Some Verizon subscribers say the SOS Mode is back making AT&T the weekend's big winner
After Saturday's debacle, some Verizon customers say they are not connected to the network
On Saturday, Verizon had a software issue that led to a core network problem, disconnecting thousands of its subscribers from the carrier's wireless network. The outage also forced a large number of its iPhone users to go into SOS mode. With this mode, users are not connected to a cellular network and cannot use their iPhone to make calls or use data. In SOS mode, users can quickly contact emergency services and their emergency contacts. It wasn't until slightly after midnight this morning that Verizon said that it had fully resolved the problem to its network that started Saturday afternoon.
Verizon's massive Saturday outage is lasting into Sunday for some customers
However, if you go through social media posts, it isn't clear whether the issue was completely solved on Saturday. As one Verizon customer wrote on social media on Sunday afternoon, "You’ve got to be kidding me with this shit, thought they had gotten the shit fixed yesterday, and just now I’ve got the stupid f*****g SOS no service again. This is ridiculous, how can they let their service shit the bed so hard two days in a row. Might be time for a new carrier for me."
Verizon outage map covering some of Saturday and Sunday. | Image credit-Downdetector
Verizon customers are not only up in arms over their inability to connect to the cell network, those still affected can't believe that this has happened two days in a row. Verizon's customer service has also been outed, and it is nothing that the nation's largest wireless carrier would want to brag about. Social media posts are still coming in on Sunday complaining about not only the wireless service, but also the lack of decent customer service on Verizon's part.
Here's one example of a Verizon subscriber dealing with poor customer service: "Seriously pissed because every time we call, we get hung up on, and never get a real person. Had a call back call yesterday, they finally called only to hang up on us. This is absolutely shitty service."
Some Verizon customers who rely on their smartphone and a Verizon connection in order to work were upset. One customer said that he has a new phone, and with Verizon's service down, he could not activate the new handset. His old phone was deactivated by the nation's largest wireless provider when they tried to convert the embedded SIM inside the device. Bottom line? No cellular service for this Verizon customer.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you how all of us now rely so much on our smartphones that when we can't use them, bad things happen. Check out what this Verizon subscriber wrote: "My mom needed an ambulance yesterday and even 911 wouldn’t go through. I’m still filled with rage. Absolutely unacceptable." Emergency calls should have gone through, even taking the outage into consideration.
Some Verizon customers switched carriers during the outage
One Verizon customer checked the network status in the Verizon app and was told that restarting the phone might help. She and her daughter did this, and once their phones rebooted, they were able to make and take calls. One Chicago-based Verizon customer requested a callback. When the rep came on the phone, the Verizon customer asked for some kind of compensation for the outage and was instantly credited $20, so that is a strategy Verizon subscribers might consider after putting up with the frustration that they had to deal with on Saturday and Sunday.
Some left Verizon yesterday for other reasons than the outage. "I switched last night to AT&T, my bill for Verizon was about $198, AT&T ended up being $80 cheaper overall with new phones." Another customer, a pilot, was dealing with the SOS mode issue on Sunday and needed help since he was scheduled to be in the cockpit on Monday. He went to a Verizon store and got no help. He called Verizon on the phone with the same result. His social media post said that he was giving Verizon a last chance before he switched to AT&T. By now, I assume that he's a new AT&T subscriber.
With Verizon taking a huge PR hit with this massive outage, and T-Mobile mired in its T-Life controversy, it looks like AT&T might come out of this weekend smelling like a rose. And if remnants of this outage can't be totally cleared by Monday morning, Verizon's churn rate will match the churn rate of Verizon executives' stomachs.
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