As a new day dawns, Verizon's cell services seem to be back to normal. But we're still waiting for answers on what happened the day before.
Verizon's wireless network service abruptly went down around 12:30 pm Eastern/9:30 am Pacific on January 14th, forcing phones into SOS mode for customers up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States.
The company quickly acknowledged the issue on X, but didn't give an estimate for repair time - understandable, but frustrating for its users.
On the outage tracking site Down Detector, reports hit an initial peak of 115,000 before surging to over 180,000. Reports went into a steady decline starting around 2:30 pm ET, but didn't level off until 9:30 pm ET.
Several readers reached out to Tom's Guide, saying service is affected from South Florida to Albany, New York, as far west as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. New York City appears to be a hot spot as well. Later emails shifted the outage out to Texas and Missouri
We saw reports that AT&T and T-Mobile were affected, but those seem related to Verizon's outage and company reps have confirmed that those networks remain stable.
At 9:00 pm ET/6 pm PT, Verizon finally provided a new statement that wasn't just a reiteration of its "We're working on it" message that was repeated throughout the day. The company apologized for the outage and promised to "make it right."
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that service will see a complete recovery soon. "We are working non-stop and making progress. Our teams will continue to work through the night until service is restored for all impacted customers."
Account credits and updates have been promised but concrete details have yet to be shared.
Follow along with Tom's Guide as we provide live updates on the fallout from the Verizon outage.
Huge spike in reports
Down Detector received a sudden spike of outage reports around 9:30 am Pacific and the coverage map appears to show the majority of issues is affecting the eastern half of the United States.
People are not happy
I pay Verizon $200+ a month for it to have an outage and not work at all ???? pic.twitter.com/MkEmZXHeEsJanuary 14, 2026
We're seeing a ton of comments on social sites like X, Reddit and the Down Detector comments with people complaining about the outage.
Other carriers spiking
I am seeing spikes in reports for T-Mobile, AT&T and US Cellular (on MVNO that uses T-Mobile's network), but they're much smaller and it's possible it's because people are trying to contact Verizon customers.
Verizon status page down!
When it comes to outages we recommend checking the official status pages of sites or companies (if they have one), but we can't even do that with this outage.
Verizon's network status page is not loading. When I try to use it I just get the spinning loading wheel.
Likely it's crashing as Verizon customers try to check their status but it could be related to the outage.
Verizon is aware
We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. 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.January 14, 2026
On the official Verizon News X account, the company posted that it is aware of the outage.
"We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. 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," the post reads.
Verizon has a separate Customer Support channel that is responding to people about the outage with the same message.
East of the Mississippi down
I found a site called Geo Block which appears to show every state east of the Mississippi river affected by today's Verizon outage.
It also shows outages throughout Texas with scattered reports in California, Washington, Arizona and Colorado.
What to do if you see SOS on your phone
If you are seeing SOS in the status bar of your iPhone it means you have no network connection.
iPhones after the iPhone 14 do have built-in satellite connectivity (more on that in another post).
Here's a guide on how to troubleshoot your phone if the SOS status appears.
How to send messages via satellite on an iPhone
If you have an iPhone that is running iOS 18 or later you can send messages via satellite. It's an expansion of the SOS feature introduced with the iPhone 14.
If you're on Verizon, have an iPhone and need to communicate here's how to send messages via satellite.
If you have a Galaxy S25 or Pixel 9 or 9A, you should have satellite messaging.
T-Mobile rep says network is okay
As mentioned, I am seeing spikes for AT&T and T-Mobile, though those may be related more to people trying to connect with Verizon customers.
A rep via the T-Mobile Help X account responded to a customer saying, "Hi, we're not currently showing any service concerns."
Are you affected?
For what it's worth my colleague, Mike Prospero, is based out of New Jersey but close enough to New York to potentially be affected. He says service is still up.
However, comments on Down Detector and social media show people from around Philadelphia, New York City and New Jersey don't have service.
Let us know on the TikTok video in the comments or email me at scott.younker@futurenet.com to let us know if this outage is affecting your phone.
