Widespread Verizon outage impacting phone service
Can you hear me now?
Verizon on Wednesday said an outage is impacting both wireless voice and data services for some of its customers across the U.S.
Since the late morning, more than 150,000 Verizon outages have been reported on DownDetector, an online site that tracks service.
“Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly,” the nation’s largest wireless carrier wrote in a statement just after 1 p.m. “We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience.”
During the outage, Atlanta police said its 911 system was fully operational as of 3 p.m. It could receive inbound emergency calls and place outbound ones.
Police said the issue doesn’t appear to impact customers who dial into the city’s E-911. However, some are still unable to make outbound calls “at this time,” according to the department.
Police said Verizon customers have reported that their devices are displaying in “SOS” mode. Most cellphones can place emergency calls to 911 while in that mode, authorities said. Residents shouldn’t call 911 to check the status of their device.
But Atlantans unable to make calls can still contact emergency services by going to atlantapd.org or utilizing “the Text-to-911 option when available.”
Customers wondering about their service are advised to contact Verizon directly for information or updates.
Just after 4 p.m., Verizon said in an update that its team was 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 resolve this issue,” the company said.
