Massive Nationwide Cell Outages Affecting New Jersey Cell Phone Service

Thousands of people who use ATT as their cell service provider woke up to to a surprise this morning when they discovered they can't make calls.

If you have an iPhone, you probably notice SOS in place of the service bars.

Spike in Cell Service Outages Reported in Early Morning Hours

According to the website downdetector, problems became noticeable in the early morning hours.

The outage began in the South, but there are now reports of problems nationwide.

In somewhat of a delayed reaction, downdetector has reported a spike in service outages for Verizon customers around 7 am.  T-Mobile and Cricket are also reporting some issues.

In a statement to USA Today, Att says,

Some of our customers are experiencing wireless service interruptions this morning. We are working urgently to restore service to them. We encourage the use of Wi-Fi calling until service is restored.

The loss of your cell service doesn't mean there's no way to make calls.

How to Make a Call Without Cell Service

The easy workaround is to switch your cell phone's setting to WI-FI calling.

On most phones, you go to phone settings, then click on connections, then click on Wi-Fi calling.  

If you see an SOS on your phone where the service bars are, that means your phone can make emergency calls.

When you dial 9-1-1 on your iPhone, it automatically routes your information to local emergency authorities.

Verizon Service is Operating Properly

Verizon Wireless told Fox News,

Verizon network's is operating normally.  Some customers experienced issues this morning when calling or texting with customers served by another carrier. We are continuing to monitor the situation.

As of this report, ATT is still investigating the cause of the outage.