Verizon reported a significant service disruption on Wednesday, impacting around 2 million customers for over 8 hours. The outage, which spanned the entire United States, was unusual in its duration and widespread reach compared to typical service interruptions caused by localized issues such as natural disasters or hardware failures.
Late in the day, the company confirmed that the problem was resolved and instructed customers to restart their devices to regain connectivity. Additionally, Verizon announced a $20 credit for those affected. While the exact cause of the outage remains unclear, a spokesperson indicated it was related to a "software issue" and ruled out any connection to cybersecurity threats.
Reports indicated service was down in numerous locations, including New York, Los Angeles, Florida, and Hawaii. Analyst Roger Entner from Recon Analytics speculated that a feature update may have malfunctioned, particularly affecting new high-end devices in areas with Verizon's 5G SA core. He noted that such outages typically occur during early morning hours, making the midday timing of this event particularly unusual.