On January 14, 2026, Verizon experienced a widespread nationwide outage affecting its wireless voice and data services, causing many customers’ phones to display “SOS” mode or show no service.

Reports began surging shortly before or around 11 a.m., with outage tracking site Downdetector recording spikes of over 150,000 to more than 300,000 user complaints across the U.S., including major cities like New York City, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte, Dallas, and others, as well as broader East Coast and some West Coast areas. The issues also impacted Verizon’s home internet in some cases, preventing normal calls and mobile data usage, though Wi-Fi-based features like texting via iMessage or RCS, internet browsing, and apps remained functional if connected to Wi-Fi.

Verizon officially acknowledged the problem through statements to media outlets and on social media, confirming that engineers were actively working to identify and resolve the issue quickly, while apologizing for the inconvenience and emphasizing the importance of reliable connectivity.

In areas like Washington D.C., emergency alerts warned that some users might struggle to reach 911 via Verizon devices, advising alternatives such as other carriers’ phones, landlines, or visiting a police/fire station. “SOS” mode (primarily on iPhones) indicates a lack of regular cellular connection, limiting use to emergency calls only over cellular networks (with newer iPhones offering satellite SOS options in remote areas), though Wi-Fi calling can often bypass this if enabled and available.

Android devices have similar emergency capabilities without the “SOS” label. No specific resolution timeline was provided, but users were advised to wait for restoration, use Wi-Fi alternatives, or check Verizon’s network status page for updates. The outage appeared to affect a significant portion of customers but was being addressed diligently by the carrier’s team.