Verizon Massive Outage: Tens of Thousands Left Without Service for Hours
Verizon customers faced a nightmare scenario on January 14, 2026, when the nation’s largest wireless carrier experienced a catastrophic outage that left tens of thousands without phone, text, or data services. The disruption lasted for hours, sparking emergency alerts in major cities and prompting calls for a federal investigation. If you were among those staring at an “SOS” icon on your phone, you weren’t alone—and here’s everything you need to know about what happened and how it finally got fixed.
The telecommunications giant confirmed late Wednesday night that the outage had been resolved around 10:30 p.m. Eastern time. Verizon issued an apology and promised account credits for affected customers, though many remained frustrated after a day without reliable connectivity. The company’s engineers worked through the night to restore service, but the incident has already become one of the most significant tech outages in recent memory.
When Did the Verizon Outage Start?
The chaos began shortly before noon Eastern time on Wednesday, January 14, 2026. Downdetector, a website that tracks user-submitted outage reports, recorded a sudden spike around 12:30 p.m. ET. Within minutes, the platform received over 178,000 reports in a single 15-minute window—a staggering number that signaled something had gone terribly wrong.
Verizon acknowledged the problem on social media shortly after 1 p.m. ET. The company posted on X (formerly Twitter) that it was “aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers.” Engineers were engaged and working to identify the problem, the statement said, though no timeline for resolution was provided.
For the next several hours, customers across the United States experienced complete loss of service. Phones displayed “SOS” mode on iPhones or blank network icons on Android devices. Users couldn’t make calls, send traditional SMS texts, or access mobile data networks.
Which Cities Were Hit Hardest?
The outage wasn’t limited to one region—it spread across massive portions of the country. According to outage maps, the eastern half of the United States bore the brunt of the disruption.
Major metropolitan areas experienced the most severe impact:
New York City saw widespread service failures, prompting the NYC Emergency Management Department to issue alerts about potential 911 call disruptions. The city’s AlertNYC system warned residents to use devices from other carriers, landlines, or visit police and fire stations for emergencies.
Washington, D.C. also activated its emergency notification system. AlertDC told residents to find alternative ways to contact emergency services if their Verizon phones weren’t working.
Other heavily affected cities included Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston. However, reports came in from nearly every state, including scattered outages in California, Washington, Arizona, and Colorado.
Over 1 million issue reports flooded Downdetector within 24 hours—a clear indication of the outage’s massive scale.
What Caused the Verizon Network Failure?
Here’s the frustrating part: Verizon never revealed the exact cause of the outage. Even as the company worked to restore service throughout the day, it remained tight-lipped about what went wrong.
Jack Burbank, a senior member of the technical organization IEEE and vice president of advanced communication technologies at Sabre Systems, told CNN that several factors could trigger such disruptions. Potential culprits include “faulty configuration changes” or “software updates gone wrong.”
Law enforcement agencies spent hours investigating whether the outage resulted from a cyberattack. Multiple sources told ABC News they believed the disruption was a technical issue rather than the result of nefarious activity. The federal government’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency referred all questions back to Verizon.
Social media speculation ran wild, with some users theorizing about hacking or data breaches. Verizon did not address these concerns directly in any of its statements.
How Did Verizon Respond to Customer Complaints?
Verizon’s response evolved throughout the day as the crisis deepened. The company issued several updates on social media, each acknowledging the problem but offering little concrete information about resolution timelines.
At 2:14 p.m. ET, Verizon posted that its “engineering teams are continuing to address today’s service interruptions” and that teams remained “fully deployed and focused on the issue.” The statement emphasized the company’s commitment to resolving the problem quickly.
Around 9 p.m. ET, Verizon struck a more apologetic tone. “Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry,” the company said in a statement. “They expect more from us.” The message promised that teams would “work through the night” to restore service for all affected customers.
Finally, shortly after 10:30 p.m. ET, Verizon announced the outage had been resolved. The company encouraged customers still experiencing issues to restart their devices to reconnect to the network.
A Verizon spokesperson told CNN, “Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry. They expect more from us.”
Will Verizon Customers Get Refunds?
Verizon promised to provide account credits to affected customers, though the company didn’t immediately specify how much compensation users would receive or how it would be distributed.
The announcement came late Wednesday evening when Verizon said it would “make this right” for impacted customers. The company stated that details about account credits would be shared directly with customers soon.
Social media reactions to the compensation promise were mixed. Many customers expressed skepticism about the value of the credits, with some sarcastically predicting they’d receive only a few cents. Others demanded transparency about what caused the daylong disruption.
One user on X wrote, “Define ‘credits’ like not having to pay in 2026?” Another commented, “I pay Verizon $200+ a month for it to have an outage and not work at all.”
Did AT&T and T-Mobile Experience Outages Too?
