Verizon Service Disruption Spreads Across U.S., Affecting Voice, Data, and Emergency Services

Customers of telecommunications giant Verizon initiated reports of widespread cellular service disruptions across the United States, commencing around noon ET on Wednesday. Affected users reported inability to complete calls, access mobile data, and, in some cases, connectivity issues with Verizon’s broadband internet services.

Concurrent reports of service disruptions emerged for customers of AT&T and T-Mobile during the same period, though these incidents may be collateral consequences of the Verizon outage rather than independent failures.

Official Statements from Carriers

Verizon spokesperson Christina Moon Ashraf confirmed, “We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and working to identify and resolve the issue quickly.”

T-Mobile stated its service “is operating normally and as expected,” while noting that customers may encounter difficulties reaching individuals with Verizon service. Similarly, AT&T spokesperson indicated its network “is operating normally at this time,” attributing reported issues to separate carrier-related challenges.

Tracking Platform Confirms Widespread Disruption

The outage-tracking platform DownDetector documented a significant surge in service disruption reports across all three primary U.S. mobile carriers during the outage period.

Emergency Service Concerns

Numerous iOS and Android device users reported their phones entering SOS mode, restricting functionality to emergency calls only. Notably, some accounts indicated potential failures in 911 emergency call capabilities. Washington, D.C.’s official emergency alert channel, in a 12:57 pm ET notice, stated that the city’s Office of Unified Communications is aware of a nationwide Verizon Wireless outage that may impede 911 connectivity. The alert advised affected individuals to use alternative carriers, landlines, or emergency response facilities to report emergencies.

Root Cause Speculation and Historical Precedent

Historical incidents suggest that outages affecting one carrier can cascade to others, arising from routing failures when a primary carrier’s network fails to process traffic from subscribers of other networks. Syed Rafiul Hussain, a mobile network security researcher at Purdue University, theorized the outage may stem from a server configuration anomaly in Verizon’s core network. He dismissed the possibility of a coordinated cyberattack, noting, “It is unlikely a coordinated attack against the Verizon network.”

Resolution and Apology

By approximately 10:20 pm ET, Verizon announced the outage had been resolved. In a statement, Ashraf advised affected customers to restart their devices to reconnect to the network and confirmed account credits would be issued. The company apologized for the disruption, stating details would be communicated directly to users. Earlier, at 9 pm ET, Verizon indicated its teams would work through the night to restore full service. The cause of the outage remained unaddressed in responses to WIRED’s inquiries.

Update (1/14/26 11:27 pm ET): This report has been updated to confirm the Verizon outage was resolved on Wednesday evening.