Metro Detroit Verizon customers are reporting service issues Monday, likely part of a larger connectivity problem that the wireless company told the Free Press had started at about 9 a.m., and it is attempting to fix.
“Some Verizon wireless customers may be experiencing connectivity issues,” the company said in its email to the Free Press. “Our engineering teams are working diligently on the issue. We will provide additional updates as they become available.”
What does SOS status mean?
Some customers said they are unable to make or receive calls but can send text messages. Some phones also show “SOS only” is in the status bar or an SOS icon, which means the phone wasn’t connected to a cellular network, but, as a safety feature in the United States and Canada, can still make emergency calls.
SOS, in the days of Morse Code, stood for “save our souls” or “save our ship,” but is short for emergency.
Verizon did not identify, however, what caused the outage or give an estimated time when it would be resolved.
Downdetector, a website that tracks outages, showed customers reporting outages at about that time, and by about 11 a.m., the number of customers spike to more than 100,000, although that number has been tapering off, and by noon was at about 80,000.
The site showed customers of other carriers, including AT&T, T-Mobile and US Cellular, also reporting service outages at about the same time, but in much smaller numbers.
In addition, search trends show many searching Google to try to find answers why their service was out.
In addition, the outage, however, appears to be limited to some — but not all — customers in metro Detroit.
Verizon outage map
In order to check to Verizon outages, customers must be logged into the website. Users will be able to check on repair status and find troubleshooting information. The site also offers an outage map.
Contact Frank Witsil: 313-222-5022 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Verizon users hit by outage in Michigan, beyond: SOS status, map
Source Agencies
