Verizon said it's working to resolve outages, which are affecting the eastern half of the country.
WASHINGTON — Verizon confirmed an outage on its mobile service Wednesday and said its engineering teams are working to "address today's service interruptions."
The outage is affecting the eastern United States. Downdetector, which tracks outages, reported a spike nationwide in outages after noon ET Wednesday, with tens of thousands of reports from across the country. Locations with reported outages include New York City, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte and Dallas.
Customers can check their network status here.
In a statement, Verizon confirmed it was "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. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience."
About 2 p.m. ET, Verizon said on social media that "engineering teams are continuing to address today's service interruptions. Our teams remain fully deployed and are focused on the issue. We understand the impact this has on your day and remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible."
In Washington D.C., the official alert system sent out a notice about the outage impacting users' ability to call 911:
"OUC is aware of a nationwide Verizon Wireless outage that may be affecting some users to connect with 911. If you have an emergency and can not 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."
Why is my phone in SOS mode? What is SOS mode?
If you have an iPhone, SOS mode is simply a way for your phone to tell you that you don't have a proper cellular connection, meaning you're only able to call or text emergency services through the cellular network.
iPhone 14 or newer models also have satellite SOS capability, so you're able to call 911 even when outside of any cellular service range, unless you're some place where signal can't get out at all.
Android phones will also let you call 911 without service, although it's not called SOS mode.
The SOS icon will appear in the top right corner of an iPhone's screen when service is unavailable, where your cellular connection bars usually display
On an iPhone 13 or earlier, if you go out of range for any cellular service, the icon will swap to "No service" until you're back within range.
When will SOS mode go away?
SOS mode automatically turns on when there isn't any cell service available from your phone carrier. If you're experiencing an outage, you simply have to wait until service is restored to your area. If you have SOS mode activate because you're out of your network's coverage area, you'll have to travel back inside the coverage area before you can make calls.
Why can I still use my phone in SOS mode?
Although SOS mode indicates you don't have cellular service, it doesn't mean the phone is useless. Most modern phones allow calling, texting and internet browsing over wi-fi. So if you have an internet connection through a wi-fi signal, you'll be able to use your phone like normal. You'll only be able to contact other phones that are on a wi-fi network while in SOS mode.
What can I do when my phone has no service?
Wi-Fi calling is a built-in feature on most Android devices and iPhones and can be turned on under the phone's settings.
If Wi-Fi isn't available, there are few options for cell phone users. It's possible to switch services if a phone is unlocked, but that requires signing up online and porting your phone number.
Some apps, including Google Maps, have limited service offline. Payment apps also do not use a phone's cell service to work and should also be useable.