Verizon Communications Inc. experienced a widespread service disruption on Monday, affecting thousands of users across the United States, with reports of cellular and internet outages spiking amid ongoing restoration efforts following Hurricane Helene.
According to Downdetector.com, a website tracking service outages, Verizon saw over 100,000 outage reports around 11 a.m. ET, which decreased to approximately 63,000 by 1 p.m. ET. Users reported issues with mobile phones, including “no signal” and “total blackout,” while internet customers complained of slow speeds.
A Verizon spokesperson told Nexstar via email, “We are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue.” The company did not provide further details about the cause or extent of the outage.
Some Verizon customers reported their phones entering “SOS mode,” similar to issues AT&T users experienced during an August outage. This mode indicates an inability to connect to the cellular network but allows for emergency calls through other networks.
While Verizon’s network status page experienced loading issues, a company support representative acknowledged on social media platform X that Verizon was “experiencing a nationwide outage that is affecting several cities.”
The outage coincides with ongoing service restoration efforts by multiple carriers in the Southeast following Hurricane Helene. AT&T and T-Mobile also reported localized outages, primarily in areas affected by the storm.
AT&T warned customers on Sunday that they “may still experience home phone and internet service interruptions due to storm damage and commercial power outages.” T-Mobile reported progress in restoring services across several states but noted ongoing work in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.
As carriers work to restore services, affected customers are advised to use Wi-Fi calling when possible and to check their providers’ websites for local updates and service restoration timelines.
