Here’s How to Fix Your Phone Now That Verizon Says the Outage Is Resolved

Verizon’s massive nationwide outage that began on January 24, 2026, has officially ended, but that doesn’t mean your phone is automatically working again. If you’re still experiencing connectivity issues after the carrier confirmed service restoration at 10:24 PM ET, you’re not alone—and there are several troubleshooting steps you can take to get back online.

What Happened During the Outage

The outage started just before 12:30 PM ET and lasted more than 8 hours, affecting wireless voice, text, and data services across numerous regions including New York, New Jersey, the Carolinas, Texas, and Florida.[1] At its peak, Down Detector reported over 180,000 issues as customers found themselves unable to make calls or send texts.[1] Many iPhone users saw their familiar network bars replaced with an “SOS” indicator, which directed them to satellite connectivity as a fallback option.[1] Verizon later confirmed that a software issue caused the disruption, with no indication of a cybersecurity incident.[1]

The First Step: Restart Your Device

The most important action you can take right now is surprisingly simple. Restart your phone immediately.[1][3] Verizon’s official guidance emphasizes that restarting your device is the best way to reconnect to the network after the outage has been resolved.[1][3] This gives your phone the opportunity to re-establish its connection to Verizon’s towers and refresh its network settings.

To restart your device:

• iPhone users: Press and hold the side button and either volume button until the power-off slider appears. Drag the slider, wait 30 seconds, then press and hold the side button again until the Apple logo appears.
• Android users: Press and hold the power button for several seconds until a restart option appears on your screen. Select “Restart” and wait for your device to power back on.

Give your phone a few moments after restarting to fully connect to the network. You should see your familiar network bars return, along with your 5G, 5G UW, or 4G indicator.

What If the Restart Doesn’t Work?

If you’ve restarted your device and still aren’t seeing network connectivity, there are additional troubleshooting steps worth trying:

Check Airplane Mode: Swipe down from the top-right corner of your iPhone (or down twice on Android) to access your control center or quick settings. Make sure Airplane Mode is toggled off. If it’s already off, try turning it on for 10 seconds, then turning it back off. This can help reset your network connection.

Toggle Cellular Data: Go into your phone’s Settings, navigate to Cellular (iPhone) or Mobile Network (Android), and toggle cellular data off for 10 seconds, then back on. This forces your phone to reconnect to Verizon’s network.

Remove and Reinsert Your SIM Card: Power off your phone completely, locate your SIM card tray (usually on the side of your device), and gently remove it. Wait a few seconds, then reinsert it firmly until you hear a click. Power your phone back on and wait for it to reconnect.

Update Your Carrier Settings: On iPhone, go to Settings > General > About and see if a carrier settings update is available. If one appears, install it immediately. This can resolve connectivity issues after major network disruptions.

Dealing with Persistent Issues

Even after the outage is officially resolved, some customers may experience lingering problems due to network congestion as millions of users simultaneously reconnect. If you’re still unable to connect after trying these steps, consider:

• Waiting a few hours: Network traffic may be extremely heavy as everyone reconnects simultaneously. Your service may stabilize once peak reconnection traffic subsides.
• Contacting Verizon Support: If problems persist beyond a few hours, reach out to Verizon directly through the My Verizon app or by calling customer service. Representatives can check your account for specific issues and may need to perform network-level troubleshooting.
• Visiting a Verizon Store: For persistent hardware-related issues, visiting a local Verizon store allows technicians to diagnose whether your phone’s hardware was affected by the outage.

Don’t Forget Your Account Credit

Verizon has committed to providing affected customers with a $20 account credit as compensation for the outage.[3] This credit can be redeemed through the My Verizon app and will be automatically applied to your account.[3] You’ll receive a text message notification when the credit becomes available. While the carrier acknowledges that no credit can truly make up for the disruption, this gesture recognizes the inconvenience caused to millions of customers.

Moving Forward

The January 24 outage serves as a reminder of how dependent we’ve become on cellular connectivity. Once your service is fully restored, consider backing up important contacts and documents to cloud services, enabling Wi-Fi calling as a backup option, and ensuring you have alternative communication methods available during future disruptions.

If your phone is working again after restarting, you’re among the fortunate majority. However, if issues persist, don’t hesitate to reach out to Verizon support—they’re prepared to help customers still experiencing problems after this unprecedented outage.

Original source: Lifehacker – Here’s How to Fix Your Phone Now That Verizon Says the Outage Is Resolved