Verizon outage map: How to check your area

Many Verizon mobile users experienced a major service disruption on Wednesday afternoon, with customers reporting that their phones suddenly went into SOS mode.

Affected customers who want to check their local area for network problems have several options.

The platform Downdetector has a regularly updated Verizon outage map available online. (Disclosure: Downdetector and Mashable are both owned by Ziff Davis.)

The Downdetector heat map shows widespread Verizon outages, as reported by users. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Downdetector

The heat map shows clusters of user error reports in major U.S. cities, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Washington, D.C., and Atlanta. The outage map also indicates Verizon customers in Los Angeles and Seattle are experiencing problems, suggesting this is a true coast-to-coast problem.

You can also go to the Verizon website to check the company's network status; however, this page appears to be experiencing intermittent problems. Mashable reporters were unable to access an updated map at Verizon's website, and instead received the same statement Verizon posted on X previously.

"Verizon engineering teams are continuing to address today's service interruptions. Our teams remain fully deployed and are focused on the issue. We understand the impact this has on your day and remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible."

Verizon has a tool to check network status, but it did not appear to be working as of this writing. Credit: Screenshot courtesy of Verizon

Mashable has been providing ongoing coverage of the Verizon outage, which the company acknowledged in a statement: "We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience."

The company later said that its "engineering teams are continuing to address today's service interruptions."

So far, Verizon has not indicated what caused the ongoing outage or when service would be fully restored.

This is a developing story...