Upstate experts and users are weighing in after a national outage left thousands of Verizon users disconnected on Wednesday.Verizon apologized after a 10-hour blackout, disrupting phone service for personal users and businessowners. The company said the problem was resolved as of 10 p.m. on Wednesday, and crews would continue a “full review” to determine what happened.The company is offering a $20 account credit to users who experienced interruptions. The credit is redeemable on the MyVerizon App. If users are still experiencing issues, they are encouraged to restart their phones and reconnect to the network.A spokesperson attributed the incident to a software issue and confirmed there were no known connections to a cyber-attack. Verizon users experienced a similar outage in August 2025. During the disruption, users were relying on hotspot, Wi-Fi or landline usage to stay connected. Phone calls were disabled with a “call failed” or “call ended” notification, and an alert on the corner of many screens saying, “SOS ONLY.”Upstate agencies, including emergency management groups in Greer and Clemson, reported dropped emergency service calls. Phil Yanov, a technology expert located in Greenville and the owner of Tech After Five, discussed the impacts of an outage of this level on a data-driven world.”Because this feels like a utility, because it’s become so useful. We are used to being able to reach our phones at any time, day or night, pull it out, and it does what it says it was going to do yesterday. That didn’t happen for a long time,” Yanov said.He told WYFF News 4 that a national outage is not common. Typically, Yanov said, disruptions are contained to smaller regions or areas.As the nation nears the first 24 hours post-outage, Yanov said there is a larger conversation to be had. Yanov said the company, known as the largest provider in the nation, is also costly. He said Verizon users deserve a deeper explanation on why this happened and what can be done in the future to prevent it.”Twenty-four hours after this started, and we still don’t know what broke. We don’t know why it broke. We don’t know what was going on inside the system, right? If you were any of the major carriers, you’ve spent all of your advertising dollars for the last decades getting us addicted to a digital product. And yesterday it went away,” Yanov said. “It was a failure to honor the trust that we put in each other.”There are ways to work around an outage should you experience one in the future. You can utilize hotspot, Wi-Fi or landline connections near you, or download alternative calling apps like Google Voice and WhatsApp. If attempting to make an emergency call, agencies recommend using a landline if you have one nearby, attempting to use the “SOS only” text feature for newer iPhones, or asking for someone else’s device.
Upstate experts and users are weighing in after a national outage left thousands of Verizon users disconnected on Wednesday.
Verizon apologized after a 10-hour blackout, disrupting phone service for personal users and businessowners. The company said the problem was resolved as of 10 p.m. on Wednesday, and crews would continue a “full review” to determine what happened.
The company is offering a $20 account credit to users who experienced interruptions. The credit is redeemable on the MyVerizon App. If users are still experiencing issues, they are encouraged to restart their phones and reconnect to the network.
A spokesperson attributed the incident to a software issue and confirmed there were no known connections to a cyber-attack. Verizon users experienced a similar outage in August 2025.
During the disruption, users were relying on hotspot, Wi-Fi or landline usage to stay connected. Phone calls were disabled with a “call failed” or “call ended” notification, and an alert on the corner of many screens saying, “SOS ONLY.”
Upstate agencies, including emergency management groups in Greer and Clemson, reported dropped emergency service calls.
Phil Yanov, a technology expert located in Greenville and the owner of Tech After Five, discussed the impacts of an outage of this level on a data-driven world.
“Because this feels like a utility, because it’s become so useful. We are used to being able to reach our phones at any time, day or night, pull it out, and it does what it says it was going to do yesterday. That didn’t happen for a long time,” Yanov said.
He told WYFF News 4 that a national outage is not common. Typically, Yanov said, disruptions are contained to smaller regions or areas.
As the nation nears the first 24 hours post-outage, Yanov said there is a larger conversation to be had. Yanov said the company, known as the largest provider in the nation, is also costly. He said Verizon users deserve a deeper explanation on why this happened and what can be done in the future to prevent it.
“Twenty-four hours after this started, and we still don’t know what broke. We don’t know why it broke. We don’t know what was going on inside the system, right? If you were any of the major carriers, you’ve spent all of your advertising dollars for the last decades getting us addicted to a digital product. And yesterday it went away,” Yanov said. “It was a failure to honor the trust that we put in each other.”
There are ways to work around an outage should you experience one in the future. You can utilize hotspot, Wi-Fi or landline connections near you, or download alternative calling apps like Google Voice and WhatsApp.
If attempting to make an emergency call, agencies recommend using a landline if you have one nearby, attempting to use the “SOS only” text feature for newer iPhones, or asking for someone else’s device.