Verizon to Compensate Customers After Major 10-Hour Outage

Following an almost ten-hour outage experienced by the biggest wireless carrier in the country said it will give customers credits.

Last night, Verizon Wireless announced that the problem that prevented millions of customers from texting or calling others had been fixed. Around 12 p.m. ET, customers reported seeing cell phones in “SOS” mode or with no bars of service. 

According to VZW, cellular data, message, and voice services were restored at 10:20 p.m. ET. They had advised consumers to restart their devices in order to reconnect to the network if the problem persists. We will give account credits to individuals who are impacted. 

Customers will receive details immediately, according to a statement from Verizon. “We deeply regret any inconvenience caused.”

The amount and timing of any potential credit to clients’ accounts were not disclosed by the corporation. Verizon claimed there was no sign of a cyberattack but did not reveal what caused the interruption.

The FCC will examine the outage “and take appropriate action,” according to Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, who spoke with Reuters.

Users of Apple iPhones who were impacted by the outage reported that their devices were in “SOS” mode, which indicates that a reliable cellular connection is not available. Consumers can still use the cellular service to text or call emergency services, and the iPhone 14 and later variants can use satellite SOS connections to dial 911.

Similar to this, Android phones allow users to dial 911 without cell coverage, albeit they do not refer to it as “SOS mode.”

The Office of Emergency Management in New York City stated on Wednesday that “if you have an emergency and cannot connect using your Verizon Wireless device, please call using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police precinct or fire station to report the emergency.”

While a small number of T-Mobile and AT&T customers also reported problems, both Verizon rivals reported no issues on Wednesday.

Over 146 million people use Verizon. On DownDetector.com, hundreds of thousands of users reported outages in major U.S. cities, including New York City, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Dallas, Charlotte, Houston, and Washington, D.C.

Around 12:30 p.m. ET, the disturbance started, and by 10:20 p.m. ET, it had now been declared resolved. Many users reported that their phones were trapped in “SOS mode” in 1.5 million reports on Downdetector. New York City, Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston, and Dallas were among the major cities impacted.

To get the credit automatically, according to Verizon, users will receive information about the credits directly. Although some users may receive specific instructions via email or text, affected customers usually do not need to take any action.

For the credit amount, the business corporation has not yet disclosed the precise amount of the credit as of January 15, 2026. To troubleshoot manually, Verizon advises resetting your device to reconnect to the network if you are still having connectivity problems.