Tom's Guide readers report in
After our last post, Tom's Guide readers reached out.
On TikTok, central Florida, south Florida and a couple of people in Manhattan said they have no service.
I received messages from readers in Albany, New York, New Jersey, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, and central Massachusetts.
At least one person said their phone has been stuck in SOS mode for over an hour. Another reported they had 5 minutes of service return before it dropped out again.
Thank you for sharing and we'll keep you posted on what's happening with Verizon.
Down Detector reports dropping but significant number of people still showing issues
After a peak of just over 180,000 reports on Down Detector, the rush has started to decline, but it's still showing over 110,000 concurrent reports, so a significant number of people are still affected.
And as readers shared, it's still widespread.
Verizon statement
A Verizon spokesperson tells me that the company is continuing to work on the outage.
"Verizon engineering teams are continuing to address today's service interruptions. Our teams remain fully deployed and are focused on the issue. We understand the impact this has on your day and remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible," they said in a statement.
Unfortunately, they did not provide clarity or an ETA on how long it will take to get service back up and running.
Where we stand after 2 hours
Here's where we stand two hours into the outage:
Verizon's outage is impacting voice, text, and data for cellular users. Impacted phones are displaying an SOS icon instead of the network bars and 5G or 4G in the corner.
The outage appeared to start around 12:30 pm ET, with Verizon acknowledging the issue at 1 pm ET.
It appears to be affecting customers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and as far west as Kansas and Texas.
iPhone 14 or later owners should be able to use satellite services including the SOS-related Messages via Satellite.
MVNOs seem to be okay
Interestingly, it appears that MVNOs that utilize Verizon's network have not been impacted.
These include services like Total Wireless and Visible, which my colleague John Velasco says are still working for him. I'm also not seeing spikes for those services on Down Detector.
Xfinity Mobile and Straight Talk have small amounts of reports, but they're so low that issues may not be related. Those are two of the biggest MVNOs that piggyback on the Verizon network.
New York's Emergency Notification system weighs in
Nationwide @Verizon Wireless Outage: Outage may affect some users trying to call 911. Call using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police/fire station to report emergencies. To find your precinct: https://t.co/QtknvNamrXJanuary 14, 2026
For those who live in the New York City, the NYC Emergency notification system, Notify NYC, has commented on the outage on X.
"Nationwide @Verizon Wireless Outage: Outage may affect some users trying to call 911. Call using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police/fire station to report emergencies," the post reads.
It also has a link to help New Yorkers find their fire or police precinct.
Steep decline on Down Detector
Reports on Down Detector have been on a steady decline since its initial peak of over 180,000.
Currently, as of 3 pm ET, reports sit around 67,000. I am seeing comments on the Verizon outage page with some saying they've had no service the whole time, with others reporting service has been intermittent. One person claimed their service had fully returned in the last 30 minutes.
More readers respond
Even more Tom's Guide readers have reached out to let us know how the outage is affecting them.
We're now getting reports from Washington D.C., Buffalo, New York, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Bulverdere, Texas.
One reader said they've been stuck in SOS mode and can only use their phones if they connect to WiFi. Another said her Galaxy S21 wasn't connecting but that GalaxyS20FE is able to get service.
A reader from Clarence, New York said they tried to reach out to Verizon via its app on WiFi but couldn't login because the security was being sent by text...which they couldn't receive.
Official T-Mobile statement
Earlier we shared a statement that customer service rep for T-Mobile shared in response to a customer on X.
We now have an official statement from T-Mobile:
T-Mobile’s network is keeping our customers connected, and we’ve confirmed that our network is operating normally and as expected. However, due to Verizon’s reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time.
Likely any disruption T-Mobile customers are seeing are probably related to them trying to connect with people on Verizon's network.
A cheekier statement from AT&T
Our network? Solid. If you’re experiencing issues, it’s not us.....it’s the other guys. Some things are just out of our hands! - BUT if you're interested in giving us a try - https://t.co/xftQXpUcjwJanuary 14, 2026
AT&T put out their own statement on X that's a bit cheekier than the one from T-Mobile.
