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Some AT&T customers ready to switch to T-Mobile or Verizon after outage that may last up to 48 hours

Updated: May 22, 2024, 9:50 AM

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If you are with AT&T and your phone is stuck on SOS, here's the reason

Owners of Android and iOS phones on AT&T's network have been seeing an SOS message and the reason behind it is that the company is currently experiencing issues.

AT&T says that many of its cell towers are appearing as degraded, which is said to be causing the network issues, per Daily Mail. FirstNet, which is part of AT&T, and CricketWireless, which is owned by the company, have also been impacted.

The problem started at around 4 AM Eastern Time, with outages monitoring site Downdetector indicating that there was a momentary decline in the number of reports about the problem, but they seem to be on the rise again.

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AT&T is trying to get service back up again, with spokesperson Sarah Rodriquez giving the following statement:

We worked as quickly as possible to restore service to some customers in the coastal areas of Virginia and North Carolina whose service may have been affected this morning by an equipment failure. We apologize for the inconvenience. "

The problem doesn't seem to be isolated to any particular location, with people all over the US, including those from Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Norfolk, Phoenix, and Seattle experiencing issues.

This outage comes three months after a glitch that lasted for hours. Frustrated by the issues, some users have also expressed a desire to switch to either T-Mobile or Verizon to avoid these recurring problems. Some are also expecting to be compensated for having to go through the problem.

I'm about to switch from at&t. This is the second time this year. My job requires me to have internet to get to different people's houses. Trash Internet service." - Final-Shift-3572

Ingleside, Norfolk..Down since 6am at least...bout to switch to Tmobile, this is getting rediculous." - Quirky-Feed-4010

AT&T gave customers affected by the February outage $5 and also offered free protection for 12 months to people impacted by a data breach.

The February outage was blamed on a technical error that popped up while the carrier was carrying out a network expansion. It's not known how many of the company's 71 million customers were affected by that outage, but based on reports on Downdetector, it seems the number was around 1.7 million.

It remains to be seen if the number of people affected by today's issue is also in millions. According to one Reddit user, AT&T may need 24 to 48 hours to restore service.

Chatted with an agent and there's a tower down in Hampton Roads. 24-48 hours for resolution."- riverwinde

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Anam Hamid is a computer scientist turned tech journalist who has a keen interest in the tech world, with a particular focus on smartphones and tablets. She has previously written for Android Headlines and has also been a ghostwriter for several tech and car publications. Anam is not a tech hoarder and believes in using her gadgets for as long as possible. She is concerned about smartphone addiction and its impact on future generations, but she also appreciates the convenience that phones have brought into our lives. Anam is excited about technological advancements like folding screens and under-display sensors, and she often wonders about the future of technology. She values the overall experience of a device more than its individual specs and admires companies that deliver durable, high-quality products. In her free time, Anam enjoys reading, scrolling through Reddit and Instagram, and occasionally refreshing her programming skills through tutorials.