Verizon experienced a nationwide network outage Wednesday, stranding hundreds of thousands of customers without cellular service across major US cities. The outage peaked at over 175,000 reports around 12:30pm ET, according to Downdetector data.
Phones displayed "SOS" mode instead of signal bars, leaving users unable to make calls or access data services. Emergency 911 systems faced disruptions in multiple regions, with New York City officials urging residents to use landlines, devices from other carriers, or visit police or fire stations for critical communications.
The carrier acknowledged "an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers" in a social media statement. Verizon deployed engineering teams but provided no cause or restoration timeline as of Wednesday afternoon.
Major metropolitan areas including New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, and Atlanta reported concentrated outages. Reports began surfacing around noon ET and remained elevated through the afternoon, with approximately 57,000 customers still affected by 3:30pm.
Competitor T-Mobile confirmed its network operated normally while mocking Verizon's collapse. "T-Mobile's network is keeping our customers connected," the company posted on X. "However due to Verizon's reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time."
Krispy Kreme seized marketing opportunity with free doughnut promotions from 5-7pm local time. "SOS got you down? We can hear you now," the chain posted on Instagram, offering original glazed doughnuts without requiring proof of outage impact.
Emergency services across multiple jurisdictions issued warnings about 911 accessibility. Johnston County officials advised residents to use landlines, other carriers, or visit safe locations for emergency calls, noting text-to-911 remained functional but calling remained preferred.
The outage marks Verizon's second major service disruption in five months, following an August 2025 weekend outage affecting major U.S. cities that the carrier attributed to a software-related issue. Telecommunications networks have increasingly shifted to software-defined architectures that provide flexibility but introduce configuration vulnerability risks.
AT&T experienced similar collapse in February 2024 when a misconfigured network element during maintenance triggered 12-hour nationwide outage. Canadian carrier Rogers Communications faced day-long outage affecting 12 million users in July 2022 after system administrators removed access control lists.
New York State Assemblyman Anil Beephan formally requested FCC investigation into repeated Verizon outages. "Whether caused by internal failures or external interference, these ongoing disruptions pose serious threat to public safety," Beephan stated Wednesday.
Verizon engineering teams continued addressing service interruptions into Wednesday evening. "Our teams remain fully deployed and focused on the issue," the carrier posted around 2pm ET. "We understand the impact this has on your day."
The company serves approximately 146 million subscribers as America's largest wireless carrier. No estimated restoration time was provided as engineers worked to identify root cause of the nationwide collapse.
