A major Verizon outage has left many US cities in the dark, with internet and mobile services disrupted across the nation. This is a significant development that has impacted a wide range of users, from individuals to businesses.
The issue began in the early hours of Friday morning, with reports of outages in major cities like New York, Boston, and Washington D.C. The number of affected users skyrocketed, reaching a peak of 7,531 reports at 0:20 a.m. ET on October 17th, according to Downdetector. While the situation improved slightly later in the morning, with the number of reports decreasing, it still remained significantly higher than usual.
Verizon's outage was widespread, affecting various regions across the US. A map generated by Downdetector showed concentrated reports in cities like New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Detroit, and Minneapolis, with additional reports coming from Atlanta, Houston, San Francisco, Phoenix, and Seattle.
Users experienced a range of issues, with 52% reporting problems with their mobile phones, 40% losing signal, and 8% encountering issues with their 5G home internet. The impact was felt by many, as one frustrated user commented on X: "I've had enough of these outages. Next time, I'm switching carriers. I pay too much to deal with these service issues from a company that claims to be the best."
Another user, located in Kalamazoo, shared their experience: "My home internet has been down for about three hours now, and it's driving me crazy. I have no idea what's going on with Verizon here, but this is unacceptable. I'm trying to keep my cool, but it's challenging."
The outage has left many Verizon customers frustrated and seeking answers. One user, a Verizon customer from Jackson, MI, expressed their frustration: "I tried to contact support, but they won't talk to me unless I verify my number, which I can't do because their services are down. I'm connected to my car's cellular signal, which is with another provider, and they're not experiencing any issues."
Verizon has yet to provide an official statement regarding the outage. However, the company's importance in the US cannot be overstated. At the end of June 2025, Verizon was providing an impressive 146.1 million wireless retail connections and 10.4 million broadband connections, making it one of the largest mobile and broadband providers in the country.
Friday's outage had the potential to disrupt a large number of businesses and households, especially considering the scale of Verizon's reach. While the impact may have been somewhat mitigated due to the timing of the outage, occurring in the middle of the night, it still highlights the vulnerability of our digital infrastructure.
This is not the first time Verizon customers have experienced service interruptions. On October 9th, a brief outage was reported, with a peak of 1,244 reports at 0:56 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector. After that incident, a Verizon spokesperson commented: "Some of our customers in the Charlotte, North Carolina area may have briefly experienced a service interruption during the early morning hours on Thursday. Our engineers quickly identified and resolved the issue."
So, what do you think? Are these frequent outages a cause for concern, or are they an inevitable part of our digital age? Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below!
