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Tuesday, Mar 17, 2026
Outside the box.
AT&T outage: Most cell service back after widespread outages
Most of AT&T's mobile service has been restored following widespread outages reported by tens of thousands of users across the US on Thursday morning.
The issue, tracked by Downdetector.com, started around 4 AM EST, with users experiencing no service or signal. While AT&T confirmed interruptions affecting their customers, they reported that 75% of the network had been recovered.
Verizon and T-Mobile were unaffected, attributing reported problems to failed attempts to reach AT&T users.
At its peak, AT&T customer complaints surpassed 74,000, mainly from the South and East. The company assured immediate action, with restoration efforts underway for the remaining affected customers, but did not specify the cause of the disruption. Cricket Wireless also experienced service issues and is working on a resolution.
Customers of UScellular and Consumer Cellular reported similar problems. Reported disruptions included call, text, and internet service failures, with affected major cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta.
There were also reports of 911 service being compromised, with officials recommending alternative methods of communication in emergencies.
The widespread outage has drawn concern from the US government, with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigating.
The National Security Council is monitoring the situation, while the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is collaborating with AT&T to determine the cause and offer support. Despite the concerns, early reports from CISA suggested no signs of malicious activity per ABC News.
Verizon and T-Mobile were unaffected, attributing reported problems to failed attempts to reach AT&T users.
At its peak, AT&T customer complaints surpassed 74,000, mainly from the South and East. The company assured immediate action, with restoration efforts underway for the remaining affected customers, but did not specify the cause of the disruption. Cricket Wireless also experienced service issues and is working on a resolution.
Customers of UScellular and Consumer Cellular reported similar problems. Reported disruptions included call, text, and internet service failures, with affected major cities including Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and Atlanta.
There were also reports of 911 service being compromised, with officials recommending alternative methods of communication in emergencies.
The widespread outage has drawn concern from the US government, with the FBI and Department of Homeland Security investigating.
The National Security Council is monitoring the situation, while the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) is collaborating with AT&T to determine the cause and offer support. Despite the concerns, early reports from CISA suggested no signs of malicious activity per ABC News.
