(NEXSTAR) — While multiple cellphone and internet providers are
working to restore services Monday morning after Hurricane Helene
struck the Southeast, users of one main company saying their phones
aren’t working and their internet is down, even outside the storm
zone.
User reports for problems with Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile
initially spiked on Downdetector.com,
a site that tracks outages across platforms and services. None saw a
higher outage spike than Verizon, which surpassed 100,000 outage reports around 11 a.m. ET.
Verizon users
say they’re having problems with their mobile phones, including
reports of “no signal” and “total blackout.” Verizon internet
customers have also reported slow speeds.
Some Verizon customers on social media — including those who say they aren’t “in a storm zone” — say their
phones are in “SOS mode,” a problem AT&T users reported in August during a widespread outage. This means
a phone is unable to connect to the cellular provider’s network but
can still make emergency calls through other networks. Users should,
in most cases, also be able to connect to Wi-Fi to make calls, if
needed.
Verizon’s network status page, meanwhile, is either not
loading or loading slowly for customers. When it does load, users
say they have problems identifying the service they want to check
and inputting their address.
A spokesperson for Verizon told Nexstar via email that the company
is “aware of an issue impacting service for some customers.”
“Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify
and solve the issue,” the statement continued. The spokesperson did
not provide any additional details.
In a post on X, a Verizon Support member said the company is “diligently working” on
restoring services “in a timely manner.”
Heat maps provided by Downdetector show many of the user outage
reports for Verizon, AT&T, and T-Mobile are focused across parts
of Florida, northern Georgia, and into Tennessee, North Carolina,
Kentucky, and Virginia — all areas that were in the path of Hurricane Helene’s deadly march last week.
For AT&T users, the top complaints are regarding mobile phones,
landline internet, and mobile internet. T-Mobile users report problems with mobile phones, 5G home
internet, and “no signal.”
AT&T warned on Sunday that while its crews are
working to restore service in “some of the hardest-hit areas,”
customers “may still experience home phone and internet service
interruptions due to storm damage and commercial power outages.”
Customers can check if there is an outage near them on AT&T’s website.
T-Mobile said Sunday that it had “completely or nearly
restored” services in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Virginia, and in “most of Florida.” Work was continuing throughout
Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and West
Virginia. It was also offering locations in North Carolina and South
Carolina for customers to charge their devices and connect to Wi-Fi.
Verizon is also continuing to work to restore its services, the
company said in a Sunday update. According to the update, some
customers in central north Florida “may experience scattered service
degradation.” Restoration work continues in western North Carolina,
upstate South Carolina, and in eastern Georgia.
