Here is what the SOS mode means and what T-Mobile customers can do during the nationwide outage.
A widespread T-Mobile outage left thousands of customers across the United States without calls, texts or mobile data, with many phones switching to “SOS” or “SOS Only” mode.
Reports began rising quickly on outage tracking website Downdetector, with customers in major cities and states including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Florida and Minnesota reporting a complete loss of service.
The outage also affected T-Mobile’s 5G Home Internet service and some smaller providers that use its network, including Mint Mobile.
Why does your phone say SOS?
When a phone displays “SOS”, “SOS Only” or “No Service”, it means it has lost connection to its usual mobile carrier.
You will generally be unable to make normal calls, send standard text messages or use mobile data. However, the phone may still be able to connect to another available carrier to make an emergency call to 911.
The SOS message does not mean your phone has automatically contacted emergency services.
What should you do?
First, check whether other T-Mobile customers are also experiencing problems. During a widespread outage, changing settings or resetting your phone may not fix the issue.
Users can try turning Aeroplane Mode on for around 15 seconds before switching it off again. Restarting the phone may also help it reconnect when service returns.
Connecting to Wi-Fi will allow apps including WhatsApp, Messenger, FaceTime and iMessage to continue working. Wi-Fi calling may also be available for customers who already have it enabled.
T-Mobile did not immediately provide a detailed explanation for the outage, although service reportedly began returning for some customers after the disruption.
Head to their website for more updatesdata