"Our network? Solid. If you’re experiencing issues, it’s not us.....it’s the other guys. Some things are just out of our hands! - BUT if you're interested in giving us a try," the post reads.
Again, any issues you may have with T-Mobile or AT&T right now are probably related to Verizon's ongoing issues.
SOS Mode from a colleague
If you haven't seen it, here's what SOS mode can look like for iPhone users.
My colleague Michael Desjarden has been stuck with SOS mode for a while now. "SOS mode stinks," he said, adding that he needs cellular data, not SOS.
We have entered hour three of the outage.
Holding pattern
Verizon's team is on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue that is impacting some customers. We know this is a huge inconvenience, and our top priority is to get you back online and connected as fast as possible. We appreciate your patience while we work to…January 14, 2026
Verizon has not provided a substantial update for more than two hours.
The most recent post on the Verizon News account has similar language to previous updates, but it does mention crews are on the ground, suggesting the issue is related to a wiring or station problem. We've reached out to Verizon for clarification.
A tour of Tom's Guide lock screens
Several Tom's Guide writers and editors are on Verizon's service, but surprisingly, only one of us has actually been hit by the SOS interruption.
To be fair, three of us, myself included, are located on the West Coast in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, where Verizon seems to be operating without issue.
Others work in our Manhattan office or live around Brooklyn.
Krispy Kreme offers free donuts to Verizon customers
Krispy Kreme is offering free "Original Glazed" doughnuts to customers between 5 and 7 pm local time.
"SOS got you down? We can hear you now — and we’re serving up.
Swing by today, 1/14, from 5–7pm for a FREE Original Glazed® doughnut 🍩 — because some days need a sweet backup plan you can rely on," the company posted on Instagram.
A representative told a local Fox affiliate that you don't need to provide proof that you use Verizon and that no purchase is necessary to get a doughnt.
Silence from Verizon
Since the outage started, Verizon has had periodic updates saying largely the same thing. Here's the most recent from an hour ago:
"Verizon's team is on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue that is impacting some customers. We know this is a huge inconvenience, and our top priority is to get you back online and connected as fast as possible. We appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this issue."
I've reached out to Verizon for more clarity on the situation and to see if they have an ETA or what the company's policy is regarding providing relief to customers when service goes down like this. If I receive a response I will provide an update.
The outage just the 5 hour mark
Reports on Down Detector took a steady dive after its initial peak, but slowed down to the current 48,000 reports.
As mentioned, Verizon has been largely silent beyond recurring messages stating that they are working on it. We just don't know what caused the disruption.
We don't have a timeline for resolution.
Tom's Guide readers have reported in from up and down the eastern seaboard and as far west as Texas. Those in the West seem to be better off, even though outage maps are showing some reports spread across the Pacific states.
Coming back online?
A couple of readers have reported that their devices have started to get service back. One out of D.C. said her iPhones gained service first but her Android phones finally kicked on about an thirty minutes later.
Since around 2:30 p.m. ET, reports on Down Detector have been on a slow but steady decline. Currently, reports are holding at 45,000 on DD.
The comments in the DD page have devolved into insanity but a few people are saying that they've received service again. Though more are still reporting they still can't make calls.
Did you get a donut?
As a reminder, Krispy Kreme is offering free Original Glazed donuts between 5 and 7 pm today in response to the Verizon outage.
If you're on the East Coast you have an hour to get one.
So, did you get a sweet treat?
Latest Verizon Statement
I just received a new statement from Verizon regarding today's outage. It's the first communique in the last five hours.
Simply, the company apologizes for the outage, they have teams working on whatever caused service to go down and affected customers will get credits.
"Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry. They expect more from us.
We are working non-stop and making progress. Our teams will continue to work through the night until service is restored for all impacted customers.
We will make this right - for any customer affected, we will provide account credits and share updates soon."
I was not told what kind of credits or when to expect more updates. And it does mean we may be several hours away from full restoration.
