iPhone SOS: Verizon Experiences Major Outage Across the U.S. [Update: Fixed]

Verizon is currently experiencing a major outage that is affecting many customers across the U.S., including iPhone users. Affected users may be unable to send or receive phone calls, send or receive text messages, or use cellular data.

ios 17 iphone 15 pro status bar sos crop feature2
As a result of the network being down, many affected iPhone users are seeing "SOS" displayed in their device's status bar. In a support document, Apple says that an iPhone displays "SOS" when the device is not connected to a network, but it should still be possible to make emergency calls in the U.S., Australia, and Canada.

In a statement, Verizon said it is "aware of an issue impacting service for some customers" and working to identify and implement a fix.

With any iPhone 14 model or newer, you can use Apple's helpful Emergency SOS via satellite feature to text emergency services when you are in a supported area in the U.S. that lacks cellular and Wi-Fi coverage.

Update 5:00 p.m Eastern Time: Verizon has started restoring service for customers, though it could take some time for the carrier to resolve the issue for all users.

Update 7:18 p.m. Eastern Time: Verizon says the outage has been fully addressed, and all VZW customers should now have service.

Tag: Verizon

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Top Rated Comments

SVTmaniac Avatar
24 weeks ago
Ironically, my $25 a month Visible plan that uses Verizon towers is fine. My wife’s $100 a month Verizon plan has SOS and we are standing right next to each other and use the same phones ?
Score: 26 Votes (Like | Disagree)
raythompsontn Avatar
24 weeks ago

I wonder what kind of liability Verizon will face later.
None.
Score: 18 Votes (Like | Disagree)
chrono1081 Avatar
24 weeks ago
I'm secretly enjoying the outage because it's hard for coworkers to get ahold of me.
Score: 15 Votes (Like | Disagree)
nikster0029 Avatar
24 weeks ago
The outage has lasted me two hours now. I thought it would be brief because it’s large spread, but it’s beginning to look a lot more serious. I wonder what kind of liability Verizon will face later. Could it be a attack on the infrastructure?
Score: 11 Votes (Like | Disagree)
vegetassj4 Avatar
24 weeks ago
Paul is laughing all the way to the bank. Can you hear me now?



Attachment Image
Score: 10 Votes (Like | Disagree)
STOCK411 Avatar
24 weeks ago
Perhaps my dad (a civil engineer) has a point about why he continues to pay for our analog landline at home. lol
Score: 9 Votes (Like | Disagree)