Verizon announces credit for customers impacted by huge outage. Here’s how it will work

Wednesday’s outage lasted nearly 10 hours, affecting over 1.5 million Verizon users nationwide, hitting cities like New York, Philadelphia, Houston, and Miami hardest

Verizon is offering a $20 account credit to wireless customers affected by Wednesday’s massive long outage, which the company said was caused by a software update issue.

"Yesterday, we did not meet the standard of excellence our customers expect and that we expect ourselves," Verizon said in a statement Thursday. This credit isn't meant to make up for what happened. No credit really can. But it's a way of acknowledging our customers' time and showing that this matters to us.”

Most customers can claim the credit through the myVerizon app and will receive texts when their credits are available, while business customers will be contacted directly, the company said.

A Verizon spokesperson told ABC News that a server failure in New Jersey caused the nationwide outage, which the company told The Independent was due to a software issue, not a cyberattack.

Verizon advised customers still having issues on Thursday to restart their devices to reconnect to the network.

Verizon is giving affected customers a $20 credit, claimable through the myVerizon app, with texts sent when available (Getty Images)

“We are sorry for what our customers experienced and will continue to work hard day and night to provide the outstanding network and service that people expect from Verizon,” the company’s statement concluded.

The outage began around midday Wednesday and lasted nearly 10 hours, with Verizon saying service was restored around 10:30 p.m. EST. Outage tracker Downdetector logged a total of 1.5 million reports nationwide before 5 p.m. ET., with the most severe disruptions in major cities such as New York City, Philadelphia, Houston and Miami.

Many customers reported seeing “SOS” or “No Signal” messages and were unable to make calls or use mobile data, even though Wi-Fi connections still worked.

"We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience,” a Verizon spokesperson said in an X post at the time.

Some other carriers saw minor outage reports, but T-Mobile and AT&T confirmed their services were working, saying issues were likely due to Verizon’s issues.

The New York Emergency Management officials said the outage was affecting some users calling 911. Officials urged residents to use another carrier, a landline or visit emergency services if they cannot reach 911.

“In the meantime, you can check the website or social media account of your cellphone carrier for updates,” NYCEM said in a statement.

During cellular outages, companies recommend using Wi-Fi, internet calling, or, if unavailable, satellite messaging on newer iPhones.