Technology

Nationwide Verizon outage affects thousands of customers in Los Angeles

Users reported iPhones displaying SOS mode during the widespread outages that began Monday morning and continued into the afternoon.

NBCUniversal Media, LLC

What to Know

  • Verizon customers in Los Angeles and throughout the country began reporting outages early Monday.
  • Many users reported their phone entering SOS mode, indicating a device isn't connected to a network, but can still make emergency calls.
  • By Monday afternoon, Verizon said its engineers "fully restored" the network disruption.

Frustration that began Monday morning continued into the afternoon for Verizon customers in Los Angeles and across the United States plagued by widespread outages.

Outages began around 6 a.m. in the Los Angeles area, according to the website Downdetector. Most of the outages reported early Monday were in Chicago, Minneapolis and other Midwest cities with other reports coming from Phoenix and Denver.

There were more than 3,000 outage reports received from customers in the Los Angeles area by 9 a.m., according to Downdetector. By Monday night, the post had 34 responses.

Nationwide, more than 80,000 reports had been submitted on the site early Monday.

After 4 p.m. Monday, Verizon said service has "fully restored."

"Service has returned to normal levels," Verizon said. "If you are still having issues, we recommend restarting your device. We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience.  We appreciate your patience."

Details about what led to the outages were not immediately available.

The telecommunications company responded to users on its support account on X saying, "We understand the importance of staying connected, and would be happy to take a look at what's occurring,. Please send us a DM, and we can jump right in!" and "Hello! I know how frustrating this may be and how important it is to have reliable service. Send us a DM to address any concerns you may have today."

Users also reported issues accessing Verizon's support page on its website. A post on X by Verizon Support had hundred of responses by mid-morning.

Why is my phone SOS?

Many users reported phones displaying "SOS" mode. The message appears on iPhones when a device is not connected to a cellular network to indicated the user can still make emergency calls through other networks.

The feature is available only in the United States, Canada and Australia.

Contact Us