I recently put Verizon Wireless to the test for 30 days to see what the hype is all about with the nation’s largest cell phone provider. What it proved to me was how much of a substantial difference 5G Ultra Wideband makes, but these fiber-optic-esque speeds come at a premium cost.

That’s probably why I’ve found Verizon MVNOs (Mobile Virtual Network Operators) attractive alternatives for those who still crave an all-you-can-eat data menu, but without being left with a hefty bill at the end. Rather than directly competing with the $70+ per line costs for Verizon’s plans, these MVNOs still tap into Verizon's network to provide cell phone coverage, but at a fraction of the cost.

Interestingly, Verizon actually owns a few of its biggest MVNOs directly — like Visible and Straight Talk — but it also leases tower space to dozens of third-party brands you might not know about. That’s why I’ll break down all the Verizon MVNOs out there, along with who they’re for, so you can choose the service that’s right for you.

Verizon MVNOs: Verizon owned MVNOs

Did you know that Verizon owns and operates many MVNOs under different brands? These are the providers that fall under the Verizon Value portfolio of prepaid brands, which includes carriers like Straight Talk, Visible, TracFone, and more. Here's a quick list of these Verizon-owned MVNOs:

• Verizon Prepaid
• Visible
• Straight Talk Wireless
• Total Wireless
• TracFone
• Walmart Family Mobile
• Simple Mobile
• SafeLink Wireless

Verizon MVNOs: Third-party operators

In addition to Verizon-owned MVNOs, you also have independent third-party MVNOs that basically lease Verizon’s tower space and subsequently offer ultra-affordable rates. They might not use Verizon's towers exclusively for everything, as some of them also use towers from carriers like T-Mobile and AT&T.

But the downside to these third-party operators is that they’re often the first to face data deprioritization. Meaning that when the network experiences heavy congestion during peak times, their speeds are the first to drop.

On the flip side, third-party MVNOs aren't always impacted when Verizon experiences a network outage. Because these independent providers manage their own virtual networks — and often lease tower space from multiple major networks — they can seamlessly route your service to alternative towers while Verizon's primary system is down.

• U.S. Mobile
• Red Pocket Mobile
• Xfinity Mobile
• Spectrum Mobile
• Twigby
• MobileX
• Ting Mobile
• Credo Mobile

The best Verizon MVNOs

As you can see, there are several Verizon MVNOs to choose from. We’ve tested a handful of them, but you’ll want to look at each provider separately to see what financially makes sense, whether service is available in your area, and if they support your current phone.

Here are our picks for the best Verizon MVNOs.

Why choose an MVNO over Verizon?

Frankly, the primary reason to choose an MVNO is price. Verizon’s top-tiered plans are loaded with extra costs to help subsidize phone upgrades, maintain its massive customer service networks, and provide super-fast 5G Ultra Wideband.

The latter is what truly makes Verizon special because none of these MVNOs can match the almost lightning-fast download and upload speeds I got with 5G Ultra Wideband. In fact, I recorded an average of 893 Mbps down in New York City, which explains why its service costs so much.

If you’re not as concerned about synthetic speeds, I know it’s worthwhile to check out a Verizon MVNO. Although it’s worth knowing that some of these MVNOs offer 5G Ultra Wideband on their higher-tiered plans.

I’ve been on Visible for about the last few years now, and the cost savings are unbelievable. I pay a fraction of what I used to with Verizon and still have the same coverage, but with speeds that are slower. I’m perfectly fine with this because I’m still able to watch videos while on the go without huge buffering.

The Tradeoffs

Before making the switch, you need to consider some of the trade-offs that come with a Verizon MVNO. The biggest hurdle pertains to new device discounts, which are how Verizon offers its signature free phone promotions. While some Verizon MVNOs do sell hardware, you won’t find nearly the same generous subsidies or trade-in values with them.

Secondly, there’s data throttling, which slows your speeds during peak hours when there’s heavy network traffic. Unless you sign up with a Verizon MVNO that specifically includes premium data, you’re at the mercy of Verizon's network prioritization. I’ve seen this happen countless times with my Visible service at concerts, where the data slows to a crawl due to the sheer amount of congestion.

Finally, there’s customer support. If you run into issues, you usually can’t walk into a physical store to meet face-to-face with a representative. Instead, everything is handled online or over the phone — which I can attest can be incredibly annoying when phone activations go wrong or take too long.

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For the last seven years, I’ve been bouncing between a handful of different MVNOs. I finally settled on Visible because it offers one of the best cheap cell phone plans around, but I recently decided to switch back to a carrier that I haven’t used in over a decade — Verizon.

Part of the reason I ditched the carrier years ago was how expensive it ended up being, mainly due to data overage fees that pushed my monthly bill past $100 for a single line. Obviously, Verizon's plans have changed since then, with truly unlimited data now starting as low as $55 per month.

That’s why I switched back for 30 days to see exactly what advantages its premium unlimited service offers. Here’s what I found.

Verizon Wireless review: What you'll pay

The biggest reason I’ve shied away from returning to one of the major carriers, including Big Red, is how expensive they’ve become. Sure, you’ll still pay close to $100 a month for premium unlimited service, but Verizon throws in additional goodies that you just don't get from most MVNOs.

Currently, Verizon Wireless offers three distinct unlimited postpaid plans: Unlimited Ultimate ($95/month), Unlimited Plus ($80/month), and Unlimited Welcome ($65/month). If you enroll in paper-free billing and AutoPay, you’ll get a $10 monthly discount on each of those lines, bringing the entry-level cost down to $65 per month.

For a long time, I held onto the misconception that any unlimited plan from Verizon would cost $100 a month at the very least. While its $75 starting rate is still noticeably higher than the $35 monthly fee I’ve been paying for Visible, the upgrade comes with distinct network advantages.

What exactly separates these three tiers? For starters, every option gives you unlimited talk, text, and data. The real differences lie in the amount of "premium data" you get, the hotspot allocations, and the network speeds highlighted on Verizon's Broadband Facts labels.

While they all technically offer unlimited data, access to the absolute fastest 5G Ultra Wideband speeds is reserved for the top two tiers, while the starter plan can be a smidge slower during times of network congestion.

Verizon Wireless review: How Verizon’s prices compare

Verizon Wireless remains the largest wireless provider in the U.S., and it commands premium prices for access to its sprawling, reliable network. Making a direct comparison to rivals AT&T and T-Mobile can be tricky, however, because their entry-level unlimited tiers vary significantly in terms of value.

For example, AT&T's Value 2.0 plan costs $50/month after discounts and offers unlimited data that can be temporarily slowed after 5GB of usage, alongside 3GB of mobile hotspot data. Meanwhile, T-Mobile’s $50/month Essentials Saver plan packages a whopping 50GB of premium data before any network management kicks in. If you want even lower rates, MVNOs like Visible and Mint Mobile offer great alternative plans that start as low as $25 a month.

On the higher end of the spectrum, Verizon’s Unlimited Ultimate plan actually comes in slightly below its AT&T and T-Mobile equivalents — which you can see detailed above.

Ultimately, Verizon Wireless’ biggest strength is its widespread support for 5G Ultra Wideband with Enhanced Video Calling & Streaming, meaning you get the fastest possible data speeds alongside maximum video streaming resolutions. While Mint Mobile and Visible offer cheaper top-of-the-line tiers, neither can match the raw network performance and uncapped speeds of Verizon’s native 5G Ultra Wideband footprint.

Verizon Wireless review: Performance

To properly evaluate the performance of Verizon’s Unlimited Ultimate plan, I wanted to see what kind of data speeds it delivered across three distinct locations. For my testing, I chose my home location, New York City, and a more remote area in northern New Jersey.

With service activated on my Motorola Razr Fold, I ran Ookla's Speedtest app three times at each spot and averaged the results (which you can see in the chart above). Testing indoors at home, my device consistently bounced between standard 5G and 5G Ultra Wideband, yielding an average of 69 Mbps down and 12.6 Mbps up. While those aren’t mind-blowing numbers, they still easily outshined the 6.33 Mbps down and 2.29 Mbps up I was getting with Visible's basic unlimited plan on my iPhone 17 Pro.

Moving to my second location — an outdoor setting in New York City — I was absolutely blown away by Verizon’s 5G Ultra Wideband network. The phone averaged an obscene 893 Mbps down and 77.5 Mbps up. Those numbers rival the fiber speeds I get at home when wired directly into my router, making it incredibly impressive to see that kind of throughput over a wireless connection.

Finally, for my rural environment test, the network delivered a modest average of 29.5 Mbps down and 1.45 Mbps up. Again, it's nothing to write home about, but at least the download speeds stayed safely out of the single digits.

Ultimately, these real-world tests highlight just how much of a difference 5G Ultra Wideband makes for everyday tasks, whether you're downloading a 1GB file from Google Drive or streaming media. On Ultra Wideband, video streaming quality jumped instantly to its maximum resolution on YouTube and Netflix, whereas at home, videos buffered noticeably longer before playing.

Verizon Wireless review: Verdict

Switching back to Verizon proves to me that premium carrier networks still hold a massive performance advantage over budget MVNOs, but that luxury comes at a cost. If you live or work in a major hub like New York City where the infrastructure is highly developed, you can constantly tap into insane 5G Ultra Wideband speeds.

I personally appreciate that kind of throughput because time is money, mainly because being able to upload and download huge batches of photos and videos on the go makes me significantly more productive for work. It’s a massive time-saver that only happens when you have access to the fastest network infrastructure possible.

However, if you spend most of your time outside of Ultra Wideband coverage areas — where speeds drop closer to standard MVNO performance — sticking with a cheaper alternative like Visible or Mint Mobile remains the smarter financial move.

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When was the last time you looked at your phone bill? I know for me, it was probably the time I upgraded — to the iPhone 14 Pro.

Yes, I work for a tech site, but when it comes to the gear I use every day, I don’t have a compulsion to upgrade to the latest-and-greatest, which is why my phone is three years old, and the TVs in my house are far older than that.

We’ve long been Verizon customers, and while it’s not the cheapest cell phone provider, it’s reliable and covers our area well. Plus, we also use Verizon FIOS for internet service, so I get a bit of a discount by bundling.

Anyway, back when my wife and I upgraded to the iPhone 14 Pro, we also switched our plans to Verizon’s 5G Play More. That gave us unlimited data, as well as a Disney/Hulu/ESPN subscription for a total of $79 per month per line (before all the fees, of course).

Just as I did when we decided to cancel our Amazon Prime subscription, I took a look at just how we were using our phones, and realized that we could get by with much less.

Verizon’s 5G Play More plan has been phased out; the company now offers three unlimited plans: Unlimited Welcome ($55/month), Unlimited Plus ($70/month), and Unlimited Ultimate ($80/month).

The Ultimate tier includes such things as 5G Ultra Wide Band (UWB) service, unlimited international data, and unlimited hotspot use; the Plus plan has 5G UWB and 30GB of hotspot use, while the Welcome plan only offers Verizon’s slower 5G service.

Here’s a breakdown of what we’re currently paying, plus how much it would cost if we switched to a new plan.

On the surface, it looks like I could just swap my current plan for the Ultimate tier, but due to Verizon’s new policies, I would end up paying even more, because I would have to add the Disney/Hulu/ESPN+ subscription for an extra $10/month.

But do I need what the Unlimited or even the Plus plan offers?

It’s been a year since I traveled out of the country (and I don’t envision going abroad any time soon), I’ve never used my phone as a hotspot, and I spend most of my days within Wi-Fi range. If we were to travel, Verizon offers Travelpass, which costs $12 per day, as well as an International Monthly Plan for $100.

I will be curious to see how much of a performance impact there will be going from 5G UWB to 5G, but I only really use data when driving using navigation or streaming music, neither of which are huge data hogs. And if it becomes a problem, we can always go up a tier, and we’d still be saving a few hundred bucks.

Have you changed up your phone bill recently? Let me know in the comments.

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The 2026 World Cup kicks off in just over two weeks, and for the first time, the tournament will be split across three separate countries: Canada, Mexico and the United States. That means, no matter where soccer fans are from, they may end up crossing multiple international borders to attend all their games

If you've got experience with international travel, you'll know all about the pains of trying to use your existing data plan in a different country. Data roaming can be prohibitively expensive if you're not careful, and it pays to have a plan in place so you can stay connected without hopping between different public Wi-Fi networks. The good news is that multiple U.S. carriers have anticipated this, and have launched travel plans specifically for the World Cup

So whether you're traveling to North America for the tournament, or a U.S. resident crossing over into Canada and Mexico, here's what you need to know about staying connected throughout the World Cup.

AT&T

AT&T has launched a new short-term eSIM package for travellers visiting North America for the World Cup. This system is powered by "eSIM by AT&T" and gives travellers the flexibility to pay for connectivity when they need it.

This means you can buy data passes valid for one, seven, 15 or 30 days, complete with unlimited data and 5GB of hotspot access. The single-day pass is only valid in the U.S., and costs $4 a day. The other three options do offer coverage for Canada and Mexico, but you will have to pay a premium for it. Here's the rundown of the prices, inclusive of tax and other fees.

These plans only include data, and don't include voice or text messaging. So if you need to stay in touch with others, be it family back home or other members of your group, you'll need to use IP-based services like WhatsApp.

Existing AT&T customers can take advantage of the carrier's "International Day Pass," which lets you use your existing plan as if you were still in the U.S. This is available in 210 locations around the world, including Canada and Mexico. This costs $12 a day, and you're automatically charged for 24-hour access whenever you use data on your phone outside the U.S.

T-Mobile

International travellers visiting the World Cup can sign up for T-Mobile's US Pass eSIM, which 50GB of high-speed 5G data within the U.S., and 5GB of high-speed data in Canada and Mexico. Once you use up those allowances, your connection will be downgraded to 3G, which means noticeably lower speeds. Hotspot data is also included, but the amount you get id dependent on which pass you purchase.

