Why does my phone say SOS? What is worth knowing about a cell phone failure

On Monday morning, tens of thousands of cell phone users were affected by a nationwide telecommunications outage.

According to Downdetector.com, a website that monitors outages in real time, Verizon users were the most affected, followed by AT&T, T-Mobile and US Cellular users.

Phoenix was one of the hardest-hit cities, with more than 2,000 reports of Verizon outages. The spike in outage reports began around 6:30 a.m. and continued to increase as of 8 a.m. Arizona time. Downdetector estimates showed that more than 37,000 Verizon customers and hundreds of other providers were affected.

The service outage also caused some to see an SOS icon where cell phone service usually appears on the screen. Here’s what it means and how to fix it.

Why does my phone say SOS?

The SOS symbol appeared on the screens of iPhone users using Verizon, where cellular service bars are usually visible.

According to Apple Support, if you’re having trouble with telephony and you see SOS or “SOS Only” in the status bar, your device can still make emergency calls even though it’s not connected to the phone network.

The goal is to allow you to make calls to first responders in an emergency, even if you don’t have cell phone reception. According to Apple, when a user makes an SOS call, the iPhone automatically connects to the local emergency number and shares the user’s location information with emergency services. In some countries and regions, you may need to select the service that users need.

If you need additional assistance with an outage, you can contact Verizon Support.

If you’ve resolved your cellular network issue and you still can’t connect to a cellular network, contact Apple Support.