People are not happy
Verizon posted a version of the statement I received on its Verizon News X account and if the replies are anything to go by, people are not happy.
"Define "credits" like not having to pay in 2026?" one person wrote. A common theme, though mostly people mocking that at best Verizon would only give out 5 cents.
Several other replies demanded transparency about what happened today. A common belief is that the company has been hacked and that customer data was breached.
"Will you be paying our wages for those that were unable to work and lost money??? Transparency would be a start. Who hacked Verizon????" a user named Rev1621 demaned.
A few warned that they would decamp to T-Mobile.
Those were some of the nicer, and less...political responses.
Service returning?
Outage reports on Down Detector took a sudden dive recently. Reports were sitting around 30,000 but are now at 11,000, the first time we've been close to a four digit number all day.
I am seeing comments from people saying that they've got some "bars" back. A few emails from Tom's Guide readers came in recently with people indicating that they've been able to make phone calls and send texts
Similar and worse than last outage
The last Verizon outage we tracked happened in May 2025 and similarly affected people on the east coast of the U.S. However, that outage only last for a couple of hours and Verizon never really acknowledged it.
NYC-area friends and family are still reporting Verizon outages
As we cruise past 7 pm on the U.S. West Coast, I'm still getting reports from friends and family — especially those located in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania — that their issues with Verizon cellular service persist. This includes both folks located in urban and suburban areas. While Down Detector is showing improvements, the outage is apparently not quite over.
T-Mobile sends a message acknowledging (throwing shade at) Verizon's struggles
I'm a T-Mobile customer located in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and even though I've had no issues with cellular service today, about an hour ago, I got this message acknowledging the crisis over at Verizon. Is this T-Mobile throwing shade or being helpful? Maybe a little bit of both.
Verizon outage reports drop to less than 7,000
As of 7:30 pm PST, Down Detector is showing fewer than 7,000 Verizon users reporting issues with the network. Now, this could be the result of exhausted customers having given up on a solution and gone to sleep, with hopes of better days ahead. Or, it could actually mean the crisis is close to being resolved. I'll continue monitoring the situation and post an update if/when things change.
Fewer than 5,000 Verizon customers now report issues... but we still don't know the cause
As we approach 8 pm PST, the number of Verizon customers reporting issues with their service has dwindled to under 5,000. Of course, we still have no word on what caused the outage and if it's actually resolved (or close to being wrapped).
As for the cause... Did an intern trip over a server cable? Maybe an office pup chewed through an important power cord? Or was the massive blackout the result of something more nefarious/concerning? We may never know. (I'm going with the pup theory).
Verizon says the outage is now 'resolved'
As of 8 pm PST, Verizon is reporting that the outage has been 'resolved,' but I'm not so sure. According to Down Detector, roughly 4,000 Verizon customers continue to report connectivity hiccups. Are you still experiencing issues with Verizon? Share your experience with me, dan.bracaglia@futurenet.com.
A new day dawns
Good morning early risers - it's the 15th of January! And hopefully, a regular, normal day for Verizon users.
There's still a high baseline of complaints about Verizon's service on Down Detector compared to a regular day, but it's nothing compared to the spike we saw yesterday. Let's all cross our fingers and hope that, as more Verizon customers wake up and check their phones, that they will see full bars, and not the dreaded SOS icon.
Verizon promises to offer credits following massive outage — 'we will make this right'
Here's Verizon's latest statement on the matter, which is both an apology and a promise of account credits as a peace offering to unhappy users.
"Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry. They expect more from us.
We are working non-stop and making progress. Our teams will continue to work through the night until service is restored for all impacted customers.
We will make this right - for any customer affected, we will provide account credits and share updates soon."
An increase - but let's not panic just yet
Verizon reports remain well above the baseline as the U.S. east coast starts to wake up. They're increasing in volume too, compared to a few hours ago.
But let's not jump to conclusions. While some users may still be having trouble connecting to the network, hopefully this is because of residual problems or mis-diagnosis of other issues. We don't need to worry until we start to see a spike like yesterday's.