Here are the prices for the different US Pass eSIMs, which do not include taxes or fees. However, each pass does include unlimited calls and text messages across North America.

Existing T-Mobile customers may be able to get international coverage as part of their existing package, but the level of that coverage depends on which sort of plan you're actually signed up for. For the most part, you get an allowance of high-speed data, after which you get unlimited data throttled to either 256kps or 128kbps speeds. Here are the allowances for Canada and Mexico with unlimited calls and texts:

• 30GB: Better Value, Experience Beyond, Go5G Next plans. Throttled to 256kbps thereafter
• 15GB: Experience More, Go5G Plus plans. Throttled to 256kbps thereafter
• 10GB: Go5G plans. Throttled to 128kbps thereafter
• 5GB: Max, Plus plans. Throttled to 256kbps thereafter
• 5GB: Magenta, One plans. Throttled to 128kbps thereafter

All other plans are charged at $0.01 per megabyte of data, $0.25 a minute for calls, and free unlimited texts. Those of you who have T-Mobile's T-Satellite connectivity will also be able to use that in Canada, if you ever find yourself without cell service.

Verizon

Verizon is the official Telecommunication Services Sponsor for the 2026 World Cup, and even offered free game tickets to its customers. Despite this, the carrier hasn't announced any specific World Cup-branded deals for customers travelling to games. Though it does offer various plans and perks for existing customers who are partaking in international travel.

The good news is that roaming in Mexico and Canada is actually included with all Unlimited plans — but it's not quite the same as using your phone at home. 5G and 4G data have a 2GB daily cap, and after you use it up, you'll be restricted to 3G data speeds. There are no restrictions on how much 3G data you can use, so you won't ever be cut off, but you will have to deal with much slower download speeds as a result.

If you don't have an Unlimited plan, you can pay for a Verizon TravelPass instead. Once added to your plan, these passes will offer unlimited calls, texting and data when you leave the U.S. TravelPass costs $6 a day in Canada and Mexico, which is half the price it would cost if you went elsewhere. If you choose to stick with Pay as You Go roaming, then you'll be charged $2.05 for every megabyte of data you use. A megabyte is not a lot of data, and at those prices, a single gigabyte will end up costing you over $2,000. Obviously, you do not want that to happen.

Verizon does not offer any shorter-term plans, which means you can't just sign up for a few days and temporarily enjoy the carrier's roaming plans. However, its subsidiary Visible is a totally different story.

Visible

The Visible eSIM travel pass is powered by Verizon's Ultra Wideband 5G network, and is designed to offer travellers unlimited data within the United States. The plan also includes 500 minutes of calls from the U.S. to 85 different countries and unlimited texting to over 200 countries. Don't expect ay hotspot data, though.

Sadly, this generous data allowance does not extend to Canada, Mexico, Alaska, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Visible only offers 2GB of high-speed data in those regions, after which you'll be relegated to 3G speeds — though you do get unlimited calls and text messages.

The prices are easily some of the best around, thanks to Visible offering a $10 discount on each plan with the code FIFA10. This means you can expect to pay the following for each of the four passes, inclusive of taxes and fees.

Existing Visible customers from the U.S. can take advantage of the carrier's Global Pass if they plan on travelling to Canada or Mexico for the World Cup. This pass includes 2GB of high-speed data per day, with coverage downgraded to 3G thereafter, as well as unlimited calls and texts.

Coverage in Canada and Mexico is $5 a day if you have a standard Visible plan, but anyone with a Visible+ or Visible+ Pro plan has roaming already included at no extra charge.

Ultra Mobile

Ultra Mobile, which is owned by T-Mobile, has just launched some new international plans designed for all travellers — including those heading to Mexico and Canada for the World Cup. However, they do not appear to be suitable for international travellers, or anyone who isn't already an Ultra Mobile customer.

There are two different kinds of international "Go Roam" passes on offer at Ultra Mobile right now.

The Go Roam Mexico Data Pass offers 5GB of high-speed data over a period of 30 days. This plan is included with all Unlimited plans, but can be added to any other Ultra plan for $5. The Go Roam World Pass is available for either 5 or 15 days, and covers 200 other countries around the world — including Canada.

A 5-day pass is $5, bundled with 1GB of high-speed data, 100 minutes and 100 outgoing texts. The 15-day pass is $10, which offers 5GB of high-speed data, 300 minutes and 300 texts.

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It seems rare that major companies would want to collaborate on something to positively affect the regular consumer these days. But some of the best phone carriers are doing just that, in an attempt to end dead zones.

No, not the novel by Stephen King, or the excellent movie starring Christopher Walken. We're talking about wireless dead zones: areas with no compatible cell signal that cut you off from all mobile services — including calls and data. 

The announcement is fairly light on details, but according to Verizon, the deal will not involve building a bunch more cell towers across the country. Instead, it's going to focus on satellite connectivity and beam a connection to your device from space from a "unified platform."

The overall aim is to, in the words of the big three, "nearly eliminate" dead zones within the U.S. This will involve reaching areas that have been underserved by major carriers, and providing reliable backup connectivity options if traditional cell signal breaks down — such as during emergencies or natural disasters.

What other benefits are there?

Customers will also apparently benefit from a consistent and simpler satellite connection, regardless of which carrier they're signed up with. That means better connectivity and faster rollout of updates and new features for everyone at the same time.

The carriers say that this will also "drive industry progress by enabling competition, fostering innovation, expanding access, and simplifying integration." The main reason is probably that working together makes it easier (and cheaper) to offer improved satellite connectivity than going it alone.

The announcement does make a valid point about satellite spectrum being scarce, and teaming up means they don't have to constantly fight just to license a fraction of the available spectrum for their customers. More access to spectrum should mean better connectivity for the end user, so long as the big three aren't allowed to dominate the skies and prevent other satellite-based companies from getting a look in.

The deal hasn't been finalized yet, and since this is only an agreement in principle, there's always a possibility that these plans will fall through. Assuming the lawyers can push this through, there's no set timeline on when the plans will actually come to fruition. So we're just going to have to wait and see how these plans pan out over the next few years.

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Verizon customers on the East Coast have had some issues today, as user reports on DownDetector began to spike early this morning.

According to the website — which tracks outages across popular services — problems started to appear at the carrier around 8:30 am ET. The number of complaints has started to steadily rise since then, with just over half the reports listing mobile cell service as the problem. Meanwhile, 20% of reports claim their 5G home internet is affected, while 16% say that mobile internet is the problem.

However, by midday, the reports had subsided and Verizon seemed to have identified and solved the problem.

Verizon has responded to the claims with the following statement: "The fiber cuts that impacted wireless service for some customers in Western Pennsylvania earlier today have been repaired and service has been restored for all customers. We appreciate your patience and apologize for the inconvenience."

We're following this outage as it happens right now, and if you're affected, please let us know in the comments.

Verizon outage live: Latest Updates

The affected areas

We started to see reports of issues appear before 9am ET today, May 5, and it's no surprise to see the majority of reports have come from the New York area. However, it seems the entire East Coast may be having issues with the carrier, as reports are coming in from Florida and New Orleans as well.

Over 1K reports and climbing...

There's always going to be some fluctuations with a service the size of Verizon, but when you see a spike go up like this... well, there's usually no smoke without fire.

Reports on DownDetector went north of 1,000 just after 10am ET. And they're continuing to rise.

Over on X/Twitter, affected users are also reporting issues to Verizon support.

Verizon statement on the outage

The Verizon Support account on X/Twitter has explained the cause of today's issues and said that engineers are currently working to restore service.

According to a response to a customer, the mobile carrier says, "Fiber cuts in Western Pennsylvania are preventing some wireless customers from connecting to the Verizon network.

"Our engineers are actively working to solve the issue. We know how important reliable communication is and apologize for this inconvenience."

Verizon should deal with this swiftly

Verizon is no stranger to dealing with outages and issues across its network. Just last month, the mobile carrier experienced a minor outage. That was over relatively swiftly, but back in January, Verizon recorded a nationwide issue that saw thousands of customers lose connectivity for over half a day.

Hopefully, the problems today are just a blip and the company is able to solve them quickly and return service to users.

Reports are holding steady

According to the latest information from DownDetector, the reports have plateaued at just past 1,000 for the last 30 minutes or so. This could indicate just a regional blip that should hopefully be resolved soon.

Are you affected by today's Verizon outage?

According to Verizon, today's issues are focused around Western Pennsylvania, but it's likely that many more regions are affected. If you're currently experiencing issues, let us know in the poll above and feel free to add to the comments section below this article.

Verizon's status checker is... not optimistic

If you're a Verizon customer, you can use the mobile carrier's network status page to check the availability in your area. I situated myself at New York City's Radio City Music Hall to see what it would tell me.

According to Verizon's own page, data, voice, text and wireless home internet are limited in this area. What's more, Verizon suggests I may not see full service resumed until 8:40pm this evening. Which is a bit concerning.

What to do if you see SOS on your phone

If you are seeing SOS in the status bar of your iPhone it means you have no network connection.

iPhones after the iPhone 14 do have built-in satellite connectivity (more on that in another post).

Here's a guide on how to troubleshoot your phone if the SOS status appears.

Reports are falling

Over on DownDetector, the reports of today's issues seem to be falling fast. This is probably a good indicator the outage will soon be resolved. At the time of writing (11:20am ET), reports have fallen from a peak of 1,100 down to just over 600.

Turns out this may have just been a tiny hiccup in the company's services today. Are you still having problems? Let us know below.

Some issues still persisting, but the worst looks to be over

Verizon's Support account on X.com is busy responding to queries by pointing people to the status checker alongside a canned statement: "We understand how important is to have a reliable service that you can depend on it."

But with DownDetector reports now down at less than 500 reports, I think we can confidently say the worst is probably behind us today.

Estimated time for a fix

Based on the Down Detector map, most reports appear to be coming from around New York City and the Gulf of Mexico, especially around Louisiana and Mississippi.

Using the Verizon service status page we tested a few zip codes.

It's a mixed bag, none of the areas we checked in Louisiana or Mississippi had issues. NYC, however, did pop up and the problems aren't supposed to be resolved until 9 pm Eastern, a full 12 hours from now.

Reports are down but...

Reports are hovering around 225 on Down Detector, not quite going away. Usually this indicates that things are settling now.

However, I'm still seeing complaints under the official Verizon support X account.

Are you having issues?

Hey, let us know if you're having issues with your Verizon service.

Reports are about the same on DD but I am still seeing service outage concerns on X and the Verizon service page.

It's hard to tell currently how widespread things are beyond individual comments on Twitter.

Looks mostly over

Alright, with reports way down and a lack of information from Verizon, it appears this outage is over.

We'll keep an eye on things if it changes, but that's where we stand at this moment.

Mobile carriers will do just about anything to get you to switch networks. That includes handing out freebies. However, the latest bundle deal from Verizon is hands-down one of the best I've ever seen.

For a limited time, Verizon is offering a free iPad (A16) or Apple Watch 11 with any iPhone purchase. Additionally, the entire iPhone 17 lineup includes a $100 Verizon eGift card when purchased online. (The Pro models include a $270 eGift card). That's one of the best Verizon phone deals I've seen. That said, there is a catch to this deal. Your Apple Watch 11 or iPad must be activated with a Verizon service plan.

Not sure which phone to get? As an iPhone 17 Pro owner, I can say it's one of the best phones out there. In our iPhone 17 Pro review, we said its undergone the biggest changes in years, starting with a powerful new processor, longer battery life, and a vapor chamber cooling system.

In terms of hardware, the phone features a 6.3-inch OLED 120Hz display (2622 x 1206), A19 Pro chipset, and 256GB of storage. Yes, it's $100 pricier than its predecessor, but the new base model comes with 256GB of storage, whereas its predecessor came with just 128GB of storage. The new iPhone 17 Pro also includes a 48MP main, 48MP ultrawide, and 48MP w/ 4x zoom telephoto lens. Up front you'll find an 18MP camera.

Make sure to check out our iPhone 17 vs iPhone Air vs iPhone 17 Pro vs iPhone 17 Pro Max guide to find out which phone is best for you. For more ways to save, check out our Verizon promo codes page.

Recently, Mint Mobile announced a new 5G home internet and unlimited wireless plan that promises both for a pretty fair, wallet-friendly price. Powered by T-Mobile's 5G network, the Mint Mobile bundle offers home internet service and mobile service for an upfront cost of $540 per year, which breaks down to $45 per month.

Unlike a traditional ISP, which requires a router, Mint Mobile's version requires a wireless gateway that connects to the closest T-Mobile cell tower and broadcasts Wi-Fi to your domicile. The plan promises download speeds of 133-415 Mbps and upload speeds of 12-55 Mbps.

You can pair it with the best cable TV alternatives to save some money as you cut the cord.

With that in mind, how does Mint Mobile compare to other home internet and mobile bundles?

We've chosen 5 internet providers that have a larger national presence for comparison.

Mint Mobile offers only one MINTernet plan, while the other companies offer at least three plans with varying speeds and prices.

For this comparison, we've chosen plans with similar pricing and mobile offerings to Mint Mobile's plan. If you want faster speeds, you'll need to pony up more per month. As an example, 1 gig internet at Spectrum is $70 a month.

These are also for plans with 1 line. T-Mobile has a plan that includes internet and 3 phone lines for $175, but no one else seems to offer a similar plan. Also, the phone bill for some companies is still separate, so you may be able to find separate deals that could save you some money temporarily.

Additionally, many of the larger companies offer deals on your first 12 months at a discount that then returns to the normal rate. We've included the normal rate so you can see the standard non-deal price.

In some cases, there are also additional offerings. T-Mobile's highest-tier internet plan, for example, comes with a Wi-Fi Mesh extender to expand the network throughout your home and gets you Wi-Fi 7.

Both Xfinity and Mint Mobile do promise a 5-year lock, excluding taxes and fees.

