Verizon customers were in an uproar after the cell phone carrier’s service went down on Monday morning.
The outage potentially impacted millions of customers who reported they couldn’t make or receive calls and texts and only had an SOS signal.
AT&T and T-Mobile faced similar challenges, with users complaining that they couldn’t access their 5G network and their phone wouldn’t connect to WiFi.
Although AT&T and T-Mobile’s outage appeared to be contained to the Southeast Coast in areas ravaged by Hurricane Helene, Verizon complaints soared in the Midwest.
The outage continued into the early evening, though Verizon said the issue was beginning to resolve in some areas.
Verizon users across the nation were impacted by the outage, but the majority were located in the Midwest. Customers complained that their phones were set on SOS mode and they couldn’t send or receive calls or texts
Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile customers complained about phone outages on Monday
Reports that Verizon was down began around 9:30am ET with customers complaining their cell service was completely down.
Customers extending across the US – from Phoenix, Arizona to New York City said they were only receiving an SOS signal.
However, those impacted appear to be primarily located in the Midwest with people stating that the outage began at different times for each of their family member’s devices.
People across Indiana, Illinois and Wisconsin complained that their phones were stuck in SOS mode which only allows for emergency calls via satellite.
One person posted on Downdetector, a site that monitors online issues, that ‘text via WiFi is not enabled for some reason and I cant access the settings to activate it.’
Another person commented that they’ve experienced a complete blackout in Sacramento, California with no access to calls, text or data.
The cell phone carrier responded to some comments, asking for additional information from anyone who said their phone was stuck in SOS mode.
‘I know I would share your concern if my phone was in SOS as well. I am here to help take a look into this, and help find a solution.’ one reply said.
Verizon asked the user: ‘When did this issue first start happening? Can you share the nearest cross streets and city where this is happening? Please send a DM.’
It remains unclear why people in the Midwest were the most impacted by the outage and a Verizon spokesperson told DailyMail.com that they aware of the issue and its ‘engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue.’
The company later posted the same message on X.
AT&T users reported they were likewise impacted by the outage and complained that they couldn’t send or receive calls or texts and their phones wouldn’t connect to WiFi. These people were mostly based in areas impacted by Hurricane Helene
T-Mobile users across the Southeast Coast reported that they couldn’t use their 5G or connect to WiFi
AT&T and T-Mobile customers also reported an outage, saying they couldn’t send or receive calls and texts nor could they access their WiFi.
Those living in the Southeast where Hurricane Helene struck last week were primarily impacted, according to a T-Mobile spokesperson.
Heat maps on Downdetector show that the majority of user outage reports are stemming from parts of Florida, Georgia, Tennessee and the Carolinas – all states that were impacted by Hurricane Helene last week.
However, the outage could be more widespread because those affected may not report their experiences.
A T-Mobile spokesperson told DailyMail.com that ‘based on increased reports on Down Detector related to other providers, we believe our customers may be having challenges connecting with other networks.’
They added: ‘Outside of some areas where restoration is continuing from Hurricane Helene, our network is operating normally.’
However, an AT&T spokesperson claimed in an email to DailyMail.com that the company is not experiencing a major outage and its ‘national network is operating normally.’
They added: ‘Down Detector is likely reflecting challenges our customers are having attempting to connect to users on another network.’