Verizon's advice to people still experiencing problems — restart!
If you're among the small but still notable section of Verizon users still struggling to get a cell connection - remember the company's advice from its earlier statement on the outage:
"If customers are still having an issue, we encourage them to restart their devices to reconnect to the network."
It's not clear why this will help users' devices if this was an issue on Verizon's end, but it's worth a try if you can't get mobile internet!
Are you staying with Verizon?
Now that the Verizon outage is all sorted, what do you do going forward? Has this outage soured you on using the popular phone carrier, or is the company's promise to "make this right" enough to make you happy?
Verizon's offering is...
Verizon has officially revealed the make-good for its customers. Here's what the company said in an X post:
"Yesterday, we did not meet the standard of excellence you expect and that we expect of ourselves. To help provide some relief, we are giving you a $20 account credit that can be easily redeemed by logging into the myVerizon app to accept. On average, this covers multiple days of service. Our business customers will be contacted directly about their credits.
This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened. No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging your time and showing that this matters to us.
If you’re still having trouble connecting, please restart your device (power down and power back on). This is the fastest way to reconnect your phone to the network.
We are sorry for what you experienced and will continue to work hard day and night to provide the outstanding network and service that you expect from Verizon."
Lingering reports
While Verizon has told users still experiencing issues to restart their phone, it seems not everyone is aware, as there are still around 1,600 outage reports on Downdetector.
Presumably, these are people who are having problems due to the outage or even unrelated Verizon issues. Either way, for the people still reporting problems, this must be frustrating.
How to redeem your $20 credit
Verizon announced that impacted customers will receive a $20 credit that can be redeemed through the myVerizon App. Business customers will be contacted directly by Verizon.
We've put together a guide on how to redeem the $20 Credit and when it will be available.
T-Mobile gets spicy
T-Mobile has been pretty clear that its networks were not affected by the Verizon outage beyond an inability for T-Mobile customers to call or text contacts on Verizon.
This morning, I received an email form T-Mobile touting a J.D. Power award that rated T-Mobile has having the highest network quality in the U.S.
"This matters because customer experience has finally caught up to years of performance data. After massive network investment, perception has shifted and the old narrative just broke," T-Mobile said in the email.
Shots across the bow.
Credit is per account, not per line
To clarify the $20 credit, we have confirmed that it will be $20 per account, not per line.
So, if you have a family plan the credit will go to the overall account not the individual phones associated with it.
Verizon confirms the outage was caused by a software issue
We finally a little bit of an idea of why Verizon's network went down yesterday.
According to a Verizon spokesperson, the interruption was caused by software issue that the company is still investigating.
We were told it was not a cyberattack.
We were not provided with more specific details.
Let us know how you're feeling
Verizon's multihour outage induced a ton of outrage online with tons of frustrated customers threatening to switch to T-Mobile, but never AT&T.
As one Tom's Guide reader commented yesterday, "Verizon can choke on a egg."
Now that the dust has settled a little bit, how are you guys feeling about Verizon's handling of the issue, what do you wish was different. Are you considering switching to another carrier? Let us know.
Verizon alternatives
If yesterday's outage put you off Verizon, we do have a list of the best phone carriers where Verizon is our runner-up option behind T-Mobile.
However, there are also MVNO carriers that piggyback off of the big carriers like Visible and Mint Mobile.
We also have our list of the best unlimited data plans, which include offerings from even more services like Cricket and Total Wireless.
There are options if you're looking to switch. One potential drawback is the upfront cost of a new phone that services like T-Mobile and Verizon semi-subsidize by spreading it out over the life of your contract.
Turn it off and back on
On X, I've seen some people saying that they're still stuck in SOS mode.
As a reminder, Verizon recommends that you turn your device and turn it back on again. That should restore your service back to normal.
That's all for today
Well, folks, that's all I have for you today, but if more information comes out we'll be sure to update you.
Enjoy your evenings and I hope your service has full bars.