Some drawbacks

Additionally, there are some drawbacks, because you're using a 5G cellular network, speed can vary due to network traffic. Mint's plan also doesn't include HD video streaming.

Fiber internet service tends to be more stable and offers higher speeds, though it's more expensive across the board.

And to be clear, these companies don't offer service everywhere. You'll need to enter your address to see if your neighborhood can get service.

As an example, Verizon recently purchased Frontier, but that hasn't led to an immediate expansion of service availability. I live near a Frontier building, and yet my neighborhood isn't available for Frontier or Verizon home internet.

Mint is the winner

Overall, it appears Mint Mobile's offerings are the cheapest compared to comparable plans from other major providers.

As always with Mint, the upfront cost can be jarring if you're used to monthly payments, but it remains the cheapest option available if you want home internet and mobile bundled.

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Getting out of a three-year relationship is never easy, but Verizon is making it particularly difficult for me. They’ve done everything a bitter ex would do — they scoffed when I said I was leaving; they told me my new service won’t be as good; and now, they’re refusing to come and take their equipment unless I pay them to do so.

I didn’t want it to come to this — I’m not exactly stoked about downgrading to Spectrum’s “fiber-powered” internet — but worsening connectivity issues, unresponsive self-help portals and poor customer service have left me no choice but to move on.

Here’s the story of the rise and fall of my relationship with Verizon.

The honeymoon phase

Like a lot of relationships, the first year of my relationship with Fios was so great. After buying a home, I wasn’t looking to spend extra money on one of the best Wi-Fi routers — Verizon threw one in for free right out of the gate and tacked on a MoCA adapter for free for my office.

That first year, the service was cheap, fast and, importantly, incredibly stable. I was happy as could be with the 1GB Fios plan. It was $99 per month which is pricey but, at the time, I felt it was more than fair for the service that was being provided.

Then we got into our first fight.

It happened after a major storm rolled through Buffalo. I lost power one night and, when the lights finally came back on, my internet connection was spotty at best. No amount of power cycling helped. It turned out that the storm had damaged the delicate fiber optic cable running to the house.

Getting someone to the house to replace it took a week. When they were finished, the line was left unprotected on the lawn — a perfect disaster waiting to happen. They told me they’d need to come back later with tools to bury it underground.

Eventually that got done, but in that time something easily could’ve happened to that cable.

I’m not sure it’s ever been the same since that cable was replaced. I’ve routinely been told by the self-help portal that fixes should be as simple as resetting the Optical Network Terminal (ONT) or unplugging all the ethernet-connected devices from the router.

The beginning of the end

Fast forward to earlier this winter when the Northeastern United States was hit by yet another big storm. Once again we lost electricity. And once again the Fios connection took a huge hit to its overall speed and stability.

Instead of getting on the phone immediately with customer support, I tried to use Verizon’s self-help portal to fix it myself. Each time I performed the test, the router would reset the connection — and within seconds it would go back to losing data packets left and right.

I finally caved and called for help. The representative at the time told me it was something they could fix on their end (it wasn’t) and that issues could persist momentarily but not for more than another day (they did).

Cue another few rounds through the self-help portal.

The breakup and how I discovered Verizon’s wild equipment policy

I didn’t want to do it, but Verizon forced my hand. I called Spectrum and placed an order for their new 1GB Invincible Wi-Fi service that comes packaged with a Wi-Fi 7 router with an integrated 5G cellular backup and an 8-hour battery.

Eventually, a Spectrum sales representative told me, 2GB service will be available in my area — and it could be as soon as the end of the year. That was enough to sell me.

As I explain this all to a Verizon representative, I’m met with contempt: “I’ve never heard of someone leaving Verizon Fios for Spectrum. Are you sure you want to do that? You know you don’t have to.”

It’s too late I say, the boxes with the new modem and router have arrived.

“Send them back.”

I explain that I can’t set up the new equipment because all of the coaxial cables in the house run through the Optical Network Terminal in the basement. She tells me that shouldn’t be a problem. (It is.)

See, it turns out that the old coaxial cable that ran into the house was cut when the ONT was installed. With no way to reach the outside lines except through the Optical Network Terminal, I was effectively cut off from being able to switch out of Verizon.

I’m frustrated at how difficult this is — so I ask, “Can you just come and pick up the Optical Network Terminal?” The answer is that they can… if I’m willing to pay for it.

Routers come and go, but (Verizon's) ONTs are forever

Imagine breaking up with someone and they tell you that they’re going to leave some stuff at your place “just in case you ever decide to reconnect.” That’s definitionally crazy.

It’s not crazy, the representative tells me. It’s their policy, I was told, but not part of the actual contract you sign when agreeing to in-home Fios.

On some level, I understand the policy. To send a technician over to uninstall the Optical Network Terminal would cost them money — money that they’d be spending on a person who is no longer a subscriber. Financially, it makes more sense to just leave the equipment.

I’m not nearly as skilled or as knowledgeable as a technician, but I checked Verizon’s online documentation to see if I can remove it myself. Apparently, doing so can cause damage to the fiber optic line or the equipment itself. Doing damage to the equipment incurs a cost, but so does having a technician come to remove it, apparently.

Over my half-hour conversation with the representative, I’m told, repeatedly, to look after the equipment until there comes a time in the future that I might be interested in Verizon’s services again. So in the basement it stays, I guess.

Don’t cry ‘cause it’s over, smile because it happened

I’m not bitter about the breakup. I’m shocked at the policy I had no idea I signed up for — and disappointed that I now have to pay out of pocket to have Verizon’s equipment returned to them — but I don’t put ISPs on a pedestal. They’re all a mixed bag when it comes to performance and customer service quality.

It turns out that I’m not the only person who’s encountered this issue with the ONT, though. On Reddit’s r/Fios, users have been asking how to get theirs removed. Most folks are saying that it’s not worth the hassle, while others are saying that you can provide written notice to Verizon that they have 30 days to come and remove it from your property or it’s forfeit.

Another user says that technicians can remove it for non-customers at no-cost, something that flies in the face of what the representative told me earlier that day.

I’ll look into having it removed once I’ve returned the router and MoCA adapter, but I’m not sure I’ll go as far as writing them a request for removal — at least, not now.

We had a good run, Verizon. I’m going to miss that first year we had together. I hope that by talking about our issues with the world, you change.

I’ll keep your stuff here, if I must, but I’m definitely going to hide it behind one of the best TVs, like the LG C5 OLED. Whenever Netflix stutters or HBO Max fails to load, I’ll think of you.

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After winning a waiver from the FCC, Verizon has been quick to update its unlock policies, making it harder for customers to leave with their devices for a rival carrier. The changes don't affect just people who use Verizon, but also several MVNOs that piggyback on Verizon's network.

Compared to AT&T and T-Mobile, the policies are largely the same, especially when it comes to prepaid devices. AT&T appears to still respect the 60-day window that was waived for Verizon.

Here's how the big three compare.

How we got here

In January, the Federal Communications Commission agreed to waive a 60-day phone unlock requirement that had been imposed on Verizon since 2008, when it acquired licenses to use the 700 MHz spectrum. It was reupped in 2021 when Verizon bought TracFone.

Verizon has argued that the shorter unlock window contributed to "device fraud" and increased phone prices. The FCC agreed.

“Today, criminal networks are specifically targeting Verizon handsets due to the company’s unique unlocking policies,” the FCC’s filing said.

As Ars Technica reported in January, the company almost immediately introduced a new unlocking policy for TracFone and other prepaid brands that enforced a 365-day lock period. That affects brands like StraightTalk, Total Wireless and Walmart Family Mobile.

Verizon associated MVNOs

If you're unfamiliar, an MVNO is a mobile virtual network operator. Simply, these are carriers that utilize a larger carrier's network to offer services.

Verizon partners with more than a dozen MVNOs that use its networks. Some of them are partially or wholly owned by Verizon like Visible and TracPhone. The largest and most visible one is Xfinity Mobile, which offers cell service for customers who also get internet from Comcast.

Verizon's key MVNOs are:

• Xfinity Mobile
• Twigby
• Ting
• Spectrum Mobile
• Page Plus
• Pix Wireless
• Credo Mobile
• Lively
• Net10
• Reach Mobile
• Red Pocket
• Straight Talk
• Total Wireless
• TracFone

Verizon struggling

Reportedly, Verizon is struggling to retain customers. The most recent earnings call reported a 32.6% decline in operating income and a cancellation rate of 0.95% among postpaid phone customers, a much higher rate than in previous quarters.

CEO Dan Schulman blamed it on price increases "without corresponding value," friction in billing, onboarding and customer service, and a shift to MVNO carriers.

A Market Force Information survey from 2025 found that Verizon customers, on average, spend $157 a month on their phone bills, the highest among the big three. Customer satisfaction was quite low as well.

Between price hikes, several major outages in the last six months, and now this harsher unlock policy, Verizon is doing itself no favors.

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The scores are in for the U.S.A.'s Big 3 mobile carriers in Ookla RootMetrics's State of the Mobile Union Report for the second half of 2025. And it's clear that Verizon comes out on top this time.

Reports like this can be a good way to judge which of the best phones carriers is going to be the best for where you live. And given that RootMetrics' findings are based on 3 million tests conducted from July to December 2025 across the country, and in 125 major urban areas, it's safe to say it's pretty thorough.

The big winner is Verizon, which won five of RootMetrics' eight headline awards outright, and tied for another two. Its haul of trophies includes wins for overall performance and reliability, plus it scored best for general 5G performance, while also improving its download speeds in metro regions.

AT&T tied for three awards, putting it in second place. It came second on a state-by-state basis too, and managed to improve both its metro test results, managing to meet gold standard of 100 Mbps download speeds in the 125 metro test regions for the first time.

T-Mobile shares just one award - U.S. Network Speed - with AT&T, earning it the bronze medal. That said, the UnCarrier still managed to have the highest 5G availability nationally, while also improving on a state and metro level too. City-dwelling T-Mo users do especially well, as it's the only carrier of the three tested to manage 100 Mbps download speeds in every metro tested, with all but one of those also hitting the 200 Mbps mark.

In the 1H 2025 report by RootMetrics, AT&T earned four outright wins and tied Verizon for data performance and text performance. And Verizon won for network responsiveness and video performance.

Good to know — especially if you're in the market for a new phone

While anyone subscribed to Verizon is probably feeling a little smug right now, none of the big three did disasterously badly in this set of testing, so don't feel like you need to immediately escape your contract to sign up to Verizon if you're not already a member. However, it's perhaps worth keeping in mind as phone releases for 2026 start to get into gear.

The big one to keep in mind is the Samsung Galaxy S26, which is should be revealed by the end of February and go on sale in March. But the crystal ball suggests we may see the Google Pixel 10a, and perhaps an iPhone 17e, shortly after that. If you're planning to upgrade, it could be worth investigating if buying any of these phones with a Verizon contract is the best option for you, or maybe T-Mobile if you live in one of the city regions where the network fared particularly well.

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Verizon’s had a tough 24 hours. A lengthy service outage started in the afternoon yesterday (January 14) and left customers with phones in SOS emergency mode for approximately 10 hours. According to Downdetector, the disruption peaked at around 12:45 E.T. and Verizon officially stated at 10:15 pm E.T. that the outage was resolved.

There’s still an ongoing investigation around the cause of the disruption, but Verizon is moving forward with a pledge to offer a $20 credit to customers that can be redeemed through the myVerizon app. Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless business customers will be contacted separately about their credits.

“This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened," Verizon said in a posted response to the outage. "No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging our customers' time and showing that this matters to us.”

Here’s how to redeem your credit if you're a Verizon customer.

Getting the $20 credit requires customers to log into the myVerizon app and accept the refund. But based on this Reddit thread, the credit offer hasn’t yet appeared for many. In fact, there hasn’t been confirmation that anyone’s received it just yet, but we suspect it’ll be a matter of time. We recommend checking back on the app and looking out for any notifications.

A Verizon spokesperson told Tom's Guide that "we will text customers when the credit is available."

Interestingly, Verizon’s $20 credit offer is a direct contrast to its previous major outage in October 2024 that saw more than 100,000 reports on Downdetector. That’s because there were no credits given out for that outage, so for Verizon to willingly offer one this time indicates significant shift to its response for these crisis events.

This kind of gesture is unprecedented, especially compared to the response from rivals AT&T and T-Mobile with their respective outages. What do you think? Is Verizon’s $20 credit enough? Let us know what you think and if you’ve actually received it.

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Verizon has released a statement on X regarding the recent loss of service, promising recompense for users affected by the issue.

Verizon’s statement reads as follows:

“Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry. They expect more from us.

We are working non-stop and making progress. Our teams will continue to work through the night until service is restored for all impacted customers.

We will make this right - for any customer affected, we will provide account credits and share updates soon."

The statement in question is a bit light on details in terms of what happened to cause the outage, as well as when users can expect these compensatory credits. It's also not clear what the value of the credits will be at this point.

So far, the response to the credit apology has been mixed at best, at least based on the comments to the company's X post. One user asked the company to “Define "credits" like not having to pay in 2026?" Other users mocked the company, stating that the credits likely won’t be worth much.

One of the most pressing questions had to do with what caused the outage in the first place, especially whether the company had been hacked and if customer data was at risk.

What do we know about the issue with Verizon?

Yesterday, we saw Verizon’s wireless network service abruptly go down at around 12:30 pm Eastern/9:30 am Pacific on January 14th, forcing phones into SOS mode for customers up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States.

At this point, Verizon has still been silent about the potential cause of the issue. The best that most customers got throughout the issue was that "Verizon's team is on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue that is impacting some customers. We know this is a huge inconvenience, and our top priority is to get you back online and connected as fast as possible. We appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this issue." However, the company has stated that the issue is now solved.

