Verizon hit by massive outage across the USA

US network Verizon suffered a major network outage yesterday leaving customers without service and prompting warnings from authorities about potential difficulties reaching emergency services.

The disruption began yesterday afternoon (GMT)  Tens of thousands of users in major metropolitan areas on both the east and west coasts, as well as the Midwest and southern states reported loss of connectivity, with many handsets displaying “SOS” rather than normal signal bars.

Outage monitoring service Downdetector showed a sharp spike in complaints, indicating the issue was widespread rather than confined to a single region.

Customers across the states reported problems making voice calls and accessing mobile data.  Some were still able to send messages or connect via Wi-Fi. Reports came in from 

Verizon said it was aware of the issue and that engineering teams were working to restore service. It t did not immediately provide details on the cause of the outage or a timeline for full resolution.

Several local authorities urging residents to use landlines or alternative networks if they were unable to reach emergency services using a Verizon mobile phone. T

As service returned for some users later in the day, Verizon had yet to confirm whether all affected areas were fully restored. The company has not suggested the outage was linked to a cyberattack or other external interference.

Further updates are expected once Verizon completes its internal investigation and confirms the root cause of the disruption.