What caused Verizon's nationwide service outage? Bay Area and East Coast among hardest hit

Verizon customers experienced network issues on the evening of Saturday, August 30, 2025, due to a nationwide service outage caused by a software issue.

USA Today indicated that at least 11,134 Verizon wireless outages were reported by Downdetector. Responding to the service issues, the company’s official Support page said:

“We are aware of a software issue impacting wireless service for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue. Please visit our Check Network Status page for updates on service in your area. We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience. We appreciate your patience.”

A report in the New York Post stated that the outage reports peaked at 23,674 around 3:30 p.m. E.T., after which they started to decline gradually.

Thousands of Verizon customers complained that their phones were stuck in “SOS mode,” where their devices could only make emergency calls.

Which cities were hit by the Verizon service outage?

According to Downdetector, the cities where the Verizon service outage was reported included some major metro areas like Los Angeles, Orlando, Tampa, Chicago, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Omaha, and Indianapolis.

People across the country were left with no option except to run their phones on SOS mode. SOS mode means that the phone could make emergency calls, such as 911, by connecting to other carriers, according to Apple.

Frustrated customers took to social media to express themselves on the disruption of Verizon services. One of the users took to X and wrote,

“Verizon could’ve at least sent a notification out of the outage instead of having all of us go rage their store employees. Guess that says a lot about them.”

Another added:

“[Tagging Verizon], absolutely inexcusable. If you have an outage, own up to it. Reassure your customers that you are working on it. Sh*t happens, we all get it. No posts, no texts, no banner on your website, nothing. Why do people have to go the corners of the internet to find answers?”

A Verizon customer told CBS News that Verizon’s disruption has affected his whole family as they all use the network’s wireless services. They said:

"Verizon is making it seem as if only 'some customers are affected.' That's not true. All my L.A. friends, who have Verizon, don't have service either."

However, the company has now restored its services. Sharing the news in a post on X. It informed its customers by sharing:

“Service for current customers has been fully restored following today’s software-related service disruption. We will continue to monitor the situation to ensure no further impacts. Thank you for your patience as our engineering team worked to resolve the issue.”

This is not the first time that Verizon has reported service outages. Last year, in September 2024, the company, with about 146.1 million subscribers in the United States, reported a similar issue.

More than 100,000 incidents were reported at that time. The service issue affected users on the East Coast, especially in New York and the Midwest.

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