Verizon is moving quickly to address the frustration caused by this week’s widespread network outage, announcing a $20 account credit for customers impacted by the disruption across the United States.
In a statement shared on January 15, 2026, Verizon acknowledged that it fell short of the level of service customers expect. To offer some relief, the company says it will provide a $20 credit that eligible customers can redeem through the myVerizon app. Verizon will notify affected users via text message with instructions, while business customers will be contacted directly with details on how their credits will be handled.
Verizon also emphasized that the $20 credit isn’t intended to “make up for what happened,” but instead serves as a recognition of customers’ lost time and an indication that the issue is being taken seriously.
For anyone still seeing lingering service problems after the outage, Verizon recommends restarting the device to help re-establish a stable connection.
The outage began around noon on Wednesday and left many customers without service for hours. During the disruption, some iPhone users reported seeing the “SOS” indicator in the status bar, a message typically shown when a device can’t access a cellular network. Although early reports suggested other carriers might be experiencing issues too, competing networks later stated their systems were operating normally—while also noting that their customers might have trouble reaching people using Verizon service during the outage. Verizon’s connectivity was largely restored by around 10:00 PM Eastern.
While no credit can truly compensate for a major loss of connectivity, Verizon’s $20 offer stands out compared to past carrier responses to similar incidents and is positioned as enough to cover multiple days of service for many customers.
If you were affected, keep an eye out for Verizon’s text message, then log in to the myVerizon app to redeem your credit once it becomes available.
