When the Verizon outage started, where it’s affecting, and how to check if your service is back
Verizon customers across the United States were hit by a major network outage on Wednesday (January 14), with widespread reports of lost mobile service leaving many unable to make calls, send texts or access data for hours.
The outage began shortly after midday Eastern Time, when users across the country started reporting sudden drops in service. Phones on Verizon’s network were seen switching to “SOS” or emergency-only mode, signalling a loss of normal cellular connectivity. Reports quickly surged on outage-tracking sites, peaking at well over 170,000 complaints, pointing to a disruption on a national scale.
Major cities including New York, Washington D.C., Chicago, Los Angeles and Boston were amphoneong the worst affected, though reports also flooded in from smaller cities and regional areas, suggesting the issue was not isolated to a single market or region.
Verizon confirmed the outage in a statement posted to social media, saying it was “aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers.” The company said its engineering teams were working to resolve the problem as quickly as possible, but stopped short of offering a cause or a clear timeline for when full service would be restored.
Verizon’s team is on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue that is impacting some customers. We know this is a huge inconvenience, and our top priority is to get you back online and connected as fast as possible. We appreciate your patience while we work to…
— Verizon News (@VerizonNews) January 14, 2026
The outage had knock-on effects beyond everyday connectivity. In some areas, local authorities warned that 911 calls from Verizon phones may be impacted, advising residents to use alternative networks or landlines if emergency services were needed.
By mid-to-late afternoon, signs of recovery began to emerge. Outage reports started to decline, and some customers reported their service returning — albeit inconsistently — with brief periods of connectivity followed by further dropouts. Verizon has not yet formally declared the outage resolved, but the gradual improvement suggests the network is in the process of stabilising.
As of Wednesday evening, service had partially returned in several regions, though some customers continue to experience intermittent issues. Verizon has advised users to restart their devices and monitor official updates as restoration efforts continue.
