Verizon outage impacting tens of thousands caused widespread mobile service disruptions across the United States. The outage affected calls, text messages, and data connections. Likewise, prompted emergency guidance from local governments.
Outage timeline
Verizon outage impacting tens of thousands began on January 14, 2026. Customers reported losing the ability to make calls, send texts, or access mobile data. Downdetector recorded a rapid surge in outage reports across the country. Reports peaked at more than 180,000 around early afternoon Eastern Time. As the day progressed, the number of reports declined but tens of thousands of users remained affected. Verizon confirmed a network issue and stated technical teams were working to restore service.
Emergency warnings
Verizon outage impacting tens of thousands raised concerns about access to emergency services. New York City issued a public alert warning residents that 911 calls could be disrupted for Verizon users. Officials advised using landlines or phones from other carriers if needed. Washington, D.C. released similar guidance during the outage period. These alerts highlighted risks tied to widespread mobile service loss during emergencies.
Carrier impact
Verizon outage impacting tens of thousands primarily affected Verizon customers nationwide. Smaller numbers of service complaints also appeared for AT&T and T-Mobile during the same time window. Downdetector showed those reports remained significantly lower than Verizon’s. Verizon focused its public updates on restoring its own network and did not confirm whether the disruptions were connected across carriers.
Regulatory response
Verizon outage impacting tens of thousands drew attention from federal regulators. Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr said the agency would investigate the outage. The FCC planned to review the cause and determine any necessary actions. The investigation followed previous large scale mobile outages that raised concerns about network reliability.
Past incidents
Verizon outage impacting tens of thousands followed earlier nationwide disruptions in recent years. A major outage in 2024 caused many phones to display emergency only service indicators. Those incidents led to regulatory scrutiny and public concern about resilience of wireless infrastructure.
Verizon outage impacting tens of thousands disrupted mobile connectivity nationwide on January 14, 2026. The incident led to emergency alerts, regulatory review, and renewed focus on network reliability and response measures.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2026/01/14/tech/verizon-outage-impacting-tens-of-thousands