Currently, there is still a high level of complaints about Verizon’s service on Down Detector compared to what we would normally see. With that being said, the number of complaints is still noticeably less than the spike we saw yesterday, and the company has stated that the outage has been resolved. However, time will tell if the problem has been resolved as we see the U.S. begin to wake up.

To make sure you stay up to date with any information as it comes out, keep an eye on our Verizon Live Blog. We will also make sure to update you with any other changes that occur over the rest of the day.

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As a new day dawns, Verizon's cell services seem to be back to normal. But we're still waiting for answers on what happened the day before.

Verizon's wireless network service abruptly went down around 12:30 pm Eastern/9:30 am Pacific on January 14th, forcing phones into SOS mode for customers up and down the eastern seaboard of the United States.

The company quickly acknowledged the issue on X, but didn't give an estimate for repair time - understandable, but frustrating for its users.

On the outage tracking site Down Detector, reports hit an initial peak of 115,000 before surging to over 180,000. Reports went into a steady decline starting around 2:30 pm ET, but didn't level off until 9:30 pm ET.

Several readers reached out to Tom's Guide, saying service is affected from South Florida to Albany, New York, as far west as Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. New York City appears to be a hot spot as well. Later emails shifted the outage out to Texas and Missouri

We saw reports that AT&T and T-Mobile were affected, but those seem related to Verizon's outage and company reps have confirmed that those networks remain stable.

At 9:00 pm ET/6 pm PT, Verizon finally provided a new statement that wasn't just a reiteration of its "We're working on it" message that was repeated throughout the day. The company apologized for the outage and promised to "make it right."

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear that service will see a complete recovery soon. "We are working non-stop and making progress. Our teams will continue to work through the night until service is restored for all impacted customers."

Account credits and updates have been promised but concrete details have yet to be shared.

Follow along with Tom's Guide as we provide live updates on the fallout from the Verizon outage.

Huge spike in reports

Down Detector received a sudden spike of outage reports around 9:30 am Pacific and the coverage map appears to show the majority of issues is affecting the eastern half of the United States.

People are not happy

We're seeing a ton of comments on social sites like X, Reddit and the Down Detector comments with people complaining about the outage.

Other carriers spiking

I am seeing spikes in reports for T-Mobile, AT&T and US Cellular (on MVNO that uses T-Mobile's network), but they're much smaller and it's possible it's because people are trying to contact Verizon customers.

Verizon status page down!

When it comes to outages we recommend checking the official status pages of sites or companies (if they have one), but we can't even do that with this outage.

Verizon's network status page is not loading. When I try to use it I just get the spinning loading wheel.

Likely it's crashing as Verizon customers try to check their status but it could be related to the outage.

Verizon is aware

On the official Verizon News X account, the company posted that it is aware of the outage.

"We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and are working to identify and solve the issue quickly. We understand how important reliable connectivity is and apologize for the inconvenience," the post reads.

Verizon has a separate Customer Support channel that is responding to people about the outage with the same message.

East of the Mississippi down

I found a site called Geo Block which appears to show every state east of the Mississippi river affected by today's Verizon outage.

It also shows outages throughout Texas with scattered reports in California, Washington, Arizona and Colorado.

What to do if you see SOS on your phone

If you are seeing SOS in the status bar of your iPhone it means you have no network connection.

iPhones after the iPhone 14 do have built-in satellite connectivity (more on that in another post).

Here's a guide on how to troubleshoot your phone if the SOS status appears.

How to send messages via satellite on an iPhone

If you have an iPhone that is running iOS 18 or later you can send messages via satellite. It's an expansion of the SOS feature introduced with the iPhone 14.

If you're on Verizon, have an iPhone and need to communicate here's how to send messages via satellite.

If you have a Galaxy S25 or Pixel 9 or 9A, you should have satellite messaging.

T-Mobile rep says network is okay

As mentioned, I am seeing spikes for AT&T and T-Mobile, though those may be related more to people trying to connect with Verizon customers.

A rep via the T-Mobile Help X account responded to a customer saying, "Hi, we're not currently showing any service concerns."

Are you affected?

For what it's worth my colleague, Mike Prospero, is based out of New Jersey but close enough to New York to potentially be affected. He says service is still up.

However, comments on Down Detector and social media show people from around Philadelphia, New York City and New Jersey don't have service.

Let us know on the TikTok video in the comments or email me at scott.younker@futurenet.com to let us know if this outage is affecting your phone.

Tom's Guide readers report in

After our last post, Tom's Guide readers reached out.

On TikTok, central Florida, south Florida and a couple of people in Manhattan said they have no service.

I received messages from readers in Albany, New York, New Jersey, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Brooklyn, and central Massachusetts.

At least one person said their phone has been stuck in SOS mode for over an hour. Another reported they had 5 minutes of service return before it dropped out again.

Thank you for sharing and we'll keep you posted on what's happening with Verizon.

Down Detector reports dropping but significant number of people still showing issues

After a peak of just over 180,000 reports on Down Detector, the rush has started to decline, but it's still showing over 110,000 concurrent reports, so a significant number of people are still affected.

And as readers shared, it's still widespread.

Verizon statement

A Verizon spokesperson tells me that the company is continuing to work on the outage.

"Verizon engineering teams are continuing to address today's service interruptions. Our teams remain fully deployed and are focused on the issue. We understand the impact this has on your day and remain committed to resolving this as quickly as possible," they said in a statement.

Unfortunately, they did not provide clarity or an ETA on how long it will take to get service back up and running.

Where we stand after 2 hours

Here's where we stand two hours into the outage:

Verizon's outage is impacting voice, text, and data for cellular users. Impacted phones are displaying an SOS icon instead of the network bars and 5G or 4G in the corner.

The outage appeared to start around 12:30 pm ET, with Verizon acknowledging the issue at 1 pm ET.

It appears to be affecting customers in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Florida and as far west as Kansas and Texas.

iPhone 14 or later owners should be able to use satellite services including the SOS-related Messages via Satellite.

MVNOs seem to be okay

Interestingly, it appears that MVNOs that utilize Verizon's network have not been impacted.

These include services like Total Wireless and Visible, which my colleague John Velasco says are still working for him. I'm also not seeing spikes for those services on Down Detector.

Xfinity Mobile and Straight Talk have small amounts of reports, but they're so low that issues may not be related. Those are two of the biggest MVNOs that piggyback on the Verizon network.

New York's Emergency Notification system weighs in

For those who live in the New York City, the NYC Emergency notification system, Notify NYC, has commented on the outage on X.

"Nationwide @Verizon Wireless Outage: Outage may affect some users trying to call 911. Call using a device from another carrier, a landline, or go to a police/fire station to report emergencies," the post reads.

It also has a link to help New Yorkers find their fire or police precinct.

Steep decline on Down Detector

Reports on Down Detector have been on a steady decline since its initial peak of over 180,000.

Currently, as of 3 pm ET, reports sit around 67,000. I am seeing comments on the Verizon outage page with some saying they've had no service the whole time, with others reporting service has been intermittent. One person claimed their service had fully returned in the last 30 minutes.

More readers respond

Even more Tom's Guide readers have reached out to let us know how the outage is affecting them.

We're now getting reports from Washington D.C., Buffalo, New York, North and South Carolina, Tennessee and Bulverdere, Texas.

One reader said they've been stuck in SOS mode and can only use their phones if they connect to WiFi. Another said her Galaxy S21 wasn't connecting but that GalaxyS20FE is able to get service.

A reader from Clarence, New York said they tried to reach out to Verizon via its app on WiFi but couldn't login because the security was being sent by text...which they couldn't receive.

Official T-Mobile statement

Earlier we shared a statement that customer service rep for T-Mobile shared in response to a customer on X.

We now have an official statement from T-Mobile:

T-Mobile’s network is keeping our customers connected, and we’ve confirmed that our network is operating normally and as expected. However, due to Verizon’s reported outage, our customers may not be able to reach someone with Verizon service at this time.

Likely any disruption T-Mobile customers are seeing are probably related to them trying to connect with people on Verizon's network.

A cheekier statement from AT&T

AT&T put out their own statement on X that's a bit cheekier than the one from T-Mobile.

"Our network? Solid. If you’re experiencing issues, it’s not us.....it’s the other guys. Some things are just out of our hands! - BUT if you're interested in giving us a try," the post reads.

Again, any issues you may have with T-Mobile or AT&T right now are probably related to Verizon's ongoing issues.

SOS Mode from a colleague

If you haven't seen it, here's what SOS mode can look like for iPhone users.

My colleague Michael Desjarden has been stuck with SOS mode for a while now. "SOS mode stinks," he said, adding that he needs cellular data, not SOS.

We have entered hour three of the outage.

Holding pattern

Verizon has not provided a substantial update for more than two hours.

The most recent post on the Verizon News account has similar language to previous updates, but it does mention crews are on the ground, suggesting the issue is related to a wiring or station problem. We've reached out to Verizon for clarification.

A tour of Tom's Guide lock screens

Several Tom's Guide writers and editors are on Verizon's service, but surprisingly, only one of us has actually been hit by the SOS interruption.

To be fair, three of us, myself included, are located on the West Coast in Los Angeles and the Bay Area, where Verizon seems to be operating without issue.

Others work in our Manhattan office or live around Brooklyn.

Krispy Kreme offers free donuts to Verizon customers

Krispy Kreme is offering free "Original Glazed" doughnuts to customers between 5 and 7 pm local time.

"SOS got you down? We can hear you now — and we’re serving up.
Swing by today, 1/14, from 5–7pm for a FREE Original Glazed® doughnut 🍩 — because some days need a sweet backup plan you can rely on," the company posted on Instagram.

A representative told a local Fox affiliate that you don't need to provide proof that you use Verizon and that no purchase is necessary to get a doughnt.

Silence from Verizon

Since the outage started, Verizon has had periodic updates saying largely the same thing. Here's the most recent from an hour ago:

"Verizon's team is on the ground actively working to fix today’s service issue that is impacting some customers. We know this is a huge inconvenience, and our top priority is to get you back online and connected as fast as possible. We appreciate your patience while we work to resolve this issue."

I've reached out to Verizon for more clarity on the situation and to see if they have an ETA or what the company's policy is regarding providing relief to customers when service goes down like this. If I receive a response I will provide an update.

The outage just the 5 hour mark

Reports on Down Detector took a steady dive after its initial peak, but slowed down to the current 48,000 reports.

As mentioned, Verizon has been largely silent beyond recurring messages stating that they are working on it. We just don't know what caused the disruption.

We don't have a timeline for resolution.

Tom's Guide readers have reported in from up and down the eastern seaboard and as far west as Texas. Those in the West seem to be better off, even though outage maps are showing some reports spread across the Pacific states.

Coming back online?

A couple of readers have reported that their devices have started to get service back. One out of D.C. said her iPhones gained service first but her Android phones finally kicked on about an thirty minutes later.

Since around 2:30 p.m. ET, reports on Down Detector have been on a slow but steady decline. Currently, reports are holding at 45,000 on DD.

The comments in the DD page have devolved into insanity but a few people are saying that they've received service again. Though more are still reporting they still can't make calls.

Did you get a donut?

As a reminder, Krispy Kreme is offering free Original Glazed donuts between 5 and 7 pm today in response to the Verizon outage.

If you're on the East Coast you have an hour to get one.

So, did you get a sweet treat?

Latest Verizon Statement

I just received a new statement from Verizon regarding today's outage. It's the first communique in the last five hours.

Simply, the company apologizes for the outage, they have teams working on whatever caused service to go down and affected customers will get credits.

"Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry. They expect more from us.

We are working non-stop and making progress. Our teams will continue to work through the night until service is restored for all impacted customers.

We will make this right - for any customer affected, we will provide account credits and share updates soon."

I was not told what kind of credits or when to expect more updates. And it does mean we may be several hours away from full restoration.

People are not happy

Verizon posted a version of the statement I received on its Verizon News X account and if the replies are anything to go by, people are not happy.

"Define "credits" like not having to pay in 2026?" one person wrote. A common theme, though mostly people mocking that at best Verizon would only give out 5 cents.

Several other replies demanded transparency about what happened today. A common belief is that the company has been hacked and that customer data was breached.

"Will you be paying our wages for those that were unable to work and lost money??? Transparency would be a start. Who hacked Verizon????" a user named Rev1621 demaned.

A few warned that they would decamp to T-Mobile.

Those were some of the nicer, and less...political responses.

Service returning?

Outage reports on Down Detector took a sudden dive recently. Reports were sitting around 30,000 but are now at 11,000, the first time we've been close to a four digit number all day.

I am seeing comments from people saying that they've got some "bars" back. A few emails from Tom's Guide readers came in recently with people indicating that they've been able to make phone calls and send texts

Similar and worse than last outage

The last Verizon outage we tracked happened in May 2025 and similarly affected people on the east coast of the U.S. However, that outage only last for a couple of hours and Verizon never really acknowledged it.

NYC-area friends and family are still reporting Verizon outages

As we cruise past 7 pm on the U.S. West Coast, I'm still getting reports from friends and family — especially those located in New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania — that their issues with Verizon cellular service persist. This includes both folks located in urban and suburban areas. While Down Detector is showing improvements, the outage is apparently not quite over.

T-Mobile sends a message acknowledging (throwing shade at) Verizon's struggles

I'm a T-Mobile customer located in the U.S. Pacific Northwest, and even though I've had no issues with cellular service today, about an hour ago, I got this message acknowledging the crisis over at Verizon. Is this T-Mobile throwing shade or being helpful? Maybe a little bit of both.

Verizon outage reports drop to less than 7,000

As of 7:30 pm PST, Down Detector is showing fewer than 7,000 Verizon users reporting issues with the network. Now, this could be the result of exhausted customers having given up on a solution and gone to sleep, with hopes of better days ahead. Or, it could actually mean the crisis is close to being resolved. I'll continue monitoring the situation and post an update if/when things change.

