Verizon Outage Knocks Out US Mobile Service, Including Some 911 Calls

"Customers of the telecom giant Verizon began reporting cellular outages around the United States beginning around noon ET on Wednesday, saying they could not complete calls and did not have access to mobile data. Verizon broadband internet customers are also reporting issues. AT&T and T-Mobile customers also began reporting service outages in the same timeframe, however these reports may be linked to the Verizon outage."

"Verizon spokesperson Christina Moon Ashraf told WIRED in a statement, "We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly." A T-Mobile spokesperson told WIRED in a statement that its service is "operating optimally" but added that T-Mobile "customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time." AT&T did not immediately respond to WIRED's requests for comment."

"The outage tracking site DownDetector showed spikes in reports of service disruptions for all three primary US mobile carriers. Many customers on both iOS and Android devices report that their phones are in SOS mode, meaning that they can only make emergency calls. In practice, though, some reports indicate that the situation may also prevent 911 calls."

"Washington, DC's official emergency alert channel said in a post at 12:57 pm ET that DC's Office of Unified Communications "is aware of a nationwide Verizon Wireless outage that may be affecting some users to connect with 911. If you have an emergency and cannot connect using your Verizon Wireless device, please connect using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police district or fire station to report the emergency.""

A cellular outage began around noon ET, affecting Verizon customers nationwide and causing inability to complete calls and loss of mobile data. Verizon broadband internet customers also reported issues. Reports for AT&T and T-Mobile spiked in the same timeframe and may be linked to the Verizon outage. The outage-tracking site DownDetector showed spikes in reports for all three primary US mobile carriers. Many iOS and Android users saw devices enter SOS mode, limiting phones to emergency calls, and some reports indicated the outage may prevent 911 access. Washington, DC's Office of Unified Communications warned the outage could affect 911 connectivity and advised using another carrier, a landline, or visiting a police or fire station. Similar past incidents occurred when an outage at one carrier caused collateral routing impacts for other telecom customers.

Read at WIRED