Verizon down again? Network outage hits customers across US
Verizon users in the United States faced significant network disruptions early Friday, affecting mobile and internet services in various regions and causing connectivity issues for many.
Several users of Verizon across the United States experienced widespread network disruptions during the early hours of Friday, with mobile and internet services going offline in several regions, resulting in connectivity issues for many, according to data from Downdetector.
How many users were impacted?
Reports of outage rose from 96 at 9:26 am ET to 7,163 at 9:56 ET on Friday, 17 October, according to Downdetector, a website that monitors real-time network issues.
Users in cities such as New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix and Atlanta were majorly impacted.
Downdetector noted that 51% of complaints reported by Verizon users involved cell phones, while 32% were over 5G home internet.
Why is it important?
Verizon ranks among the largest mobile and broadband providers in the US, offering over 146.1 million wireless retail connections and 10.4 million broadband connections by the end of June 2025, according to a report by Newsweek.
The latest complaints days after customers highlighted similar issues with Verizon's network.
On October 10, several users on social media reported widespread outages. Users complained about connectivity issues with the Verizon network. Over 1,000 complaints were registered on Downdetector.
Approximately 58% of users reported issues with their mobile internet, 24% said they had 'No Signal,' and 18% experienced trouble with 5G Home Internet.
Verizon announced an upgrade in June that offers customers access to a Customer Champion and an AI assistant that provides updates through the app, text, or phone call.
In April, ethical hacker Evan Connelly stated that millions of Verizon customers were at risk of their call histories being exposed because of a security vulnerability in the company’s Call Filter app. Connelly wrote: “This wasn't just a data leak. It was a real-time surveillance mechanism waiting to be abused," the Newsweek report said.
What did Verizon say about the outage?
A Verizon spokesperson told the news portal, “Some Verizon customers in the Charlotte, North Carolina, area may have experienced a brief service interruption in the early morning hours Thursday. Engineers were able to identify and quickly resolve the issue.”