On November 13, 2024, T-Mobile users across the United States faced significant service disruptions, particularly in Utah, where up to 20,000 customers reported issues. The outages began around 1:45 PM ET, peaking with over 19,000 reports by 2:30 PM ET, causing dropped calls, unsent text messages, and a complete lack of internet connectivity for many users.
T-Mobile attributed the disruption to a mechanical issue at a facility in the Salt Lake area, which has since been resolved. The company advised affected customers to reboot their phones, and by 4 PM ET, service was restored. The outage also impacted users in major cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Phoenix, likely due to attempts to contact those in Utah.
In a related incident, Verizon users in the Northeast experienced their own service disruptions the previous evening, with over 40,000 reports surfacing in locations such as Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. Verizon confirmed that a network issue caused temporary service interruptions but stated that their engineering teams quickly restored connectivity.
These outages highlight the vulnerabilities in cellular networks, particularly during high-demand periods, and underscore the importance of reliable communication services in today's interconnected world.