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In this photo illustration, the Verizon logo is displayed on a smartphone screen on September 30, 2024 in San Anselmo California. (Photo Illustration by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES – Verizon customers across the U.S., but especially along the West Coast, reported problems with their phone service Friday morning. The company now says vandals in Southern California were to blame.
What we know:
Reports of problems began coming in to DownDetector around 5:30 a.m. PT. Users were self-reporting issues with mobile phone service as well as 5G home internet.
At that time, Verizon’s network status website revealed at least some problems. A morning check of multiple addresses across the U.S. – from Florida to California – returned the message, “There is a known issue, and we’re working on a solution.”
By about 9 a.m., a Verizon spokesman confirmed the company was working on a fix and reports of new issues seemed to be slowing.
Dig deeper:
Late Friday morning, Verizon told FOX Local that “multiple fiber cuts due to acts of vandalism caused service interruptions for some customers in Greater Los Angeles County.”
What we don’t know:
It’s not yet clear who may have been responsible for the fiber cuts, or what – if anything – was the motivation behind the act.
A spokesperson for the L.A. County Sheriff’s Office said they were unaware of any investigation.
What they’re saying:
“These dangerous acts not only impact families, students, and businesses, they are a direct threat to the safety and security of Angelenos,” the Verizon spokesperson added. “We know how much people rely on Verizon and we are actively working with community leaders on ways to stop these actions.”
Verizon outage Thursday
Big picture view:
The Friday morning issue was the second in two days for Verizon. Some users also lost service for a few hours early Thursday morning, Newsweek reported, though that was resolved before many of them even woke up for the day.
The Source: Information in this story came from Verizon, DownDetector, and a Newsweek report from Thursday, October 9.