Verizon restored service to its network following a 10-hour outage that disrupted voice calls and wireless data for customers nationwide. The issue began around 12 p.m. ET on January 14, when users reported seeing “SOS” on their smartphones instead of network bars. Verizon’s status page also failed to load amid high traffic from affected customers.
Voice calls and data services bore the brunt of the disruption, while text messages delivered normally for some users. Verizon staff at Engadget confirmed these impacts through their own experiences. DownDetector recorded a surge in outage reports starting at 12 p.m. ET, reaching a peak of 181,769 reports at 12:43 p.m. ET.
Outage reports concentrated in major eastern U.S. cities, including Boston, New York, and Washington, D.C. Hotspots later emerged in Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, with reports spreading more diffusely as news circulated. DownDetector maps highlighted these locations as the primary sources of complaints.
Competing carriers saw smaller spikes in reports. AT&T peaked at 1,769 reports, and T-Mobile experienced even fewer. These likely stemmed from users attempting to contact Verizon customers and mistaking the issue for problems on their own networks.
Verizon acknowledged the outage at 12 p.m. ET via its news account on X. “We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers,” the company stated. “Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience.”
At 2:14 p.m. ET, Verizon updated that its engineering teams “remain fully deployed” to address the problem. The company provided no timeline for resolution or details on the number of affected customers.
Reports on DownDetector declined after the 12:43 p.m. ET peak, but thousands of users continued filing complaints. By 3:09 p.m. ET, Verizon had shared no additional information on network recovery. Some customers reported service returning intermittently on X, though it remained unclear if the core issues were fixed.
Engadget staff noted partial restoration for at least one member nearly two hours after Verizon’s last statement. However, connectivity problems persisted, with DownDetector logging over 55,000 reports as late as 3:47 p.m. ET.
Verizon posted again at 4:12 p.m. ET, confirming ongoing work. “Our team is on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue that is impacting some customers,” the update read. The outage had lasted about four hours by 4:52 p.m. ET, approaching the duration of Verizon’s previous major outage earlier in 2024. The company disclosed no cause at that time.
At 5:41 p.m. ET, DownDetector tallied more than 46,000 reports. The same cities dominated the map, though complaints appeared more widespread across the country. Engadget editors remained among those without full service.
By 6:20 p.m. ET, tens of thousands of users still faced issues, including intermittent service that returned and then failed again. Verizon had not updated since 4:12 p.m. ET, and no definitive fix appeared in place.
The outage extended into the evening, matching reports from affected users. At 10:20 p.m. ET, Verizon announced resolution. The company advised subscribers with lingering problems to restart their devices to reconnect. Verizon also committed to providing account credits to impacted customers.
T-Mobile and AT&T confirmed their networks operated without interruption. T-Mobile posted on X that its network was “operating normally and as expected.” AT&T stated, “for any of its customers experiencing issues, ‘it’s not us… it’s the other guys.’”
