On January 14, 2026, the Verizon mobile network experienced an outage that lasted most of the day and purportedly affected over two million customers (via Down Detector). By 10 p.m. EST, January 14, the outage was fixed, and Verizon issued an official statement on the ordeal apologizing for the inconvenience and offering a $20 credit, which “can be easily redeemed by logging into the myVerizon app to accept.”
“This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened. No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging our customers’ time and showing that this matters to us,” Verizon’s statement reads. Besides apologizing and promising to continue working hard “day and night to provide the outstanding network and service that people expect from Verizon,” the company does not reveal what caused the outage, explain measures being taken, or mention how it plans to prevent future events like this. The good news is that if you were affected, like me, you should be able to log in to the myVerizon app and claim the credits soon, if not already.
It was odd for many Verizon users to see their home internet working just fine, even Wi-Fi on their phone, while the mobile network showed no signal at all — or in some cases, an SOS icon. I was one of the people affected for several hours on January 14. There was no way to send or receive texts, make or take calls, or handle anything data-related, at least not over mobile networks.
What caused the January 14 Verizon outage?
Speaking to USA Today on January 15, a Verizon spokesperson claimed the outage was tied to software problems and mentioned the company is reviewing what happened.
This is not the first time a widespread outage affected Verizon customers. In March 2019, another major Verizon outage prevented users from sending and receiving texts over mobile networks. Yet another service disruption affected hundreds of thousands of customers in August 2025. But even previous outages didn’t last 10 hours or longer as this one has.
Verizon laid off over 13,000 employees in November 2025, adding to more than 100,000 full-time employees dismissed over the last couple of years. While there’s no indication these job cuts are tied to this outage, it likely had implications for customer experience. It’s especially problematic when Verizon quietly raised wireless bills and increased revenue, as reported in its third fiscal quarter earnings of 2025. Meanwhile, Verizon is investing in AI to lure customers away from competitors.
