Verizon suffers major outage, disrupts calling and data services for wireless customers across the US
Verizon network outage that has left thousands of users’ phones stuck in “SOS” mode across the United States • Verizon Communications is experiencing a major nationwide wireless service outage that began around midday January 14, 2026 , affecting voice calls, text messages, and mobile data for many customers across the U.S. • Outage-tracking site Downdetector logged tens of thousands of reports , with peak daily reports of around 175,000–180,000 incidents linked to Verizon. Phones stuck in “SOS” mode • Many Verizon users reported their phones displaying “SOS” or “SOS only” instead of normal signal bars — a sign that devices have lost connection to Verizon’s network. • “SOS” mode usually means regular cellular service is unavailable, but emergency calls (e.g., 911) may still be possible either through alternative networks or phone features. • Data from outages showed about 64 % of reports were users seeing SOS mode on their devices, 33 % had no signal , and a smaller s...