At a Glance
- 180,000 outage reports flooded in by 11:40 a.m. CT
- Service fully restored around 10:20 p.m. ET
- Verizon promises account credits to all affected customers
- Why it matters: Millions lost calls and texts for nearly 12 hours in major cities
Verizon customers across several major U.S. cities lost the ability to make calls or send texts for most of Wednesday, prompting the company to issue a public apology and promise account credits to those impacted.
Outage Timeline and Scope
The trouble began around 11 a.m. CT, according to DownDetector, with more than 180,000 reports logged by 11:40 a.m. CT. Cities including Chicago saw widespread disruption, and many customers said their phones were stuck in “SOS mode.”
Verizon first acknowledged the problem around noon via social media, stating that an “issue” was affecting service. Throughout the day the company posted updates, repeatedly noting that teams were “working non-stop and making progress.”
By 8 p.m. CT/9 p.m. ET, Verizon posted:
> “Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry. They expect more from us.”
The carrier pledged to “make this right” with account credits and promised updates.
Restoration and Customer Relief
Service was finally restored around 10:20 p.m. ET, according to Verizon. The company advised any remaining affected customers to restart their devices to reconnect to the network.
In a follow-up post on X, Verizon confirmed:
> “The outage has been resolved. If customers are still having an issue, we encourage them to restart their devices to reconnect to the network. For those affected, we will provide account credits. Details will be shared directly with customers. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience.”
What Caused the Outage?
Verizon has not disclosed what triggered the widespread service failure. Despite repeated requests for information, the company has only referred to an unspecified “issue” without providing technical details or a timeline for prevention measures.
According to News Of Philadelphia, no additional information regarding the cause has been released.
Customer Impact and Next Steps
Millions of users were unable to place calls or send texts for roughly 11 hours. While Verizon has committed to issuing account credits, the company has not outlined eligibility criteria or a distribution schedule. Customers are told to expect details “directly” from Verizon.
For now, users whose devices remain offline are urged to power-cycle their phones to force re-registration on the network.
Key Takeaways
- A mid-morning glitch escalated into a nationwide outage lasting nearly 12 hours
- Verizon apologized and promised credits but has not explained the cause
- Restarting devices is the recommended fix for lingering connection issues
