Thousands of Verizon mobile users were thrown into “SOS” mode as the telecommunications giant experienced a widespread disruption to its cellular network.
The nearly 10-hour outage left customers with dropped calls and unsent texts. Verizon announced it officially resolved the issue as of 10:20 p.m. on Wednesday, though some users still reported disruption into the early hours on Thursday.
Reports on Downdetector peaked at roughly 175,000 users around 12:38 p.m. ET on Wednesday and remained hovering in the tens of thousands by late afternoon. Verizon’s official status map does not currently show outages, though that may be related to the disruption itself.
Beyond the inconvenience, which hit home as the East Coast moved through the latter half of the workday, the outage raised concerns about access to emergency services.
New York City officials urged residents to “call using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police or fire station to report emergencies.”
In Washington DC, officials gave the same advice via the AlertDC system.
Here’s everything you need to know about the Verizon outage — and how to get a refund if you were impacted.
➡️ Jump to a section:
• What caused the January 2026 outage?
• Can I get some money back for the inconvenience?
• How did Verizon respond to it?
• Where did customers report outages?
• What should I do if I’m impacted by a cellular outage?
• Were other cell services impacted by Verizon’s January 2026 outage?
• How common are cell outages?
What caused the January 2026 outage?
Despite issuing several updates throughout Wednesday, Verizon never officially confirmed the cause of the outage. In a post on X just after 10 p.m. ET, the company said only that “the outage has been resolved,” adding that it would contact customers directly with details on how to receive an account credit for the disruption.
Its update shortly after 4 p.m. ET said its team is still “on the ground” addressing the issue. At 9 p.m. ET, the company posted again, promising an account credit for impacted customers and saying that its teams were “working non-stop and making progress” to resolve the issue.
The company first acknowledged the issue around 1 p.m. ET in a post on X, saying its engineers were investigating.
“Verizon engineering teams are continuing to address today’s service interruptions,” the company said just after 2 p.m. ET. “Our teams remain fully deployed and focused on resolving the issue.”
Can I get money back for the inconvenience?
Yes. Verizon is offering a $20 credit to impacted customers. To redeem it, you’ll have to opt in by logging into your account on the myVerizon app.
How did Verizon respond to it?
Verizon kept its customers updated on official social channels throughout the outage, though details were sparse. It confirmed just after 10 p.m. ET that service has been restored. No specifics have been offered.
Where did customers report outages?
Downdetector tracked reports all over the US. The most common locations reported were:
- New York City
- Atlanta
- Charlotte
- Houston
- Brooklyn
- Dallas
- Philadelphia
- Miami
- Ashburn
What should I do if I’m impacted by a cellular outage?
If you’re impacted, you may see an “SOS” indicator in the corner of your phone where signal bars typically appear. This means your device cannot connect to the local cellular network.
Affected customers are usually stuck waiting for the provider to restore service. In the meantime, internet-based options such as iMessage, WhatsApp and video calls can help you stay connected.
On iPhones, messages via satellite — introduced with iOS 18 — can also be turned on to avoid disruptions.
Were other cell services impacted by Verizon’s January 2026 outage?
It appeared to be just Verizon. If you were on another network and experiencing outages, that may be because you were trying to reach a Verizon customer.
Both AT&T and T-Mobile have posted on X that they were still up-and-running.
Visible, a wireless provider that operates on Verizon’s network, also saw a spike in Downdetector reports on Wednesday, though only a few dozen that may not be related.
How common are cell outages?
Small, localized outages are fairly common and usually brief, often caused by issues like downed lines or severe weather. Large-scale outages like this one, however, are rare.
Verizon’s last major disruption occurred in 2024, when thousands of customers lost service for several hours.
