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when is verizon going to be back up

Verizon has not given a clear public estimate for when today’s outage will be fully fixed, only saying that engineers are working to resolve it as quickly as possible. Service is already coming back in some areas, but disruptions are still ongoing as of this afternoon.

What’s going on right now

  • A major Verizon wireless outage started around midday (Eastern time) on January 14, 2026, hitting voice and data for customers across much of the U.S., especially larger cities.
  • Verizon has acknowledged the issue and apologized, but its statements so far focus on “working to identify and resolve the problem promptly” rather than giving an ETA.

“We are aware of an issue affecting wireless voice and data services for some customers… Our engineers are engaged… and we apologize for the inconvenience.”

When might Verizon be back up?

There is no official “back up by X o’clock” time yet. However, a few clues help set expectations:

  • Outage trackers show extremely high report counts earlier in the day, with some signs that reports have stopped spiking as hard, which usually suggests partial stabilization, not full recovery.
  • News outlets and Verizon’s own statements are still calling this an “ongoing” or “major” outage with investigations in progress, which typically means it could last several hours or more, not just minutes.

A reasonable expectation, based on similar large carrier outages, is:

  1. First few hours: Very unreliable service, SOS mode, failed calls and data in many places.
  2. Later the same day: Gradual restoration market by market, with some people fully back online while others still see issues.
  3. Next day: Most customers usually see normal service, but some pockets or specific features (like visual voicemail or certain data services) can still be flaky.

This is only an informed guess, not a guarantee, because Verizon has not confirmed a timeline.

What you can do right now

While waiting for Verizon to be fully back up, a few practical steps can make life easier:

  • Try Wi‑Fi calling:
    • If you have home or work Wi‑Fi, enable Wi‑Fi Calling in your phone settings so calls and texts may work over the internet instead of the cell network.
  • Use messaging apps:
    • Apps like WhatsApp, Signal, iMessage (between Apple devices), and other internet-based messengers often still work over Wi‑Fi even when the carrier network is down.
  • Check a status page / outage map:
    • Third‑party outage trackers are showing very high issue levels for Verizon and can give a rough sense of whether things are improving in your area.
  • If you need 911:
    • Local emergency agencies have warned that some Verizon users may have trouble calling 911 and recommend using another carrier’s phone, a landline, or going directly to a police or fire station in an emergency.

How to track when it’s back for you

Because restoration is usually gradual, the best signals that Verizon is “back up” where you are are:

  • Your phone switches from “SOS” or “No Service” back to normal bars with “Verizon” or “5G/LTE”.
  • Calls consistently connect and stay connected, including to non‑Verizon numbers.
  • Mobile data (web browsing, apps, maps) works away from Wi‑Fi without repeated errors or timeouts.

If your phone still shows no signal while others around you on Verizon seem fine, try:

  1. Toggling Airplane Mode off and on.
  2. Restarting the phone.
  3. Removing and reinserting the SIM/eSIM profile if your device allows it.

Bottom line: there is no confirmed time yet for when Verizon will be fully back up everywhere, but engineers are actively working on it, and large outages like this are usually significantly improved by later the same day, with cleanup and lingering issues possibly lasting into tomorrow.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.