Fewer than 5,000 Verizon customers now report issues... but we still don't know the cause

As we approach 8 pm PST, the number of Verizon customers reporting issues with their service has dwindled to under 5,000. Of course, we still have no word on what caused the outage and if it's actually resolved (or close to being wrapped).

As for the cause... Did an intern trip over a server cable? Maybe an office pup chewed through an important power cord? Or was the massive blackout the result of something more nefarious/concerning? We may never know. (I'm going with the pup theory).

Verizon says the outage is now 'resolved'

As of 8 pm PST, Verizon is reporting that the outage has been 'resolved,' but I'm not so sure. According to Down Detector, roughly 4,000 Verizon customers continue to report connectivity hiccups. Are you still experiencing issues with Verizon? Share your experience with me, dan.bracaglia@futurenet.com.

A new day dawns

Good morning early risers - it's the 15th of January! And hopefully, a regular, normal day for Verizon users.

There's still a high baseline of complaints about Verizon's service on Down Detector compared to a regular day, but it's nothing compared to the spike we saw yesterday. Let's all cross our fingers and hope that, as more Verizon customers wake up and check their phones, that they will see full bars, and not the dreaded SOS icon.

Verizon promises to offer credits following massive outage — 'we will make this right'

Here's Verizon's latest statement on the matter, which is both an apology and a promise of account credits as a peace offering to unhappy users.

"Today, we let many of our customers down and for that, we are truly sorry. They expect more from us.

We are working non-stop and making progress. Our teams will continue to work through the night until service is restored for all impacted customers.

We will make this right - for any customer affected, we will provide account credits and share updates soon."

An increase - but let's not panic just yet

Verizon reports remain well above the baseline as the U.S. east coast starts to wake up. They're increasing in volume too, compared to a few hours ago.

But let's not jump to conclusions. While some users may still be having trouble connecting to the network, hopefully this is because of residual problems or mis-diagnosis of other issues. We don't need to worry until we start to see a spike like yesterday's.

Verizon's advice to people still experiencing problems — restart!

If you're among the small but still notable section of Verizon users still struggling to get a cell connection - remember the company's advice from its earlier statement on the outage:

"If customers are still having an issue, we encourage them to restart their devices to reconnect to the network."

It's not clear why this will help users' devices if this was an issue on Verizon's end, but it's worth a try if you can't get mobile internet!

Are you staying with Verizon?

Now that the Verizon outage is all sorted, what do you do going forward? Has this outage soured you on using the popular phone carrier, or is the company's promise to "make this right" enough to make you happy?

Verizon's offering is...

Verizon has officially revealed the make-good for its customers. Here's what the company said in an X post:

"Yesterday, we did not meet the standard of excellence you expect and that we expect of ourselves. To help provide some relief, we are giving you a $20 account credit that can be easily redeemed by logging into the myVerizon app to accept. On average, this covers multiple days of service. Our business customers will be contacted directly about their credits.

This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened. No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging your time and showing that this matters to us.

If you’re still having trouble connecting, please restart your device (power down and power back on). This is the fastest way to reconnect your phone to the network.

We are sorry for what you experienced and will continue to work hard day and night to provide the outstanding network and service that you expect from Verizon."

Lingering reports

While Verizon has told users still experiencing issues to restart their phone, it seems not everyone is aware, as there are still around 1,600 outage reports on Downdetector.

Presumably, these are people who are having problems due to the outage or even unrelated Verizon issues. Either way, for the people still reporting problems, this must be frustrating.

How to redeem your $20 credit

Verizon announced that impacted customers will receive a $20 credit that can be redeemed through the myVerizon App. Business customers will be contacted directly by Verizon.

We've put together a guide on how to redeem the $20 Credit and when it will be available.

T-Mobile gets spicy

T-Mobile has been pretty clear that its networks were not affected by the Verizon outage beyond an inability for T-Mobile customers to call or text contacts on Verizon.

This morning, I received an email form T-Mobile touting a J.D. Power award that rated T-Mobile has having the highest network quality in the U.S.

"This matters because customer experience has finally caught up to years of performance data. After massive network investment, perception has shifted and the old narrative just broke," T-Mobile said in the email.

Shots across the bow.

Credit is per account, not per line

To clarify the $20 credit, we have confirmed that it will be $20 per account, not per line.

So, if you have a family plan the credit will go to the overall account not the individual phones associated with it.

Verizon confirms the outage was caused by a software issue

We finally a little bit of an idea of why Verizon's network went down yesterday.

According to a Verizon spokesperson, the interruption was caused by software issue that the company is still investigating.

We were told it was not a cyberattack.

We were not provided with more specific details.

Let us know how you're feeling

Verizon's multihour outage induced a ton of outrage online with tons of frustrated customers threatening to switch to T-Mobile, but never AT&T.

As one Tom's Guide reader commented yesterday, "Verizon can choke on a egg."

Now that the dust has settled a little bit, how are you guys feeling about Verizon's handling of the issue, what do you wish was different. Are you considering switching to another carrier? Let us know.

Verizon alternatives

If yesterday's outage put you off Verizon, we do have a list of the best phone carriers where Verizon is our runner-up option behind T-Mobile.

However, there are also MVNO carriers that piggyback off of the big carriers like Visible and Mint Mobile.

We also have our list of the best unlimited data plans, which include offerings from even more services like Cricket and Total Wireless.

There are options if you're looking to switch. One potential drawback is the upfront cost of a new phone that services like T-Mobile and Verizon semi-subsidize by spreading it out over the life of your contract.

Turn it off and back on

On X, I've seen some people saying that they're still stuck in SOS mode.

As a reminder, Verizon recommends that you turn your device and turn it back on again. That should restore your service back to normal.

That's all for today

Well, folks, that's all I have for you today, but if more information comes out we'll be sure to update you.

Enjoy your evenings and I hope your service has full bars.

You could be stuck with Verizon on your prepaid phones longer than you want after the Federal Communications Commission agreed to waive the carrier's 60-day phone unlock requirement.

It means Verizon no longer has to unlock smartphones 60 days after activation, as reported by Ars Technica. Instead, Verizon will have to abide by carrier-friendly voluntary guidelines set by the CTIA wireless trade group. The CTIA suggests carriers unlock prepaid phones one year after activation, while postpaid plans can be unlocked after the contract ends or after an early termination fee.

The change comes after Verizon petitioned the FCC in October 2025, at the time asking the FCC and the Trump administration to allow the carrier to lock phones for up to six months. Verizon argued that the 60-day requirement "benefits bad actors and fraudsters."

FCC rejects shorter unlocking periods

In the decision, the FCC said the Verizon waiver will remain until the agency “decides on an appropriate industry-wide approach for the unlocking of handsets.”

Additionally, the FCC rejected the 6-month locking period, saying that the CTIA policies are “an adequate threshold of ensuring Verizon consumers have competitive options and that granting this waiver will not impede those competitive options. We thus decline to limit today’s waiver to a period of 180 days.”

Unlike AT&T and T-Mobile, Verizon has had this requirement since 2008, when the company purchased 700 MHz licenses and again in 2021 when it bought TracFone. The FCC required Verizon to unlock phones faster as a condition of approving the mergers.

“Today, criminal networks are specifically targeting Verizon handsets due to the company’s unique unlocking policies,” the FCC’s filing says.

60 Days likely won't become the norm

In 2024, the Biden Administration version of the FCC proposed a rule to make automatic 60 Day unlocking an industry standard.

"When you buy a phone, you should have the freedom to decide when to change service to the carrier you want and not have the device you own stuck by practices that prevent you from making that choice," former FCC chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said at the time.

Of course, T-Mobile and AT&T quickly responded, claiming that the rule was more harmful to consumers than carriers. "A handset unlocking mandate would also leave providers little choice but to limit their handset offers to lower cost and offer lesser performing handsets," T-Mobile's response read.

Opposition and "fraud"

Verizon's initial filing was opposed by a number of consumer groups like Public Knowledge, the Electronic Frontier Foundation, iFixit and Consumer Reports.

“It facilitates the resale and reuse of mobile devices, reduces e-waste, and enables low-cost carriers and MVNOs to compete on a more level playing field," a counter filing reads. "The opposite, which Verizon seeks through its waiver request, merely serves as a way to keep customers locked in one provider.”

The FCC under President Trump has been more amenable to corporations, though it couched the waiver decision in terms of concern over fraud. The agency claimed that 60 days is insufficient to deter bad actors.

“The FCC’s action will end bad actors’ ability to exploit the FCC’s unlocking rules to profit from easier access to expensive, heavily subsidized devices in the US that they traffic and sell to other parts of the world,” Verizon said in a statement seen by Ars Technica.

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Verizon is giving away free Nintendo Switch consoles to new Fios home internet customers this holiday season. If you've been considering upgrading your internet or switching providers, this deal sweetens the offer considerably — you get a popular gaming console worth $300 just for signing up.

The promotion applies to select Verizon Fios internet plans and includes a 5-year price lock on your monthly rate. If you already own a Switch, Verizon offers alternative freebies like a Samsung tablet or TV. There are some requirements to qualify and keep the gift free, including how long you need to maintain service. Here's what you need to know.

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  Verizon is paying out $100 million — how to check if you're getting paid

You've got a lot going on in your life at the moment — holiday prep, social engagements and the ongoing demands of daily life. Do you really want to add switching phone carriers to your list of to-dos?

A number of wireless providers are betting that you will, tweaking their Black Friday deals to convince you that it's time to move your wireless service elsewhere. And they may have a point.

You'll find deals aimed at would-be cell service switchers throughout the year, but those offers seem to ramp up around Black Friday. So long as you're looking for a new phone, the thinking goes, why not consider a new phone carrier, too?

The answer, of course, is that switching phone carriers can be a hassle, particularly if you're still paying off your current phone. (To that end, most carriers are willing to pick up that balance, either in part or in total, if that's what's preventing you from switching.) If your life feels pretty hectic right now — and whose doesn't — switching your phone service feels like One More Thing where the stress outweighs the benefit.

As someone who monitors the best cell phone plans and best phone carriers for Tom's Guide, I think there's a few reasons why now is the perfect time to consider a change in wireless service.

The best deals favor switchers

Peruse the best Black Friday phone deals, and you'll notice a trend — a lot of the top offers through phone carriers require you to open a new line of data. That covers current customers expanding their wireless plans to add a new person — say, a parent getting a phone for a child — but it really benefits someone coming over to a new carrier for the first time.

Take Verizon, which is currently offering a free iPhone 17 Pro even if you don't have a device to trade-in, so long as you open up a new line of service with one of the carrier's myPlan unlimited data options. Similarly, T-Mobile drops its trade-in requirement for a free iPhone 17 Pro when you bring an existing phone number and sign up for its Experience Beyond plan. (Opting for the less expensive Experience More plan nets you a steep discount on the iPhone.)

At lower-profile carriers, you can save without even having to purchase a phone. Mint Mobile is currently running a promotion where you pay just $15/month — $45 total — for your first three months of service on any plan, not just the cheapest 5GB offer. That means you can pay $45 for three months of unlimited data through Mint, half-off the carrier's usual rate. And if you're winning to commit to Mint for a full year, an upfront payment of $180 locks in 12 months of unlimited data for that 50% discount.

Visible is running a promotion off its own, where new customers can use code 'SWITCH26' to lock in a lower rate on any of the carrier's unlimited data plans for 26 months. I think the Visible Plus plan is the best unlimited data plan you can get right now, and Visible's promotion lowers the rate by $9/month to $26. That saves you $234 over the next two years and change.

The bottom line is that there are savings to be had — either with devices or services themselves — if you're willing to change carriers.

Switching is not the nuisance you think it is

The rise of discount phone carriers without a brick-and-mortar outlet has meant that getting started with new phone service has gotten a lot easier. After all, when your customer service is limited to online interactions, you've got to remove as many roadblocks as possible.

I'm currently testing Mint Mobile's wireless service, and without tipping my hand, I was able to get service up and running on a Galaxy S25 Plus without a sweat. I had the same experience earlier in the year setting up service on an older iPhone to review Twigby Mobile.

The bigger carriers are starting to take notice. Earlier this month, T-Mobile unveiled changes to its switching process in which the carrier claims you'll be able to complete a move to its service in 15 minutes. Using an app, you'll be able to share your current plan from AT&T or Verizon to get a competing offer from T-Mobile. You can also defer a decision on upgrading your hardware.

T-Mobile's expedited switching program launches December 1 — Cyber Monday in the U.S.

Starting the year off with a smaller cell phone bill

The timing of Black Friday sales means you're getting your new phone — and potentially, a new phone carrier — right at the start of a new year. That's a time of self-assessment and making changes, so signing up with a new carrier that's charging you less for phone service gets you a head start on turning over a new leaf for the new year.

Admittedly, this is more of a vibes-based reason for switching carriers. But if there's one thing I've learned from tracking cell phone plan prices, it's that there's usually a cheaper wireless plan out there compared to what you're currently paying. If a Black Friday phone deal is what pushes you to lower your monthly bill, then all the more reason to go for it.

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• Galaxy S26 vs Galaxy S25: Should you get a Black Friday phone deal now or wait for the new model?
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You can't turn on your TV these days without clapping eyes on an actor touting the merits of one of the Big Three U.S. phone carriers. And in each one, the actor looks right into the camera to tell you the wireless carrier they're representing has the best network.

The latest instance features Luke Wilson strolling around a wind-swept prairie and declaring AT&T to be the phone network to beat. This ad echoes a T-Mobile spot that debuted a few months earlier, in which Billy Bob Thornton strolls around a different wind-swept prairie while singing the praises of the Uncarrier.

Meanwhile, Verizon offers neither wind-swept prairies nor late '90s leading men in its ads, but it does include the claim that its network happens to be the best.

Three ads for three phone carriers all claiming to offer the fastest, most reliable wireless service — so which one is correct? The answer depends on whose data you're using.

