Verizon has second big outage in as many weeks — here’s what we know
Users report that their phones are again going into SOS mode
Sudden spike in outage reports
There were reports of Verizon service disruptions in the last 24 hours, but Downdetector shows a huge spike in the last hour, with over 1,500 reports coming in. It doesn't look isolated to one area either. Are you experiencing disruptions? Let us know.
Outage reports span the country
Although the Verizon outage doesn't appear to be as massive right now as the last time, there are customers in many markets across the country experiencing service disruptions. The most reported locations based on Downdetector include the following:
- New York City
- Tampa
- Omaha
- Philadelphia
- Minneapolis
- Atlanta
- Chicago
- Los Angeles
- Lakeland
Verizon rivals appear unaffected
As of 1:32 p.m. ET, Downdetector is showing 1,255 reports of users having service disruptions with Verizon. Meanwhile, rivals AT&T and T-Mobile don't appear to have mass disruptions with their services.
Spectrum Mobile customers also affected
Meanwhile, there are reports from users on Threads saying that Spectum Mobile is also experiencing outages today and the Downdetector reports from today seem to indicate this. Spectrum Mobile operates off Verizon's 4G LTE and 5G networks.
Outage has lasted at least 2 hours
Two hours since the initial spike, there are still reports of customers having service disruptions with Verizon, but it has gone down to a total of 1,186 reports at 1:59 p.m. ET according to Downdetector.
This is nowhere close to the amount from the previous Verizon outage, which accumulated over 100,000 outage reports.
Verizon Status page reveals outage in New York
Verizon has a tool on their website to check the status of their network. Enter you address and the tool will inform you whether or not an outage is happening.
We put in the address for our New York office and it does appear that the service is down. The message reads, "Data, voice, text and wireless home internet service are limited in New York, NY."
The tool also states that Verizon is aware of the issue and is working on a solution. We have reached out to Verizon for comment and will update if the company officially responds.
The message currently claims that the issue should be resolved by 3:55 P.M. Eastern time on October 10, 2024.
I am on the west coast currently and checked for Los Angeles. For LA, the status tool says that Verizon is "looking into Los Angeles, CA area for a potential network disruption." It goes on to say that they would know more within 12 hours. I am currently not experiencing any issues, so it's unclear if the issue is only occurring on the East Coast.
Verizon acknowledges the outage
A Verizon spokesperson provided the following comment: “We are aware of an issue impacting some customers in a couple of states in the Great Plains region. Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to resolve the issue.”
Obviously, the outage is affecting more than just the Great Plains area of the country. The Down Detector outage map currently shows big outages in New York and Washington DC and the Wichita, Kansas metro area with a smattering of other areas across the country reporting issues.
Verizon support directing people to DMs on X
Many, we are discouraged that you are having service issues. Please DM your location and we can work together to figure out what could be going on. -Deb https://t.co/LmWSJoFfjhOctober 10, 2024
Over on X (nee Twitter), the Verizon Support account is responding to people with complaints about service outages by directing them to DM the company.
Neither the support account or the main Verizon account have officially acknowledged the outage but they are clearly getting inundated with replies from aggrieved customers.
As of this posting, over on Down Detector the spike appears to be decreasing but it's still ongoing.
Service appears to be returning
As the Down Detector graph trends below 500 reports as of 2:00 PM Pacific, it does appear that service is returning to people.
We're seeing reports on X that people are getting service back. Of course, there are still people tweeting at the Verizon Support account that they have been in SOS mode for awhile now.
Surprisingly, we haven't seen too many reports out of Florida regarding lack of service. A couple of tweeters noted they were in Jupiter, Florida without service but most of the reports appear to be coming or came from other areas of the country.
Verizon, and other providers, did take some heat after Hurricane Helene knocked out service for a number of people across multiple states just 10 days ago. Though they appear to have bolstered the service or put resources towards ensuring service after a hurricane.
Verizon provided Tom's Guide with a statement which reads: Some Verizon customers in a few states in the midwest experienced a brief service interruption today. Engineers were able to identify and resolve the issue and service was restored by 3:30 PM ET.
Service does appear to be returning as reports have started to go down across social media and status pages.
The company did not elaborate on what may have caused the interruption.
Down Detector basically back to normal
Quick one: Down Detector just shifted from the Red "problems" color on the graph to the orange-y yellow that indicates "some problems." Basically this means the problem is going away. Blue indicates that there are no problems.
No official word on X
It's worth contrasting Verizon's response today with the one from the September 30 outage more than a week ago. Verizon's support account on X/Twitter gave several updates about that outage, but the one today has yet to product a response on the social media network. Verizon has responded to our comment when we reached out to them and this outage doesn't appear to be as widespread as the Sept. 30 one, but it's still a striking difference.
Reports on the decline
It's now after 6 p.m. ET, and the trend line on Down Defector is definitely sliding downward. It still seems that some customers are reporting outages, though.
From the chart, it looks like outage reports peaked just after noon ET. (The chart above is showing the Pacific time zone.) And as we mentioned earlier, the chart has shifted from red to orange, suggesting things are improving.
Service has been restored
With reports dwindling and the Down Detector tracker on the steady decline, it appears that the latest Verizon outage has finally been resolved.
Tom's Guide is wrapping up our coverage of the event. However, while the outage appears to be over, we will keep an eye on the service in case there is any change in status.
