiderio (@AndrewDesiderio) January 14, 2026
In 2024, a massive Verizon outage left millions of users without service nationwide.
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