Verizon says it's working to restore service. But if your Verizon device still shows "SOS" instead of service bars, you're affected by today's outage.

Countless Verizon users reported a widespread outage in their area on January 14, 2026. Get all the updates on the outage, here.

Tess Coward, a 27-year-old PR professional based in New York City, woke up feeling under the weather on Wednesday. But without the ability to make phone calls or receive text messages, she couldn’t get in touch with her doctor or log into the provider’s patient portal.

During the Verizon outage, police warned that contacting 911 could be tricky. Big disruptions can have cascading effects on everyday life.