Verizon Network Outage Leaves Thousands of Customers Nationwide in SOS Mode

Verizon outage on Saturday left thousands of customers across the U.S. stuck in SOS mode. Service began restoring by evening after engineers worked on a software issue.

Key Highlights

• Verizon customers nationwide reported service disruptions starting around 12 p.m. ET Saturday.

• Nearly 23,000 outage reports were logged by 3:30 p.m. ET on DownDetector.

• Many users said their phones were limited to SOS mode for several hours.

• Verizon confirmed a software issue and began restoring service after 9 p.m. ET.

• Similar outage in October 2024 saw over 100,000 reports.

Service Disruption Impacts Customers Across the U.S.

On Saturday, Verizon subscribers from coast to coast reported significant network problems that left many unable to use their phones for hours. Customers shared on social media that their devices had switched to SOS mode, allowing only emergency calls, while regular service was unavailable.

According to data from DownDetector, a platform that monitors service outages, issues began surfacing shortly after 12 p.m. Eastern Time. Reports increased rapidly through the afternoon and peaked at nearly 23,000 around 3:30 p.m. ET. Complaints poured in from states spanning California to Florida.

One frustrated customer told CBS News, “Verizon is making it seem as if only ‘some customers are affected.’ That’s not true. All my L.A. friends, who have Verizon, don’t have service either.”

Verizon Acknowledges Software Problem

In response to the widespread outage, Verizon issued a statement confirming the disruption was caused by a “software issue impacting wireless service for some customers.” The company added, “Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue. Please visit our Check Network Status page for updates on service in your area. We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience. We appreciate your patience.”

By shortly after 9 p.m. ET, Verizon posted on X that it was “starting to see service restoration in impacted areas.”

Phones Stuck in SOS Mode

Many affected customers reported that their devices displayed only SOS connectivity during the outage. In this mode, phones cannot connect to a carrier’s normal network but still allow calls to emergency services such as 911 by connecting through other networks.

Previous Disruptions

Saturday’s incident is not the first of its kind. Verizon dealt with a similar outage in October 2024, when more than 100,000 reports were filed on DownDetector.