(Updated to include new information.)
Tens of thousands of cellphone users were impacted by a nationwide telecommunication outage on Monday.
Verizon users were the most impacted, followed by AT&T, T-Mobile and US Cellular users, according to Downdetector.com, a website that monitors real-time outages.
Phoenix was among the most impacted cities, with more than 5,000 Verizon customers impacted. Chicago, Seattle, Omaha and Indianapolis were also seeing significant impacts. The surge in outage reports began at about 6:30 a.m. and peaked at about 8:15 a.m. Arizona time.
Downdetector showed more than 100,000 Verizon customers and thousands from other providers were affected nationwide. More than half of affected customers reported issues on their mobile phones, while 34% said they had no signal and 13% reported a total blackout.
Verizon said the company was aware of the issue and was working to restore service to customers.
“Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to solve the issue,” the company posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Outage reports appeared to be decreasing as of 10:30 a.m., with more than 50,000 customers still reporting issues.
The service outage also caused some to see an SOS icon where the cellphone service usually displays on the screen. Here’s what it means and how to fix it.
Why does my phone say SOS?
An SOS symbol appeared on the screens of iPhone users who use Verizon where cell service bars are normally shown.
According to Apple support, if you’re having trouble with phone service and you see SOS or “SOS only” in the status bar, it means your device can still make emergency calls despite not being connected to a phone network.
The purpose is that you can make calls to first responders in an emergency despite not having cellphone service. When users make an SOS call, the iPhone automatically calls the local emergency number and shares the user’s location information with emergency services, according to Apple. In some countries and regions, users might need to choose the service they need.
If you need more help with the outage, you can contact Verizon Support.
If the cellular issue has been solved and you still can’t connect to a cellular network, contact Apple support.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why does my phone say SOS? What to know about cellphone outage
Source Agencies
