Verizon Confirms Software Glitch Caused Widespread Outage Across Northeast U.S.

Verizon confirmed on January 15, 2026, that a software-related malfunction triggered a network-wide disruption impacting customers across multiple states in the Northeast U.S., including New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, and parts of Pennsylvania. The issue originated during a routine system update and escalated rapidly, resulting in the loss of cellular connectivity, internet access, and emergency 911 services in affected areas for up to four hours in peak zones. The outage affected an estimated 12.3 million Verizon subscribers at its height, according to internal logs reviewed by federal communications officials. Service degradation began at 10:17 a.m. EST and was fully restored by 2:45 p.m. EST, with the carrier citing a cascading failure in its core network software stack. Despite the scale, no data breaches or physical infrastructure damage were reported. Verizon’s network operations center identified the root cause as a flawed update to its session management software, which governs how user connections are maintained across the network. The error caused a memory leak that overwhelmed backend servers, leading to a system-wide timeout. The company stated that the update had passed internal validation tests but failed under real-time load conditions, highlighting a gap in stress-testing protocols. The incident prompted immediate scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which has initiated a review of Verizon’s network resilience practices. Multiple state attorneys general in the affected regions have also signaled interest in potential regulatory action, citing public safety concerns. Consumers and businesses reported significant disruptions, including canceled appointments, halted financial transactions, and delayed medical alerts. The outage has reignited debate over the reliability of major telecom providers amid growing dependence on wireless connectivity.