Cellular networks across the United States experienced a widespread outage, leaving AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile users from New York to Los Angeles without service and prompting emergency 911 services to crash, with many phones displaying SOS messages.
Reports of network issues flooded in early Thursday morning, affecting users both nationwide and in Canada. AT&T iPhone users found themselves stuck in SOS mode, limiting their calls to emergency services exclusively.
The outage, as per data from DownDetector, surged around 4 am Eastern time, with disruptions reported in major cities including New York, Boston, Washington, Montreal, Honolulu, Atlanta, Houston, Dallas, Los Angeles, Seattle, and San Francisco. AT&T users reported the highest number of issues, peaking at 31,931 reports by 4:30 am. Additionally, over 800 service outages from U.S. wireless carriers Verizon and T-Mobile were logged on the platform.
The nationwide outage has severely impacted 911 operators’ ability to field emergency calls, further exacerbating the situation.
As of now, major cellphone providers have yet to issue any statements regarding the cause of the outages, leaving users in the dark about the root of the problem. Meanwhile, smaller providers such as Boost Mobile, Consumer Cellular, and Straight Talk also reported similar service disruptions.
In Atlanta, WSB-TV reported that Verizon customers in the region experienced their second outage in a week. Similarly, in Orlando, the city’s Fox-affiliate confirmed difficulties in making contact with reporters in the field. Meanwhile, Tampa users told WFLA that their phone service went down as early as 2 am.
Despite the widespread calling issues, some users in New Orleans noted that while making calls was impossible, texting services appeared to be functioning normally. The situation remains fluid as affected users await updates and resolutions from their respective service providers.
