Cellular outages have hit major service providers across the United States, leaving many Americans without reliable phone service. AT&T, Cricket Wireless, Verizon, T-Mobile, and other carriers have all experienced disruptions, causing inconvenience and frustration for their customers. The outages, which began in the early hours of the morning, have affected various locations throughout the country.
AT&T, in particular, has been hit the hardest, with over 58,000 reported outages around noon ET. This telecommunications giant, which boasts the largest subscriber base in the country with over 240 million users, is actively working to restore service to all affected customers. The outages have been reported in cities such as Houston, Atlanta, and Chicago.
Cricket Wireless, a subsidiary of AT&T, has also been impacted by the outages, with more than 9,000 reported incidents. Verizon and T-Mobile have experienced a lesser number of outages, with over 2,000 and 1,400 incidents respectively. Boost Mobile, another popular service provider, has reported approximately 700 outages.
While AT&T and Cricket Wireless have acknowledged the disruptions and are working diligently to restore service, Verizon claims that its network is operating normally. However, some Verizon customers have experienced difficulties when calling or texting users on other networks. T-Mobile, on the other hand, denies any outage on its network and suggests that the reported incidents may be related to challenges in connecting to users on different networks.
Interestingly, some iPhone users have noticed SOS messages displayed on their devices’ status bars during the outages. According to Apple Support, this indicates that the phones are having trouble connecting to their cellular provider’s network. However, emergency calls can still be made through other carrier networks.
The cause of these widespread outages remains unknown. Lee McKnight, an associate professor at Syracuse University, speculates that a cloud misconfiguration or human error may be responsible for the disruptions. He believes that an intentional malicious hack is less likely due to the diffuse pattern of outages across the country.
For those still affected by the outages, Alexander Wyglinski, a professor at Worcester Polytechnic Institute, suggests a possible workaround. Many cell phones support Wi-Fi calling, which can serve as a backup option if users are near a Wi-Fi access point. This allows them to make calls using their internet connection instead of relying on the cellular network.
As the service providers continue their efforts to restore full functionality, affected customers are advised to stay patient and utilize alternative means of communication when necessary. The impact of these outages serves as a reminder of our increasing reliance on cellular networks and the importance of backup options in times of disruption.