Verizon faced a significant service outage on a Monday morning, impacting over 100,000 users across the western United States. Reports of connectivity issues began surfacing around 9:30 a.m. ET, with customers in major cities such as Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Denver, and Minneapolis experiencing difficulties. By 11:15 a.m. ET, more than 100,000 users reported problems with their mobile service, with issues ranging from call disconnections to complete signal loss.
Frustrated customers took to social media to express their concerns, while Verizon acknowledged the problem on its X support account, stating that engineers were actively working to resolve the issue. As the day progressed, Verizon provided updates on the situation, assuring customers that they were investigating the root cause of the outage. By 1:00 p.m. ET, the number of affected users had decreased to just over 50,000, signaling some progress in restoring service. However, the outage continued to disrupt communication for many, with users reporting their devices stuck in “SOS” mode, which indicates a lack of cellular network connection.
The widespread impact of the outage prompted attention from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which announced it would investigate the circumstances surrounding the disruption. Verizon eventually reported that the network disruption had been fully resolved after approximately ten hours of service issues. In a statement made around 7:30 p.m. ET, the company confirmed that services had returned to normal levels and recommended that users restart their devices if they continued to experience problems.
The mobile carrier expressed its gratitude for customers’ patience during the outage, recognizing the reliance that many have on Verizon for their communication needs. Although Verizon was the primary provider affected, a small number of users also reported issues with AT&T, which stated that the complaints were likely related to difficulties in connecting with users on the Verizon network. This incident underscores the vulnerability of mobile networks to disruptions, highlighting the need for reliable communication services in today’s interconnected world. With the FCC’s involvement, the investigation may shed light on the cause of the outage and encourage improvements in network resilience and response strategies for the future.
Reference:
- https://www.cnn.com/2024/09/30/tech/verizon-outage/index.html