Comparing the phone network ads and their claims

Let's start with the T-Mobile ad, since it was the one that triggered this latest round of "My network is better than yours" back and forth. T-Mobile rolled out the spot in June around the same time it was previewing its soon-to-launch satellite connectivity, and the ad featured Billy Bob Thornton proclaiming that the Uncarrier had overtaken Verizon in the network performance rankings.

"Now the best mobile network in the U.S. is T-Mobile," Thornton says in the ad. "Some fancy experts finished a network test, and T-Mobile sort of opened a can of whoop-up."

The fancy experts in question are from Ookla, a mobile testing firm, which had just released its Speedtest Awards for the first half of 2025. In that testing period, T-Mobile posted the best Speedtest Connectivity score, which measures speed, video streaming and web browsing performance. T-Mobile scored 79.95 in that metric, compared to 75.49 for Verizon and 72.47 for AT&T.

If you thought AT&T was going to take that lying down, you were badly mistaken. The carrier dispatched Luke Wilson to tell its side of the story in an ad that's airing regularly during this month's World Series coverage.

"AT&T is America's first network and it's still the best," Wilson assures us. "That's not me talking, that's the scoreboard."

Or rather, that's the word from Rootmetrics and its testing report covering the first half of 2025. In that report, AT&T gets the nod for best overall network performance, while also winning top honors for network reliability, network speed and call performance. AT&T and Verizon were joint winners in Rootmetrics' data performance and text performance categories.

T-Mobile didn't exactly come up empty in the Rootmetrics report. It's cited for having the best 5G availability, meaning you're most likely to get a 5G signal in more locations. Rootmetrics also called out T-Mobile's "stellar speeds in major cities."

As for Verizon, its current ads are more focused on a promotion that lets AT&T and T-Mobile customers bring in their bill to see if Big Red can offer them a better deal. But the carrier does include a nod to its own network performance in those commercials.

"Better deal, best 5G network," the ad notes, with the fine print in the commercial pointing to the same Rootmetrics report cited by AT&T. And that report does recognize Verizon for offering the best 5G experience along with the fastest and most reliable 5G performance.

And the winner is ... everybody?

Normally, when you have three different companies claiming the same thing, you'd have to assume that two of them are incorrect. But in this instance, AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon can all point to third-party reports that back up their claims.

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Verizon has begun distributing $100 million to customers from its class-action settlement over undisclosed fees. The payments started rolling out in mid-2025 via direct deposit, Zelle transfers, and physical checks. Individual amounts vary from $5 to $100, with higher payments going to customers who paid these disputed charges for longer periods.

At issue were "Administrative Charges" and "Telco Recovery Charges" that Verizon added to postpaid wireless bills between January 2016 and November 2023 without adequate disclosure. Though Verizon didn't admit wrongdoing, they agreed to settle rather than face continued litigation expenses.

For customers who submitted claims before the April 15, 2024 deadline, there are several ways to check payment status and understand what comes next.

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The FIFA World Cup is the biggest sporting event in the world, and while the first games won't kick off until next year, Verizon is already getting ready to hype up the tournament. How, you might ask? By giving customers free tickets to the games, as part of what it's calling Verizon Ultimate Access.

The 2026 World Cup will take place all across Canada, Mexico and the United States, with Verizon being one of the key sponsors. So North American soccer fans will be able to experience the action on their home turf — and perhaps even without the pain of trying to purchase the tickets for themselves.

Naturally, the carrier has signed on soccer legend David Beckham to help promote all this free stuff.

Thousands of free tickets will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis in the My Verizon app via the Verizon Access rewards program. The first ticket drop starts this Thursday (October 2) at 9.00 a.m. ET / 6 a.m. PT.

New tickets will be dropped hourly, with the final one taking place at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT. Following this, Verizon will have daily ticket drops at 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT from October 3 to 13. All those games are scheduled for June 13-16, and will take place in locations across the U.S.

November will also see the launch of new sweepstakes, giving customers the chance to win hundreds of "Golden Tickets" that come with pitchside access. Plus, there will be additional giveaways at various points leading up to the tournament, which officially starts in Mexico City on June 11.

Various all-star players will also be on the road with Verizon in the run-up to the World Cup, offering meet-and-greets and surprise events along the way. Those players include Tim Howard, Alyssa and Giselle Thompson, Chucky Lozano and Sergio (Kun) Agüero.

So long as you're a Verizon customer, you can sign up for Verizon Access and be in with the chance to get those tickets for yourself. Membership also makes you eligible for all the other giveaways that happen throughout the year.

If you're not a member of Version Access, joining up is simple. Either head to the My Verizon website, then click Account > More > myAccess. Alternatively, from the My Verizon app, head to the Me tab > myAccess. Then be sure to keep an eye on the myAccess area for the next big giveaway.

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Verizon customers aren't having the best week. First, we heard the carrier was planning to increase fees, and now it appears that Verizon is raising fees and removing discounts from some plans, leaving customers forced to spend extra money.

This is likely to upset some people and potentially lead them to switch to one of the other top phone carriers, such as T-Mobile, AT&T, or any of the popular MVNOs, which can be significantly more affordable.

The gigantic mobile carrier is pulling loyalty discounts from customer accounts on September 1, at least that's what emails posted on Reddit claim.

"We are writing to let you know that a discount on your account will soon end. This discount will be removed no sooner than September 1, 2025. It is important to us to be upfront and transparent when changes are made to your account," reads the alleged email.

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Verizon, one of the best phone carriers, may have introduced a three-year price lock in April, but prices can still go up on your phone bill. The company confirmed to Tom's Guide that it's "making some adjustments" that will raise various fees starting in September.

In a statement, a Verizon spokesperson said that the "vast majority" of customers would see an increase of "less than 30 cents" to their monthly bill.

"To continue delivering the best customer experience on America's best 5G network and industry-leading services and tools that save our customers’ time and money, we're making some adjustments," the statement reads.

A recent Reddit thread (spotted by PhoneArena) revealed a number of fees that would see increases; Verizon spokesperson's confirmed those increases. The affected fees include the Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge which is used by Verizon to pay for "direct and indirect" costs like property taxes, and was already raised by the carrier last December.

According to the Reddit post, the recovery charge will increase by 28 cents to $3.78 per voice line. Data-only plans are taking a massive leap from $1.60 to $3.97 per line.

The Verizon Regulatory Charge is also rising 3 cents from $0.19 to $0.21 per line. This charge is an assessment that the carrier uses to to cover "various government charges."

"These adjustments are in line with market rates and allow us to continue to provide top-tier products and services," the spokesperson said.

While Verizon's three-year price lock keeps your main plan at a friendlier price for longer, it doesn't specifically lock fees and taxes. The guaranteed price lock is only available to customers on a newer myPlan subscription.

Lastly, the post indicates that Verizon is also raising the price of its device activation fee from $35 to $40, which can already be seen on the Verizon website. Tablet plans are also rising by an additional $5 a month.

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Between the robotic cleaners that vacuum and mop our homes and the gaming systems that entertain us in our free time, we have become inseparable from our favorite tech. But making our homes smarter and keeping ourselves entertained with the latest tech comes at a cost. Not only is the technology itself often expensive, but the ongoing maintenance can add up. Thankfully, you can protect virtually all your home tech investments with Verizon Home Device Protect.

Installations and tech support from Verizon

The robotic vacuum sucks up a dust bunny that’s a bit too big and clogs the machine. The wear and tear of frequent use is taking its toll on your preferred gaming controller. You can't catch your favorite shows because your TV is on the fritz. We’ve all been there!

With Verizon Home Device Protect, it’s easy to call for backup to get that new TV or game console set up and ready to enjoy. For example, Verizon Home Internet customers with a 5G Home or Fios internet plan who are enrolled in VHDP can enjoy $0 installation on eligible home tech such as televisions, sounds bars, security cameras and more. For non-Verizon Home internet customers, a $49 service fee applies for each product installed—still a fraction of the typical retail installation cost. (You'll get a quote when you call to schedule your installation, so you'll know the exact cost beforehand.)

Verizon Home Device Protect is a protection and support plan for nearly all your home tech, even beyond installation services. From TVs to laptops to smart home tech to healthcare tech, Verizon has you covered with 24/7 tech support from connected experts. You can even enjoy up to two in-home visits a year with tech experts who can help you troubleshoot the most frustrating woes.

Tech support from Verizon doesn’t only include troubleshooting. Its Complete Tech Care service includes tune-ups and cleanings that can keep your home tech running its best and extend its longevity, saving you money and protecting your investments in the long run. And when it’s time to let go of that old tablet, laptop or gaming system, Verizon Home Device Protect also offers recycling services so your e-waste doesn’t end up in a landfill. That’s Complete Tech Care for the entire life of your home tech, old and new alike!

Protecting your home tech, wherever home may be

These days, our home tech doesn’t always stay in one home. We often pack up our consoles, laptops and tablets and take them with us when we travel. It’s fair to be concerned about what could happen to your tech when it’s on the go and to want protection when you’re not at home. Don’t worry — Verizon Home Device Protect still has you covered.

In fact, you can get protection at a second residence at no additional cost. Has your oldest’s laptop become the victim of a spilled drink in their dorm room? Verizon Home Device Protect can help. Are you struggling to set up tech at your parents’ home? Verizon Home Device Protect can come to the rescue at no additional cost. Adding a second residence can be done quickly and easily from a dashboard or while filing a claim, and you can even change the second covered address up to three times per year.

Verizon Home Device Protect makes tech support and maintenance easy

We love our tech, but it doesn’t always love us back. Accidents happen, troubles arise, and settings will forever be a headache. Verizon Home Device Protect makes it easy to set up and enjoy your home tech with support at your fingertips — no receipts, no hassle, just support when and where you need it. Visit Verizon Home Device Protect for more information on how to protect, repair and replace your favorite home technology.

T-Mobile and Verizon seem to be playing a game of leapfrog when it comes to our best phone carrier rankings. One of the wireless phone service providers will make a change — maybe to its assortment of data plans, maybe to the various perks it offers — and vault ahead of the other in our estimation. Then, the other company will respond, and our ratings will change once again.

Well, it's T-Mobile's turn at the head of the line. In our most recent report on phone carriers, the Uncarrier has overtaken Verizon as our pick for the place to turn for your wireless phone service.

Picking the best phone carrier boils down to more than just who offers the lowest monthly rate for the most data — though attractively priced cell phone plans are a big part of the discussion. But there's also customer service, coverage and network performance, and the perks that come with getting your service from a specific carrier.

At the moment, T-Mobile ticks more of those boxes. Here's why we reshuffled our phone carrier rankings.

Why T-Mobile is tops

T-Mobile wouldn't seem to be a likely candidate to climb up the phone rankings after it introduced its Experience More and Experience Beyond plans earlier this year. While certainly fine options for unlimited data, they're on the pricey side — a single line of Experience More costs $85/month while Experience Beyond is $100. You'll find cheaper options at both AT&T and Verizon among the larger carriers.

More to the point, the arrival of those new T-Mobile plans came at the expense of some of my favorite offerings at the Un-carrier. Plans like Go5G Plus may still be in operation for existing customers, but you won't see those plans on T-Mobile's website anymore.

So how'd T-Mobile pull off its rise up the rankings? I think it comes down to three factors.

Great perks

Experience More and Experience Beyond may be on the pricier end of the spectrum for the best cell phone plans. But they come loaded with perks, starting with a five-year price guarantee, an increasingly popular benefit from phone carriers at a time when prices seem to be rising all around us.

But there are other noteworthy perks as well. Looking at just the Experience More plan, you get free subscriptions to Netflix and Apple TV Plus included in your plan. Considering how prices for streaming services seem to constantly be on the rise, it's good to have those folded into your price-locked wireless plan. You get 15GB of high-speed data when you travel in Mexico and Canada and 5GB in 215-plus other countries. And you can upgrade your phone every two years.

Perks are even more generous with Experience Beyond, as you'd imagine for the more expensive plan. There, you can upgrade your phone every year. You get larger data allotments when traveling to other countries. And Hulu joins the mix of free streaming services included with your T-Mobile subscription.

Earlier this summer, T-Mobile dangled another benefit toward its customers — a year of DoorDash's DashPass, promising no delivery fees and reduced service fees when you order food or groceries. Customers have until August 8 to claim that perk.

A top-ranked network

Current TV ads from T-Mobile make a lot of hay out of the fact that the carrier's network is now rated tops in the country. That's based on findings from third-party test firm Ookla, which says that T-Mobile won its Speedtest Award for best mobile network in the U.S. for testing covering the first two quarters of 2025.

Ookla isn't the only testing firm to sing T-Mobile's praises. In Opensignal's January 2025 report on network testing, T-Mobile swept the overall experience categories and also posted wins for 5G download speeds and 5G coverage. (Verizon tops the overall coverage category for Opensignal and shares honors for reliability with T-Mobile.)

It's worth noting that a third firm, Rootmetrics, recognizes AT&T as the best overall network, while also praising Verizon's 5G speed and reliability for its report covering the first half of the year. That same report does recognize T-Mobile for having the highest 5G availability among the major carriers.

New services

This coming week, T-Mobile throws the switch on its satellite-to-mobile service. Starting July 23, a network of 650-plus satellites will offer texting support when there's no cellular connectivity. The service is supposed to work out of the box with 75% of the devices currently in use on T-Mobile's network.

Data-based connectivity follows in October, which is the same month that T-Mobile expands emergency texting to any mobile customer from any carrier who's got a compatible phone. For T-Mobile customers, the service is included on Experience Beyond plans and is a $10/month add-on for other plans.

Don't overlook Verizon

I don't want to give the impression that Verizon's slip down to No. 2 in our rankings reflects any backsliding by that carrier. Really, the rankings change reflects the new things going on at T-Mobile more than anything.

Indeed, Verizon remains a formidable contender and is the carrier that I turn to for my wireless service. That's a reflection of how strong Verizon's signal is where I live and work, but there are other factors keeping me in the Verizon fold as well.

