Greensboro residents – and Verizon customers in many other parts of the country as well – learned on Wednesday, Jan. 14, just how dependent they are on their cell phones and the phone service provided through them. For many Verizon customers, they may as well have been carrying around a light brick because a cell phone without cell phone services is like sex without, well, without the sex.
Verizon stores around town were swamped with customers who thought that there was something wrong with their phone, however, customers were told by Verizon staff that Wednesday afternoon that the cellular and data services were largely lacking on the east coast and were still spreading at that point.
Some people were able to use FaceTime on their iPhones to communicate and, fortunately, everyone’s phone is supposed to allow 911 calls in situations like this because those calls are allowed to jump to available networks if one network is down.
Some across the country have reported seeing their service restored, but many Verizon customers, such as the Rhino Times, still had no ability to make or receive calls or texts Wednesday evening.
The widespread outage affecting Verizon Wireless disrupted phone service, text messaging and mobile data across large parts of the US.
Users in Greensboro reported phones suddenly switching to “SOS” or “emergency calls only” mode, with no ability to place normal calls, send text messages, or access cellular data.
Similar reports surfaced across much of the country, including major metropolitan areas on the East Coast, Midwest, and West Coast.
Outage-tracking services showed a rapid spike in complaints beginning late in the morning and continuing into the afternoon.
Hundreds of thousands of Verizon customers nationwide reported service problems. Many users said the outage appeared suddenly and without warning, cutting off routine communications and leaving some unable to receive authentication codes, banking alerts, or important work-related messages that rely on mobile networks.
In Greensboro, some customers said the outage appeared inconsistent, with one Verizon phone working while another phone on the same account or in the same household had no service. In one case, the Rhino Times was aware of the flip phone of one elderly woman working fine all day.
Other Verizon customers said service briefly returned before dropping again.
Verizon acknowledged the outage publicly, confirming that wireless voice and data services were affected for some customers. The company stated that engineers were working to identify the cause and restore service but didn’t provide a detailed explanation or a firm timeline for full restoration.
As the outage continued, Verizon directed customers to use Wi-Fi calling where available and to rely on Wi-Fi connections for internet access.
The outage raised concerns beyond inconvenience – particularly for customers who rely exclusively on mobile phones for communication. In several parts of the country, officials warned that some Verizon users may have had difficulty accessing emergency services during the disruption. Customers were advised to use landlines or alternative carriers if they needed to make urgent calls.
Businesses and institutions that depend on mobile connectivity were also affected. Customers reported issues with mobile payment systems, delivery confirmations, and two-factor authentication processes that require text messages.
Large-scale outages are relatively rare for major US wireless carriers, but this event appeared to rank among the more significant Verizon disruptions in recent years based on the volume of reports and the geographic scope.
Past Verizon outages, in late 2024 and early 2025, drew criticism from customers and prompted questions about network resilience. That’s especially a concern at a time when more services rely on continuous mobile connectivity.
By Wednesday afternoon, some customers reported partial restoration of service; however, others continued to experience outages or unstable connections.
Verizon said restoration efforts were ongoing and that service would return gradually as network issues were resolved.
Thinking it was the ayatollah.
Makes you wonder! Aren’t most of our cell phones made in China? Could this have been a deliberate test ?
It’s a test everyday, it’s all around us. I’m saying right now this America is not prepared for what is around the corner. I can only pray that we survive and not have to learn a new language
i will ‘range’ train while u pray.
This is interesting…I live in south western Guilford, and had NO difficulty in receiving the bajillion spam calls I’ve been getting since making the mistake of inquiring online about prices for having a minor bath remodel! Granted, I didn’t ANSWER any of them, so don’t know if my service was functioning or not! I do have the phone linked to my Wi-Fi, so we shall see!!
Well, I had no problem. I must have been special.
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Try Tracfone.
Cheap as chips and works fine.
ditto