Verizon Outage Blamed on Software Issue as Up to 180,000 Users Report Problems, Carrier Offers $20 Credits
Verizon blamed a widespread outage on a "software issue," saying service disruptions — which left many users with only "SOS" or no service, knocked out Wi‑Fi calling for many and lasted more than six hours — generated Downdetector reports ranging from about 180,000 to 2.3 million. The carrier said it is conducting a full internal review, will provide affected customers a $20 account credit redeemable via the myVerizon app (business customers will be contacted directly), and the FCC is monitoring the situation.
📌 Key Facts
- Verizon publicly blamed the outage on a "software issue," said it is conducting a full internal review, and has not posted a detailed root-cause explanation.
- Verizon is offering a $20 account credit to affected customers, redeemable via the myVerizon app; customers will be notified by text when eligible and business customers will be contacted directly.
- The company characterized the $20 credit as covering "on average, multiple days of service" but acknowledged that no credit can fully make up for the outage.
- The disruption lasted more than six hours; Wi‑Fi calling failed for many users, many phones showed only an "SOS" emergency mode during the outage, and users often had to reboot devices to reconnect once service returned.
- Estimates of the outage's scale vary: Downdetector was cited as receiving as many as 2.3 million reports during the incident (per NPR), while another report cited up to 180,000 U.S. user reports.
- Telecom experts warned the shift to cloud- and software-based 5G networks increases complexity and vulnerability, pointing to insufficient staff training on cloud platforms (AWS, Microsoft, Google) as a systemic issue.
- The FCC said it is "continuing to actively investigate and monitor the situation to determine next steps," indicating possible regulatory follow-up.
📊 Relevant Data
In 2021, the median household income for Hispanic households was $57,671, compared to $74,932 for White households, $46,774 for Black households, and $99,572 for Asian households.
List of ethnic groups in the United States by household income — Wikipedia
In 2021, the median age for Hispanics was 30.5 years, compared to 43.8 years for non-Hispanic Whites, 34.5 years for non-Hispanic Blacks, and 37.7 years for non-Hispanic Asians.
Demographics of the United States — Wikipedia
Young adults, Hispanic adults, and those with lower incomes are more likely to rely on smartphones for internet access in the US.
Internet use, smartphone ownership, digital divides in the US — Pew Research Center
The January 2026 Verizon outage is estimated to have an economic impact of up to $1.5 billion on the company, based on outage duration and affected subscriber volume.
Verizon Outage Reignites Reliability Concerns — Forrester
📰 Source Timeline (4)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Verizon confirms it is offering a $20 account credit to affected customers, redeemable via the myVerizon app, and says business customers will be contacted directly about their credits.
- The company characterizes the $20 as roughly covering 'multiple days of service' but acknowledges 'no credit really can' make up for the outage.
- Downdetector data cited at up to 180,000 U.S. user reports during the outage, refining the public sense of scale.
- Verizon reiterates that a 'software issue' is the suspected cause and that a full internal review is under way.
- NPR confirms Verizon has not provided a detailed technical explanation beyond calling it 'a software issue' and says the company has posted no root-cause details on its site.
- Downdetector staff report they received 2.3 million Verizon outage reports during the incident, underscoring the scale of the disruption.
- NPR details that many users had only 'SOS' emergency mode during the outage and had to reboot devices to reconnect once service was restored.
- Telecom experts quoted explain that the shift to cloud- and software-based 5G networks increases complexity and vulnerability, with insufficient staff training on cloud platforms like AWS, Microsoft and Google cited as a systemic issue.
- The FCC states it is 'continuing to actively investigate and monitor the situation to determine next steps,' signaling possible regulatory follow‑up.
- Verizon publicly blamed the outage on a 'software issue' and said it is conducting a full review.
- The company will provide a $20 account credit to affected customers, available through the myVerizon app; customers will be notified by text when eligible.
- Verizon characterized the credit as covering 'on average, multiple days of service' and said business customers will be contacted directly about their credits.
- The article confirms the disruption lasted more than six hours and that Wi‑Fi calling also failed for many users.