I like the flexibility of Verizon's unlimited plans, which come in three different tiers starting with the $65/month Unlimited Welcome offering. Unlike T-Mobile, you can mix and match different Verizon plans if you have more than one line, so that some lines can turn to Unlimited Welcome while others enjoy the better perks of either Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Ultimate.

I wish Verizon would follow T-Mobile's lead and add complimentary streaming services with its plans. Instead, like other perks, those are $10/month add-ons. The benefit to this approach is that you can drop extras when you don't need them, such as a travel benefit covering data use when you're overseas, that's of little use if you're not on the go. Even at $10/month, these perks save you money, as I'm able to add on the Disney Plus bundle at a $7 savings each month over what I'd pay for that streaming package without Verizon.

And, as I noted up above, Verizon gets high marks for its coverage from testing firms. Rootmetrics ranks Verizon tops in most categories surrounding 5G service, while Opensignal says the carrier has the best overall coverage experience in the U.S.

Phone carriers outlook

The point is, it's a pretty tightly contested fight between the top carriers in our rankings. T-Mobile may be the choice at the moment, but if I know one thing, its rivals will be ready to fire back very soon.

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A recent post online is reportedly claiming to have the data of around 61 million Verizon USA users for sale.

The sale was first noticed by security researchers on safetydetectives.net, who discovered a post claiming to “offer 61 million" "Verizon USA” records, totaling 3.1 GB, in a CSV/JSON file.“ According to the report, the author dated the data as from 2025, indicating a recent security breach.

The sale post reportedly included two screenshots as data samples, which was reviewed by SafetyDetectives security team to asses its authenticity. The sample in question contained 47 lines per image, which totals around 517 records that included data like:

• First Name
• Last Name
• Gender
• DOB
• Tax ID + 3 more ID numbers per customer
• Full Address
• 2 Different Phone Numbers Per Customer
• Email
• IP Address

However, it should be noted that, while the data appeared authentic, Safety Detectives were unable to confirm whether it belonged to Verizon customers.

If the information is accurate, then it poses a serious risk to customers, as the provided data can be used in several ways. For instance, threat actors can use the details to create phishing attacks via email, phone, or text. However, the biggest threat is using the data to perform Identity theft by using the stolen information to file false claims, apply for loans and more.

We have reached out to Verizon ourselves, but our colleagues at Tech Radar were told by a Verizon spokesperson that:

"We're aware of an issue in which a threat actor posted a data set claiming to be that of Verizon customers on the dark web. We have examined the postings and have determined that it is old data, previously posted on the dark web, and is not affiliated with our Company or customers. Additionally, this threat actor recently made similar claims about other large U.S. wireless companies. At this point, there's no need to notify customers and there's no impact to Verizon or its customers."

What can I do to protect myself?

While it appears that users shouldn't be overly concerned, there are still several steps that you can take to protect yourself. Firstly, we would always recommend regularly changing and updating their passwords, using passkeys where possible, and enabling two-factor authentication. One of the best ways to do this is to look into one of the best password managers to help you keep everything organized.

You will also want to make sure you avoid clicking on any links or QR codes sent to you, while also avoiding downloading any attachments sent to you by people you don't know. One of the big risks is someone cloning the address of a friend or family member, so make sure you call or text that person to confirm they sent you the link.

For added peace of mind, you should also consider signing up for one of the best identity theft services to help protect yourself. It may also be worth looking into putting fraud alerts on your files with the Big Three credit-reporting agencies Equifax, Experian and TransUnion. You could also consider instituting a credit freeze, but that can complicate any future financial actions, like getting a loan.

Finally, when going online, make sure you have one of the best antivirus software programs installed, as these will usually include security tools like a VPN, Password Manager, secure browser and more.

More from Tom's Guide

• This spyware is stealing photos on iPhone and Android — protect yourself now
• Microsoft Authenticator will shut off the password autofill feature in July — here’s how to save them
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It’s been a long time since I was on a cell phone plan from any of the big three wireless carriers, but it looks like more people are ditching them as well, at least according to the latest data reports. I’m not surprised by this sudden shift either, especially when some of the best cheap cell phone plans come from MVNOs and regional wireless carriers.

From increasing prices to severe outages, it hasn’t been easy for traditional wireless carriers such as AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile to keep their customers. In fact, they’re losing out to cable companies of all things.

What’s really surprising is that the MoffettNathanson report shows that cable companies are tacking on new customers at an impressive rate — led by Charter Communications, Comcast and Altice USA. They added 886,000 lines during the first three months of the year, which is up from the 804,000 accounted for during the same period in 2024.

Charter Communications alone added 514,000 lines in Q1 2025, which outperformed the 495,000 lines that T-Mobile gained for the same period. Meanwhile, rivals AT&T added 324,000 — while Verizon was red for the period with a loss of 289,000 customers. Verizon recently added a 3-year price lock guarantee to entice customers, a move that aims to mitigate fears about phone plan rates continually increasing.

Comcast also saw positive gains, adding 323,000 customers in Q1 2025, with Altice gaining 49,000 customers. In total, cable companies added 19.05 million mobile lines, which indicates that more people are interested in other cell phone plans beyond those from the big three carriers.

Even though cable companies have long established themselves as budget alternatives and particularly target the lower end of the market, they’re now branching out by offering a wide range of cell phone plans — with a bigger focus on adding premium plans and devices. It also helps that these phone plan services are sometimes bundled in with home broadband service.

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Verizon is looking to keep its devices locked to its plans for longer, meaning you may have to wait months before you can unlock or transfer your device.

According to a recent report from Ars Technica, Verizon is currently petitioning the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and the Trump administration to allow it to lock phones for a total of six months. At the time of writing, Verizon only requires customers to keep the phone locked for 60 days.

If this petition goes through, it will put the company on par with AT&T's six-month period. Although both carriers don't ask nearly as much as T-Mobile, which keeps prepaid phones carrier-locked for 12-months.

Verizon's offering of 60 days before customers can unlock their phones results from two different rules the company agreed upon. The first came about when it purchased the licenses to use the 700 MHz spectrum back in 2008, which came with open access requirements. The second rule was part of the merger conditions that allowed Verizon to get approval to purchase TracFone back in 2021.

The reason for this is due, in Verizon's words, to unlocking phones encouraging theft while also being bad for customers.

According to Verizon's petition, "The Unlocking Rule applies only to particular providers—mainly Verizon—and distorts the marketplace in a critical US industry." It then goes on to state that, "The rule has resulted in unintended consequences that harm consumers, competition, and Verizon, while propping up international criminal organizations that profit from fraud, including device trafficking of subsidized devices from the United States. These bad actors target and harm American consumers and US carriers like Verizon for their own profit, by diverting unlocked trafficked devices to consumers in foreign countries."

The company has stated that, after purchasing TracFone, there was a "sharp increase" in the number of TracFone devices that were deactivated before the customers had made the necessary payments for Verizon to subsidize the device.

Interestingly, this is something of a shift in the smartphone market as, under Biden, the FCC was considering a proposal for all carriers to set their unlock period at 60 days. However, as Ars Technica notes, that likely won't be happening thanks to the new FCC chairman Brendan Carr's focus on deregulation.

For many, this might be a big turn-off, especially as the shorter unlock window made Verizon very appealing.

If this news, alongside the recent Verizon outage, has made you consider moving to a new company, then we have a full breakdown of the best carriers at the moment that could help you find the right option for some of the best phones.

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Starting around 2 p.m. Eastern, the mobile carrier Verizon appeared to have issues with a spike of around 3,000 user reports on Down Detector, at it's peak.

For the most part the outage seemed to mainly affect people on the east coast of the United States. Though we did see claims of issues on the west coast as well.

From what we could tell, the issue was affecting data service.

Verizon never really acknowledged the issue telling people on X to DM the support account to discuss the problem. We did see on the status page a note indicating that an issue was ongoing and a fix was being worked on.

Tom's Guide also reached out to Verizon for comment but have not yet received a response from the company. We will update if we get anything.

For now, it seems to have resolved.

Verizon outage — live updates

Verizon is down — the VZW outage begins

We're seeing a significant spike in reports for Verizon on Down Detector. As of this writing, there have been 1,644 reports, which is a substantial amount for the popular mobile carrier and is indicative that something is wrong.

As the outage continues to develop, we'll monitor it and keep you posted regarding the number of reports and what else is happening with the developing Verizon outage.

Even higher Down Detector reports

As soon as we published the outage report for Verizon, the Down Detector reports exploded to 2,262 — a jump of almost 1,000 from when the outage first began. It's clear that something is wrong with the mobile carrier and more users are realizing their mobile phone isn't working correctly and reporting the issue.

Visible, too

Verizon-owned MVNO Visible is also having issues, based on the reports.

Obviously, the number of reports is much lower with Visible having a lower user base. Still, the number of reports isn't what matters for the people who are having issues using their phone; they can't use their phones, and that's a problem.

Problem areas

As is usually the case when a mobile carrier is dealing with an outage, it's not the whole country having issues. Instead, reports mostly focus on New York City, New Jersey and Washington D.C.

If you're in these areas, you might find that you can't connect to your mobile carrier.

Verizon expected restore time

I picked a random address in Washington, D.C., to see if Verizon acknowledged an outage in the area. As expected, it did.

According to Verizon's Check Network Status page, an outage began in the area at 05/20/25 at 10:09 AM EDT. Regarding when it's expected to be restored, Verizon expects service to be restored on 05/20/25 at 10:44 PM EDT.

New York City not on Verizon's website

I tried an address in Lower Manhattan and it showed the last Verizon outage as taking place on 5/5/2025, so it doesn't seem that the company has acknowledged the issue yet (or they're just straggler reports from another outage).

Users are reaching out

As is always the case when there's a significant outage, users jump to X to complain about the problem. More often than not, those complaints are directed at the company in question's support account. In this case, users are contacting @VerizonSupport with their problems, such as in the post embedded above.

The Verizon support account hasn't offered much new information, only asking readers to reach out to them through a DM to discuss the situation.

Seems to be mostly data

Most users can make calls and send texts on Verizon, but they're having issues using mobile data. While that's not quite ideal, it's also good that users can at least make emergency calls and text loved ones if they need to.

The first downturn

Verizon might finally get better, as the Down Detector reports have decreased for the first time since this started. The latest update sees reports down to 2,264 when they peaked at 2,787.

There are still a significant number of reports, but the fact that it's declining could be a good thing for Verizon users struggling to use their mobile data.

Is it over?

Could the outage be over?

Reports have dropped to 1,112 so it could be coming to a close.

Things seem to be settling down

Reports on Down Detector are in steady decline, sitting around 500 as of this posting.

On social media we've seen people saying that service has been restored though that's digging through the chaff as more people are now mad at Verizon due to a recent report that the company is cutting back on diversity initiatives to curry favor with the Trump administration in ordered to get the FCC to approve the purchase of Frontier, a broadband internet company.

Fix in the works

We checked the Verizon status page earlier today with both New York and DC addresses. At the time a "known" issue was acknowledged but said it would be resolved in about an hour.

Testing it again now, the estimated time to restore service has increased.

Currently, using a Los Angeles area code, the estimated time to restore service is set to nearly 4 p.m. Pacific or 7 p.m. Eastern.

Strangely it says the network disruption started on May 13.

Down Detector, meanwhile, has been hovering around 500 reports for the last half hour.

Holding steady

For the past hour, reports have stayed steady around 500 at Down Detector.

We're not seeing as many outage claims from social media or comments though.

And the official status page still says service should be restored by 4 pm.

For now we're in a holding pattern.

Outage appears to be over

Unless something changes drastically, it looks like the outage is largely over.

Reports have gone down and we're not seeing anything change elsewhere.

Yes, the official status page still points to a 4 pm, Pacific.

We'll keep an eye on it for a little bit longer just in case.

A slight bump

Hmm... this outage won't just go away.

We just saw a bump after it finally dipped under 400 reports and is now slowly climbing again.

I am seeing claims on social media that people can't even get into Verizon's customer service for help.

We're investigating that matter.

Back down

We've reached out to Verizon for comment on today's outage, and will update if they respond.

However, that bump from earlier was short and we're well under 300 reports now.

If you've been holding out on upgrading to one of the best phones, a new report offers another reason why you should consider a new handset, and it may be for a reason you haven't really considered — faster download and upload speeds.

That's the conclusion that network testing firm Ookla reached after running network speed tests on the Galaxy S25 series, along with the last four generations of Samsung flagship.

The takeaway? Today's Galaxy flagships deliver much faster connectivity, thanks to improvements in both the phones' chipsets and modems. And one U.S. network carrier in particular stood out for delivering the fastest speeds.

The data from Ookla should be interesting to anyone mulling over a new Samsung phone purchase, whether it's the already available Galaxy S25 models or the upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge release. And it also offers a look at which phone carriers are providing faster 5G speeds right now.

Galaxy S download and upload speeds

For its report, Ookla tested download and upload performance across the last five generations of Galaxy S phone, from the current Galaxy S25 Ultra, dating all the way back to the Galaxy S21 Ultra released in 2021. Tests were conducted on the networks of all three major U.S. carriers — AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon.

When running Ookla's speed text, the Galaxy S21 Ultra's fastest download speed was 269.34 Mbps, which it reached on T-Mobile's 5G network. The Galaxy S25 Ultra posted a top speed of 442.69 Mbps on that same network — a 64% improvement over the four-year-old Ultra model.

Even more recent releases lagged behind the Galaxy S25 Ultra, with the S23 Ultra and S24 Ultra posting respective download speeds of 334.22 Mbps and 358.7 Mbps on T-Mobile.

Ookla also tested upload speed numbers for its report, with the Galaxy S25 Ultra reaching speeds of 23.72 Mbps on T-Mobile's network. That's a 57% improvement over the Galaxy S21 Ultra's 15.08 Mbps result. The Galaxy S25 Ultra improved upon the S24 Ultra upload speeds by 23%.