Reports of issues with AT&T and T-Mobile also appeared on Downdetector during the Verizon outage, but both carriers confirmed their networks were operating normally.
T-Mobile issued a statement to CNN clarifying the situation: “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.”
AT&T echoed this message, confirming its network had no issues. The apparent problems AT&T and T-Mobile users experienced likely resulted from trying to contact people on Verizon’s disabled network.
Interestingly, mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) that use Verizon’s infrastructure—like Total Wireless and Visible—reportedly continued working for some users, though experiences varied.
What Should You Do During a Cell Service Outage?
When cell service disappears, there are still ways to stay connected. Verizon and other carriers support Wi-Fi calling, which lets you make phone calls and send texts over internet connections even when cellular service is down.
To enable Wi-Fi calling on an iPhone, open the Settings menu, tap Cellular, and select Wi-Fi Calling. Android users can find similar options by opening Settings, choosing Calls, and selecting Wi-Fi Calling.
Additionally, phones from Apple, Google, and Samsung on Verizon’s network support satellite text messaging. This feature makes it possible to send texts without cellular or Wi-Fi service, though satellite signals can be blocked by buildings or trees. You’ll need to be in an open space for the best connection.
During the outage, emergency management officials encouraged people to have backup communication plans. Christina Farrell, first deputy commissioner of the New York City Emergency Management Department, stressed the importance of having “Plan A, Plan B” and maintaining connections through family, friends, neighbors, and coworkers.
Will There Be a Government Investigation?
Republican New York State Assembly member Anil Beephan called on the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the outage. In a letter to FCC chairman Brendan Carr, Beephan wrote that the disruption had “a significant and unacceptable impact on public safety, including disruptions to reliable access to emergency communications and critical response systems.”
The call for investigation echoes previous actions taken after major telecom outages. In 2024, a widespread AT&T outage left customers across the United States without service for an entire day, prompting an FCC investigation.
Whether federal regulators will launch a formal probe into the Verizon incident remains to be seen, but the scale and duration of the outage have certainly drawn attention from lawmakers and officials concerned about public safety.
How Does This Compare to Other Recent Outages?
The January 14 Verizon outage joins a growing list of high-profile tech disruptions that have affected Americans in recent months. In October 2025, an Amazon Web Services issue took down much of the web, exposing vulnerabilities in how heavily the internet relies on centralized infrastructure.
The 2024 AT&T outage remains a benchmark for comparison. That incident left customers without service for an entire day and resulted in an FCC investigation. While the Verizon outage lasted roughly 10 hours from initial reports to resolution, the number of affected users appears comparable.
These recurring outages have sparked conversations about the resilience of critical communication infrastructure and whether telecom companies are doing enough to prevent such widespread disruptions.
Frequently Asked Questions About the Verizon Outage
Why did Verizon go down on January 14, 2026?
Verizon experienced a major network outage on January 14, 2026, that disrupted voice, text, and data services for tens of thousands of customers across the United States. While the company acknowledged the problem and worked to fix it, Verizon never publicly revealed the specific cause. Technical experts suggested potential issues like faulty configuration changes or failed software updates could trigger such widespread disruptions. Law enforcement investigated whether the outage resulted from a cyberattack but concluded it was likely a technical problem rather than malicious activity.
How long did the Verizon outage last?
The Verizon outage began shortly before noon Eastern time on January 14, 2026, with reports spiking around 12:30 p.m. ET. The company confirmed the issue around 1 p.m. ET and worked throughout the day to restore service. Verizon announced the outage was resolved approximately 10:30 p.m. ET that same night—meaning the disruption lasted roughly 10 hours. During this time, affected customers couldn’t make phone calls, send traditional text messages, or access mobile data. The company encouraged anyone still experiencing issues after the resolution to restart their devices.
Will Verizon give refunds for the outage?
Verizon promised to provide account credits to customers affected by the January 14 outage, though the company didn’t immediately specify the amount or distribution method. In a statement late Wednesday evening, Verizon said it would “make this right” and that details about account credits would be shared directly with impacted customers soon. Many customers expressed frustration on social media about the compensation, with some questioning whether the credits would adequately reflect the inconvenience of losing service for most of a day. The company apologized for letting customers down and acknowledged they “expect more from us.”
What cities were most affected by the Verizon outage?
The Verizon outage hit major cities across the United States, with the eastern half of the country experiencing the most severe impact. New York City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, and Dallas were among the hardest-hit metropolitan areas. Emergency management systems in NYC and Washington activated alerts warning residents about potential 911 call disruptions. However, the outage wasn’t limited to the East Coast—users in Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and scattered locations in California, Washington, Arizona, and Colorado also reported problems. Over 1 million issue reports flooded Downdetector within 24 hours, indicating the massive geographic scope of the disruption.
