WASHINGTON — Verizon has restored its cellular network after an outage Monday left tens of thousands of customers unable to make calls, text or access mobile data.
"Verizon engineers have fully restored today's network disruption that impacted some customers. Service has returned to normal levels. If you are still having issues, we recommend restarting your device," the company said in a statement late Monday. "We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience."
The outage left many iPhone users in SOS mode, meaning it can only make emergency calls.
AT&T, which suffered its own hourslong service outage back in February, publicly said Monday that its national network is working fine.
"Down Detector is likely reflecting challenges our customers are having attempting to connect to users on another network," AT&T posted on social media.
When will the Verizon outage be fixed?
Verizon posted on social media just after 7 p.m. that the issues have been fixed. If you are still experiencing problems, Verizon recommends you restart your device.
Why is my phone in SOS mode? What is SOS mode?
SOS mode is simply a way for your iPhone to tell you that you don't have a proper cellular connection, meaning you're only able to call or text emergency services through the cellular network.
iPhone 14 or newer models also have satellite SOS capability, so you're able to call 911 even when outside of any cellular service range, unless you're some place where signal can't get out at all.
Android phones will also let you call 911 without service, although it's not called SOS mode.
What can I do when my phone has no service?
Wi-Fi calling is a built-in feature on most Android devices and iPhones and can be turned on under the phone's settings.
If Wi-Fi isn't available, there are few options for cell phone users. It's possible to switch services if a phone is unlocked, but that requires signing up online and porting your phone number.
Some apps, including Google Maps, have limited service offline. Payment apps also do not use a phone's cell service to work and should also be useable.
Chris McCrory contributed to this report.