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Verizon has acknowledged widespread network issues that disrupted mobile services for thousands of users across the United States on Monday. The massive telecom company acknowledged the outage and said that engineers were proactively attempting to fix it.
The disturbance started at about 9:30 a.m. ET, according per the data from Downdetector, a website that monitors service disruptions. Around 100,000 customers reported losing service on Verizon at its height, with significant impacts to large cities like Chicago and Indianapolis as well as areas like Minneapolis, Phoenix, Omaha, and Denver.
Outage complaints started to decrease by midday; as of 12:28 p.m. ET on Downdetector, there were about 66,761 reports. Later, Verizon announced via X (previously Twitter) that its engineers had made headway. “Service has started to be restored,” the company stated. Verizon expressed regret for the inconvenience caused, noting that they were continuing efforts to fully restore services nationwide.
Verizon engineers are making progress on our network issue and service has started to be restored. We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience some of our customers experienced today. We continue to work around the clock to fully resolve this…
— Verizon News (@VerizonNews) September 30, 2024
FCC Monitoring Situation
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) also addressed the situation. In a statement posted to social media, the FCC said it was monitoring the issue and investigating the cause. "We’re aware of a Verizon outage impacting customers in parts of the country," the FCC confirmed. The regulatory agency is working to understand both the cause and the scope of the disruption.
Laura Loomer and Other Users Express Frustration
Users expressed frustration over the prolonged outage. Social media platforms saw many customers voicing their concerns, with some iPhone users stuck in "SOS" mode, a signal indicating loss of connectivity. Laura Loomer posted, “I am still stuck in SOS. Ridiculous,” reflecting the sentiment of those left without service for hours.
I am still stuck in SOS. Ridiculous Who else is still stuck in SOS with @Verizon, which has to be the shittiest provider ever?
— Laura Loomer (@LauraLoomer) September 30, 2024
i pay too much $ for Verizon to be acting up like this
— annie (@anniebananiee_) September 30, 2024
Going on 5+ hours of this with Verizon. Anyone else? pic.twitter.com/8BdCEjkYZP
— Rich DeMuro (@richontech) September 30, 2024
Engineers @Verizon right now. pic.twitter.com/LtQDRqJIlg
— Ark Signal (@ark_signal) September 30, 2024
Verizon Response
Verizon responded promptly, stressing the importance of restoring service as quickly as possible. “Our engineers are engaged, and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue,” the company said in an official statement. The progress made by engineers was acknowledged as services began to resume in various regions by mid-morning.
Further Investigation Ongoing
Verizon gave consumers the reassurance that a full restoration was underway even though the reason of the outage is still being investigated. The industry leader in telecoms emphasized its dedication to providing dependable service, acknowledging the value of its network to millions of Americans.
The FCC's action serves to emphasize how serious the interruption is. As the inquiry progresses, it is anticipated that Verizon and the FCC will offer more information, with a particular emphasis on averting similar widespread disruptions in the future.
Verizon is currently working nonstop to fully restore its network, allowing customers in the impacted regions to progressively restore service. According to their claims, substantial progress has been made toward resolution, albeit the exact scope and length of the outage are yet unknown.