T-Mobile restores nationwide service after SOS outage

A widespread network outage disrupted service for tens of thousands of T-Mobile customers across the United States on Monday, July 27, 2026, leaving many with phones stuck in SOS mode. The carrier confirmed service was fully restored by late Monday evening.

Reports of service failures began flooding the outage tracking website Downdetector shortly after 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Within an hour, the number of user-reported issues surged past 140,000. The disruption was concentrated in major metropolitan areas including New York City, Washington D.C., Chicago, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Los Angeles, though complaints came from numerous states.

The outage prevented customers from making regular calls, sending text messages, and using mobile data. Many iPhone users saw their devices switch to Emergency SOS mode, a standard feature that appears when a phone loses its connection to its primary carrier's network. A phone in this mode is restricted to placing emergency calls, such as to 911, which can be routed through any available cellular network due to federal requirements. It does not indicate a device failure.

The problem also affected customers of Mobile Virtual Network Operators...