Verizon Customers Nationwide Report Outages, Phones Stuck in SOS Mode
August 30, 2025 — Verizon subscribers across the United States faced widespread network issues on Saturday, leaving many unable to make calls or use data services for hours. Customers reported their devices defaulting to SOS mode, allowing only emergency calls.
Verizon Responds to Service Disruption
Verizon acknowledged the outage in a statement, describing it as a software-related problem.
“Our engineers are working quickly to identify the cause and restore service,” the company said, adding that updates are available on its Check Network Status page. Verizon apologized for the disruption and thanked customers for their patience.
By Saturday evening, shortly after 9 p.m. ET, the company announced on X (formerly Twitter) that it had begun to see service returning in affected areas.
Outages Span Coast to Coast
Reports of service interruptions appeared nationwide, with complaints logged from California to Florida. According to DownDetector, a site that tracks network outages, the first wave of reports began around 12 p.m. ET and peaked at 3:30 p.m. ET, with nearly 23,000 complaints.
One Los Angeles customer told CBS News that the issue was far more widespread than Verizon implied: “They keep saying only some people are affected, but all my friends in L.A. who use Verizon don’t have service either.”
Phones Shift to SOS Mode
During the outage, many devices displayed SOS mode, which allows calls to emergency numbers such as 911 even if the carrier’s network is down. Apple explains that phones enter this mode when they cannot connect to their own provider but can temporarily connect to another carrier for emergency services.
Previous Verizon Outages
This isn’t the first time Verizon customers have experienced large-scale connectivity problems. In October 2024, the company had another major outage, with more than 100,000 complaints logged on DownDetector.
As engineers continue to work on restoring full service, Verizon has urged customers to monitor official updates for the latest information.