Is Verizon wireless network down today? Customers are reporting service outages via SOS mode on iPhone. What Kentuckians should know.

Thousands of cell phone users reported a service outage on Wednesday morning, and the issue appears to be affecting a wide array of providers.

The outage is affecting the eastern United States. Downdetector, which tracks outages, reported a spike nationwide in outages after noon ET Wednesday, with tens of thousands of reports from across the country. Locations with reported outages include New York City, Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, Miami, Charlotte and Dallas.

Tess Coward, a 27-year-old PR professional based in New York City, woke up feeling under the weather on Wednesday. But without the ability to make phone calls or receive text messages, she couldn’t get in touch with her doctor or log into the provider’s patient portal.

In a post on X, officials said the company planned to issue account credits to customers affected by an outage on Wednesday. Some customers were seeing an "SOS" mode, which indicates no cell service,

During the Verizon outage, police warned that contacting 911 could be tricky. Big disruptions can have cascading effects on everyday life.