Verizon Outages Impact Thousands Nationwide: What’s Causing the “SOS” Message on Phones?

Los Angeles, California – Verizon customers across the United States, including in Los Angeles, experienced service outages on Monday morning. The outages, which began at around 6 a.m. local time, were reported in various cities such as Chicago, Minneapolis, Phoenix, and Denver. By 9 a.m., over 3,000 outage reports had been received from customers in the Los Angeles area alone.

On a national scale, more than 80,000 reports were submitted early Monday on the website Downdetector. In response to the outages, Verizon released a statement to address the issue, stating that their engineers were actively working to identify and resolve the problem affecting service for some customers.

In addition to the statement, Verizon also engaged with users on its support account on X, offering assistance to address any concerns or issues users may have been experiencing. Users reported difficulties accessing Verizon’s support page on its website, leading to frustration among many customers.

Many users reported their phones displaying “SOS” mode during the outages. “SOS” mode typically appears on iPhones when a device is disconnected from the cellular network, allowing users to still make emergency calls through other available networks. This feature is limited to the United States, Canada, and Australia.

The widespread outages caused disruption for many Verizon customers, highlighting the importance of reliable service for staying connected. As the telecommunications company continues to investigate and address the issue, affected users were encouraged to reach out for support and assistance through direct messages to the company.