Thousands of customers woke up Thursday morning to an SOS symbol at the top of their iPhones and no service due to a nationwide telecommunications outage.
The outages impacted AT&T customers the most, although services from Verizon, Cricket Wireless, and T-Mobile were also affected. They also began to impact essential public services, including people’s ability to call emergency responders.
The outages have continued through Thursday morning, with over 70,000 AT&T customers reporting outages as of 8:56 a.m. ET, according to Downdetector.com.
What does the SOS symbol mean, and how does it connect to the outage? Here’s what to know.
What does the SOS symbol on the iPhone mean?
During Thursday’s outage, an SOS symbol appeared on the screens of iPhone users with AT&T (in the same place where cell service bars usually are shown).
The SOS symbol can appear in the status bar of iPhones and iPads, meaning devices aren’t connected to a cellular network. It also means a cellular network is “available for emergency calls,” Apple’s support website states.
The SOS feature is available on iPhones and iPads in the U.S., Australia, and Canada.
According to Apple, “When you make a call with SOS, your iPhone automatically calls the local emergency number and shares your location information with emergency services. “In some countries and regions, you might need to choose the service you need.
After making an emergency call, your iPhone alerts any emergency contacts designated in your phone.
Apple says all iPhone models 14 or later can also use Emergency SOS via satellite to text emergency services when no cellular and Wi-Fi coverage is available.
