“We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience. We appreciate your patience,” Verizon Support said in a reply on X.
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Some Verizon customers may be experiencing service issues, as over 13,000 outages have been reported on the evening of Saturday, Aug. 30.
According to Downdetector, at around 7:13 p.m. ET, there were roughly 13,565 reports of Verizon wireless outages. Verizon customers have been reporting service issues throughout the afternoon, and now into the evening, as over 22,000 outages were reported around 3:45 p.m. ET and over 18,000 people reported trouble with their connections as of 6:09 p.m.
The provider has offered some insight into the service issues, as its official Verizon Support page responded to multiple users Saturday evening, saying, “We are aware of a software issue impacting wireless service for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue. Please visit our Check Network Status page for updates on service in your area.”
“We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience. We appreciate your patience,” the provider continued.
Verizon did not give a timeline for when the issue would be resolved. So far, the number of reports does seem to be declining.
Why does your iPhone say ‘SOS’?
Customers currently experiencing service issues have commented on the Verizon Community page that their phones are going into “SOS mode.” A customer in California commented that he’s had to place his newer iPhone on SOS since noon time (in) California.”
Users who have lost service may see their iPhones display a “SOS” or “SOS only” message at the top of their screen, according to Apple support. Emergency calls can still be made in SOS mode.
To turn off the SOS mode, users can go to their iPhone’s settings and turn on airplane mode for at least 15 seconds, according to Apple Support. Then, turn off airplane mode.
Where are the Verizon service outages occurring?
The outages are nationwide, but a map on Downdetector shows the service issue mainly impacting the East Coast, especially in New York, Boston and Washington, DC.
However, the Downdetector is receiving reports of outages in Palm Springs and other areas of California.
Metropolitan areas with the most issues included Atlanta, Chicago and Los Angeles.
Contributing: Philip DeVencentis, USA TODAY NETWORK
