Verizon outage August 8 disrupts voice calls for some U.S. wireless users

Verizon outage August 8 reports rose sharply after roughly 3:30 p.m. ET, with more than 13,000 submissions recorded at the peak on outage-tracking service Downdetector, CNBC reported. Verizon said it was making progress on an issue affecting voice services for some wireless customers and advised users still experiencing problems to restart their devices.

The company did not give a cause for the disruption. The reported problems centred on mobile calling, affecting customers’ ability to place or receive calls in several parts of the US, according to CNBC and USA Today.

At about 5:25 p.m. ET, Downdetector showed 12,319 Verizon problem reports filed during the previous three hours, USA Today reported. New York, Los Angeles and Boston were among the metropolitan areas with the greatest concentration of reports, according to CNBC.

Was Verizon down on August 8?

Verizon confirmed that some wireless customers were experiencing an issue with voice services on Saturday, August 8. Its statement did not establish how many subscribers were affected, how broadly the problem extended or when all service would be restored.

Downdetector’s figures should be read as a measure of user submissions, rather than a count of verified affected Verizon customers. The service gathers reports from users, and an increase signals a possible disruption but does not show that all customers in an area, or across Verizon’s network, have lost service.

USA Today said the large majority of reports in its afternoon snapshot concerned mobile phones. Smaller shares related to mobile internet and Verizon’s 5G home internet product. Downdetector’s live Verizon page also lists mobile phone, mobile internet and 5G home internet among the categories through which users can report problems.

What should Verizon customers do?

Verizon’s immediate guidance was for customers who remained affected to restart their devices. Customers can also use Verizon’s network-status tool to enter an address and check whether the company has identified a local issue, USA Today reported.

Calls involving customers of AT&T and T-Mobile were also reported as failing to connect, according to Downdetector data cited by CNBC. That evidence indicates difficulty completing some calls between networks; it does not establish separate service outages at AT&T or T-Mobile.

For readers tracking the event, Downdetector’s Verizon page presents reported problems over the preceding 24 hours. Its figures can change as new reports are submitted and as service conditions improve.

Verizon had not disclosed a technical explanation for the voice-service issue in the information reported by CNBC. The company’s acknowledgement and restart recommendation were the only confirmed operational updates available in the reporting.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.