How Do I Report a Verizon Wireless Service Outage?

Introduction

You use your phone for a lot of things, so a wireless service outage is inconvenient at best and disastrous at worst. So if you can't get your Verizon wireless service anymore, you are probably very eager to get it working again as quickly as possible. To do that, you need to report the outage to Verizon so they can get working on it right away. However, there are a few other things you need to do before you make that call.

What You'll Need

Some calls just won't wait, even if your service is down. If you need to place a call before Verizon has the problem fixed, try wi-fi calling instead. This will let you use your phone's wi-fi connection to place calls. So, as long as you still have data left on your plan, you should be able to make your call. You can most likely turn on wi-fi calling from the Settings menu, though every phone has its own particular method of doing it.

You might want to consider making wi-fi calling your automatic backup calling method, so you can use your phone without interruption in case of an outage, without having to figure out how to turn it on first.

Check to see if there is a problem with your phone before reporting an outage.

Before you report a service outage, you need to make sure this is actually the case, and it is not just your phone acting up. First, check if airplane mode is on. Updates can sometimes accidentally switch it on. If it is not on, check your Verizon account to see if your service has been suspended for some reason. If this isn't the problem either, check the Verizon coverage map, to make sure you are in a service area.

Go to the Verizon home page.

Verizon home page

Sign into your Verizon account by clicking on the Sign In link in the upper right corner.

Go to the Verizon Network Status page.

Verizon Network Status page

If your phone isn't causing the problem then it is likely that there is a Verizon wireless service outage in your area. Before you report it, though, you should check to see if Verizon is already aware of the problem.
Alternatively, you can check the Verizon app to see if the company is aware of an outage in your area. If there is, you will receive a notification in the app.

Either enter your location in the textbox above the map or by clicking on the "Use my location" link.

If there is a known service outage in your area, a message will inform you of this. If this page does not show an outage then you should report it to Verizon.

Call a Verizon customer service representative and tell them about the service outage.

Verizon customer service

You should also let them know about the steps you took to make sure the problem wasn't with your phone.

Conclusion

Once you make the call, Verizon will figure out exactly where and what the problem is and dispatch a team to repair it. You don't need to do anything else but keep checking your phone to see if you have your service back yet. However, if you have any questions while waiting, call Verizon's customer service for answers. The customer service center is open weekdays from 7:00 am to 11:00 pm EST and weekends from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm.