T-Mobile Network Outage Hits Thousands of Users Across US

Customers have been advised to try 'power cycling your phone or switching in and out of airplane mode' to restore a data signal

The T-Mobile logo is seen on a storefront, in Boston, Mass., on Oct. 14, 2022. (Michael Dwyer/AP Photo)

T-Mobile was down for thousands of users across multiple states in the United States late Monday, leaving them unable to make phone calls or use other cellular services.

According to the outage tracking website Downdetector.com, approximately 77,206 outages have been reported within the last 24 hours, with the highest number of reports coming from Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Seattle, Phoenix, Houston, New York City, Dallas, and San Diego.

Many users took to Twitter to share updates about the service disruption, with multiple users saying they saw “SOS” notifications appear on their phones, meaning they can only make emergency calls.

T-Mobile’s President of Technology, Neville Ray, said on Twitter that the mobile communications company was “rapidly addressing a 3rd party fiber interruption issue that has intermittently impacted some voice, messaging, and data services in several areas.”

“The situation is improving and we hope to have a full resolution very soon. We apologize for any disruption caused,” Ray wrote.

Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s “Help” account on Twitter advised customers to try “power cycling your phone or switching in and out of airplane mode,” in order to restore a data signal.

Some users reported having success in doing this.

The service appeared to be working largely as normal later on Monday.

In an updated Twitter post later on Monday, Ray said the company has “seen significant improvement” and is “operating at near normal levels.”

“Our teams continue to monitor and we greatly appreciate everyone’s patience. We apologize for any impacts this issue may have had for our customers,” he said.

The Epoch Times has contacted T-Mobile for comment.

Ray Stepping Down

The outages came on the same day that Ray, who joined the company in April 2000 and was responsible for the management and development of T-Mobile’s wireless network, technology services, and technology operations, announced his upcoming retirement from T-Mobile by the fall of this year.

Current Executive Vice President and Chief Network Officer Ulf Ewaldsson will assume the role of President of Technology after Ray departs, according to the company.

“Under Neville’s network leadership we have accomplished so much together, and it’s amazing to think that milestones he’s helped T-Mobile achieve—the many network firsts, breakthroughs, and innovations—have brought us to where we are today, taking the crown as the nation’s overall network leader,” said T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert in a statement.

“There are so many things Neville has contributed to this company but one of the most important has been his commitment to building the best, most effective Technology team in this industry that will continue to deliver for our future. Neville and his team have worked tirelessly to bring the Un-carrier from last to best in network performance and made T-Mobile’s network a true competitive weapon,” Sievert said.

The outages also come as the U.S. wireless carrier has been adding thousands of wireless subscribers lately, in part due to its discounts on smartphones, bundled offerings, and industry-low plan prices which have enticed customers battling against soaring inflation.

The carrier added 927,000 postpaid phone subscribers in the fourth quarter and 3.1 million more signed up for monthly plans overall in 2022, according to its latest financial results (pdf) published on Feb. 1, outpacing rivals.

Overall, the company added 6.4 million postpaid net customer additions in 2022, exceeding T-Mobile’s previous guidance.

Reuters contributed to this report.