OAN Staff Cory Hawkins
2:33 PM – Thursday, January 15, 2026
Verizon has announced that it is issuing a $20 account credit to all customers impacted by Wednesday’s nationwide outage.
The 10-hour disruption, which left users in “SOS mode” and interfered with some 911 services, prompted a formal apology from the telecom giant on Thursday following a wave of complaints throughout the U.S.
While early concerns suggested a potential cyberattack, officials confirmed the 10-hour disruption — which affected upwards of 1.5 million people — stemmed from an internal network failure at a New Jersey server site.
The outage began around 12:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday, hitting major hubs like New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, and Houston the hardest.
Although DownDetector reports peaked at over 170,000, service began to stabilize by midafternoon as engineers restored the network.
“We know this is a huge inconvenience, and our top priority is to get you back online and connected as fast as possible,” Verizon wrote on X. “Our teams will continue to work through the night until service is restored for all impacted customers. We will make this right — for any customer affected.”
Service restoration was inconsistent for many, with some customers experiencing brief flashes of connectivity before their phones slipped back into “no service” mode. The disruption crippled daily operations for those unable to work, text, or call loved ones.
The situation grew so dire that New York City Emergency Management urged Verizon users unable to reach 911 to seek out landlines, visit local police precincts, or use phones from alternative carriers. By Thursday, Verizon announced that affected users could claim a $20 credit through the My Verizon app.
“To help provide some relief to those affected, we will give you a $20 account credit that can be easily redeemed by logging into the myVerizon app. You will receive a text message when the credit is available. On average, this covers multiple days of service. Business customers will be contacted directly about their credits,” Verizon wrote on X.
“This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened. No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging your time and showing that this matters to us.”
Verizon’s resolution met with mixed reviews, as many frustrated customers argued that a $20 credit fails to cover the true cost of lost work and emergency service interruptions.
Addressing the backlash, Verizon acknowledged it fell short of its “service excellence” standards and pledged to make amends through both the credit and long-term network improvements.
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