The Galaxy S25 models benefit from Qualcomm's Snapdragon 8 Elite system-on-chip, which has been optimized specifically for Samsung's phones with a faster core CPU. But that chipset also comes with Qualcomm's Snapdragon X80 5G modem for fast connectivity.

Even though all three Galaxy S25 models feature the same Qualcomm chipset, you'll get faster connectivity from the larger phones in Samsung's lineup. The Galaxy S25 Ultra posts the fastest download and upload speeds of the current models across all three networks.

On T-Mobile's network, download speeds for the Galaxy S25 Ultra were 9% faster than what the Galaxy S25 Plus produced. The Galaxy S25 Ultra was also 12% faster on downloads than the Galaxy S25.

Which carrier should you choose?

You might notice that we've been referring to performance numbers on T-Mobile's network. That's because in Ookla's testing, T-Mobile consistently produced the best results for both upload and download speeds. (One exception: The Galaxy S23 Ultra's best download speeds were on Verizon.)

Looking specifically at download speeds from a Galaxy S25 Ultra, the 442.69 Mbps result was 40% faster than the 315.12 Mbps result on Verizon's network. AT&T brought up the rear with 216 Mbps download speeds.

That's relevant data if you're not only considering a new phone but a switch to a new carrier as well. Lots of factors determine who the best phone carrier is, but Ookla's new report would certainly suggest that T-Mobile has the edge on 5G download and upload speeds.

While Ookla's results spotlight the current Galaxy S25 lineup, it could also prove to be relevant for the upcoming Galaxy S25 Edge.

While Samsung has yet to disclose any official specs for that phone, rumors suggest that the phone maker will use the same Snapdragon 8 Elite system-on-chip found on the other Galaxy S25 models. That would mean the same X80 modem that delivered such impressive speeds here.

We should find out very soon what silicon Samsung is using in the Galaxy S25 Edge, along with the other specs of the ultra-thin addition to the S25 lineup. Rumors point to a May 13 release for the phone.

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Presidents' Day is long behind us, but Verizon's 5G Home Plus deal is still going strong. Even better, Verizon just sweetened its deal with a trio of freebies.

For a limited time, you can get Verizon 5G Home Plus for $45/month. Plus, you'll get Netflix Standard with Ads and Max with Ads for free for your first 12 months. Additionally, you'll get a $200 Amazon gift card for free. That's the biggest collection of freebies I've seen from Verizon 5G Home Plus. (For more ways to save at Verizon, make sure to check out our Verizon phone deals and Verizon promo codes pages).

Verizon's 5G Home plans are on sale right now with prices from $35/month. However, it's Verizon's 5G Home Plus plan that offers the best value as it comes with a trio of freebies.

Whether you're watching Squid Game 2 or The White Lotus season 3, Netflix and Max both hold a spot in our list of the best streaming services right now. In terms of savings, this bundle saves you $203/year. After your 12 months are up, you can cancel or keep the bundle and pay $10/month for access to both services.

Naturally, there are some eligibility requirements you need to meet first. For example, you need to live in an eligible area. Otherwise, your price is guaranteed for five years and the router and whole-home WiFi is included.

Whenever there’s a big event like Super Bowl 2025 this Sunday in New Orleans, the best phone carriers take the opportunity to talk up the upgrades they’re making for the big game. Only when the final whistle blows at the end of Sunday’s game, the improvements around the Caesars Superdome and New Orleans at large will remain long after the Super Bowl LIX circus packs up and moves on.

AT&T, billed as the “neutral host provider” that will support other carriers, is building on work done in 2022 with an upgrade to its distributed antenna system (DAS) that it claims will provide reliable service in and near the Superdome as well as the adjacent Smoothie King Arena. There’s an improved outdoor antenna system to handle tailgaters. The telecom is also highlighting longer-term upgrades in New Orleans, including at hotels, and will have 11 “COWs” (Cells on Wheels) in the area for temporary boosts.

All of the upgrades beyond the wheeled sites are permanent, AT&T’s Madelynn Taylor tells Tom’s Guide.

Other carriers are promising similar network revamps. T-Mobile is refreshing its stadium antenna system, and boasts that its major cell sites near the Superdome will support downloads up to 920Mbps. Capacities at the airport, convention center, hotels, Smoothie King Arena, and French Quarter have also jumped, T-Mobile adds, with download speeds peaking at 975Mbps. There will be few temporary upgrades — just one COW and a SAT/COLT (Satellite Cell on Light Truck) to support NFL broadcasts, spokesperson Mason Miller says.

Verizon, in turn, is promising high-speed C-Band and Ultra Wideband 5G in “every seat, suite, and concourse” in the stadium, along with new fiber optic infrastructure rollouts that will cover highly frequented areas including the Smoothie King Arena, airport, convention center, and Bourbon Street. C-Band sits in a frequency sweet spot, so it ideally offers the meaningful speed boost of 5G without as many coverage problems as high-frequency Ultra Wideband (aka millimeter wave, or mmWave in Verizon-speak).

These upgrades are not only lasting, Verizon’s Lauren Peterson explains, but are reportedly strong enough that the carrier doesn't see the need to parade “fleets of vehicles” to show that it’s upgrading connectivity in the city. That’s as much practical as it is a marketing flex, as just over half of the 61,629 attendees at last year’s Super Bowl were Verizon customers, according to the carrier.

Beyond Super Bowl Sunday

No matter which phone carrier you talk to, you’ll hear vows that these phone network upgrades will help New Orleans residents long after Super Bowl LIX is over.

AT&T is adding more C-Band 5G spectrum downtown, and has four new small cell nodes with C-Band overlaying 69 of them. Meanwhile, T-Mobile president of technology Ulf Ewaldson stresses that bolstered 5G will support businesses and their customers well beyond the football spectacular. Verizon says it’s adding more than 200 small cells and matching antennas that cover the “hottest spots in town,” not just sports arenas and other fan gathering places.

As proof that these aren’t one-time initiatives, the telecoms point to their track record for 2024’s Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas, not to mention other sporting events.

T-Mobile blanketed Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium with distributed antennas, added 17 small cell sites city-wide, and made strategic network upgrades at both the airport as well as hotels like Cosmopolitan and Fontainebleau. Verizon spent over two years preparing its network for the game with both stadium upgrades (such as nearly triple the 5G bandwidth versus 2023) and across-the-city capacity growth that included C-Band access.

All of Verizon’s Las Vegas upgrades were meant to stay, Peterson says. That included additional millimeter wave and C-Band radios at Allegiant Stadium as well as better coverage at city fixtures like the Strip, the airport, and the convention center. While there were half as many radios added then as for New Orleans in 2025, that didn’t appear to be an issue given data speeds that were supposedly three times faster than with competitors.

Why the focus on enduring network upgrades? It largely comes down to public perception. At a minimum, this is marketing: by associating permanent upgrades with the Super Bowl, carriers burnish their image and potentially attract more subscribers. You may be more likely to sign up if you know that you’ll get fast speeds when you attend a Saints game next season thanks to all those Superdome upgrades.

There’s a political aspect, too. Congress, regulators, and local governments have routinely investigated cellular availability, including coverage gaps, spectrum allocations, and 5G deployment funding. If carriers highlight what they’re doing to improve service, they theoretically remain in politicians’ good graces.They might receive contracts, secure funds, and avoid regulatory battles.

Why these network improvements matter

Moreover, the firms have acknowledged that forward-thinking network investments can pay off in not-so-direct ways. Taylor notes that many of the AT&T teams involved in Super Bowl LIX upgrades worked on past Super Bowls, and that each event is a learning experience. The “number one lesson is to start planning early,” Taylor adds. AT&T was already prepping the New Orleans overhaul soon after the 2022 NCAA Men’s Final Four basketball weekend in New Orleans.

The communications giant also got to test its revamped service before the football final when Taylor Swift swung by for the Eras Tour in late October 2024. That was an “amazing pressure test,” according to AT&T’s Taylor. While the company says the refined New Orleans network performed “spectacularly” for Swift’s visit, Taylor notes that optimizations have been underway since. The Smoothie King Arena upgrade is currently wrapping up, too.

Other carriers see comparable benefits. Miller says that T-Mobile views major events as a “great way to double down” on permanent network upgrades that are already underway. The carrier has been tying these expansions to events for over a decade, he adds. Verizon, in turn, mentions that this is the first event “of its kind” to be monitored by cloud-based vRAN technology that lets it shift and optimize capacity in real time.

As such, there’s evidence that Super Bowl-linked permanent upgrades will continue, or at least will be heavily advertised when they take place. It’s an opportunity to grab the spotlight, of course, but it also serves as a motivator for the carriers themselves. It tests their ability to manage huge amounts of traffic in concentrated areas, and the know-how they gain can translate to other cities and events. For AT&T and T-Mobile, these are also chances to overtake Verizon and score both practical and symbolic victories.

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Verizon today announced the addition of Google One AI Premium into its myPlan and myHome offerings, marking the first instance of a U.S. wireless provider incorporating an AI-powered perk into its services. Starting February 6, Verizon customers can add this feature to their plans for an additional $10 per month, a discount from the standard $19.99 monthly fee for Google One AI Premium.

Users who take advantage of the new feature will receive access to Gemini Advanced, Google's latest AI assistant. Because Gemini integrates so seamlessly within Google’s suite of apps, users can use the AI in nearly every application. From writing support within Gmail and Google Docs to taking notes in Meet, creating presentation in Slides, and staying organized in Sheets, Gemini Advanced assists users in a number of ways. Additionally, subscribers receive 2 TB of cloud storage, ensuring ample space for files, photos, and videos.

Sowmyanarayan Sampath, CEO of Verizon Consumer, emphasized the company's commitment to innovation, stating, "As the first U.S. wireless provider to offer an AI-powered perk at an incredible value, we're putting the future of AI directly into our customers' hands, making everyday tasks easier via Google One AI Premium."

Beyond the core features, Google One AI Premium also offers tools like Deep Research, enabling users to analyze extensive documents and generate comprehensive reports swiftly. The service allows the creation of custom AI experts, or "Gems," tailored to specific topics, serving as personal brainstorming partners, study helpers, or planning assistants.

How to add Google One AI to your account

To add Google One AI Premium to their plan, Verizon customers can log into the My Verizon app or visit the company's website. For those not currently subscribed to Verizon, a free trial is available, providing an opportunity to experience the new offerings firsthand. This move mirrors the trial offer Google typically offers for Premium One.

Google One AI Premium is an add-on available to the best Verizon phone plans, including Unlimited Welcome, Unlimited Plus and Unlimited Ultimate. Those plans range from $65 to $90 for a single line of unlimited data. Other $10 add-ons include Disney bundle subscriptions, travel passes for overseas data use and other streaming packages.

Final thoughts — don't miss this deal

As someone who has tested Gemini Advanced and has a subscription, I have to say this is an incredible deal—you get access to one of the leading AI assistants at a fraction of the price. Gemini Advanced excels in complex reasoning, coding assistance, and image generation. You can upload multiple files directly from your Verizon devices or via Google Drive for summarization and in-depth analysis.

This collaboration between Verizon and Google not only makes AI tools more accessible to a broader audience but also highlights the growing trend of integrating advanced technology into everyday consumer services.

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January is coming to an end and a new Netflix price hike just went into effect. However, Verizon is making it slightly easier to dodge the Netflix price hike.

For a limited time, you can get Verizon FiOS 1 Gig for $64.99/month. Plus, you'll get Netflix Standard with Ads and Max with Ads for free for your first 12 months. Afterwards, you'll pay just $10/month for the bundle. That's one of the best FiOS deals I've seen. For more ways to save at Verizon, make sure to check out our Verizon phone deals and Verizon promo codes pages.

Verizon's FiOS plans are on sale right now with prices from $34.99/month for 300 Mbps speeds. However, it's Verizon's 1 Gig and 2 Gig plans that offer the best value. When you opt for either plan, you'll get the Netflix and Max bundle for free.

Whether you're watching Squid Game 2 or The White Lotus season 3, Netflix and Max both hold a spot in our list of the best streaming services right now. In terms of savings, this bundle saves you $203/year. After your 12 months are up, you can cancel or keep the bundle and pay $10/month for access to both services.

Naturally, there are some eligibility requirements you need to meet first. For example, you need to live in an eligible area. Otherwise, your price is guaranteed for five years and the router and whole-home WiFi is included.

The holiday season is a great time to score deals on just about anything — including your home internet plan. Right now Verizon is offering one of the best bundles we've seen all year.

For a limited time, you can get Verizon 5G Home Plus for $45 per month. That's already $35 cheaper than their traditional monthly rate. Plus, you'll get Netflix (with ads), Max (with ads), ViX Premium, and an Xbox Gaming Bundle, which includes an Xbox Wireless Controller in Robot White, Xbox Stereo Headset, and $50 Xbox gift card.

This is easily the best bundle deal we've seen from Verizon all year. Normally, you'd get two or three freebies with sign up, but this limited time offer includes four freebies.

Verizon's 5G Home Plus Internet service is powered by Verizon's 5G Ultra Wideband network. (5G Ultra Wideband is Verizon's highest performing 5G network using high band mmWave and mid-band C-band spectrum to deliver the best and fastest 5G experience).

5G Home Plus Internet comes with no contracts or equipment charges. Additionally, your price is guaranteed for three years based on the plan you choose. Note: There are some eligibility requirements you need to meet. First, you need to live in an eligible area and you must be signed up to one of Verizon's unlimited 5G data plans with Auto Pay enabled. Eligible plans include 5G Do More, 5G Play More, 5G Get More, or One Unlimited for iPhone.

For more ways to save at Verizon, make sure to check out our Verizon phone deals and Verizon promo codes pages.

Verizon is one of the best network carriers but that does not mean the company is without it's flaws, especially when it comes to fees. These fees can slowly increase your phone bills without you noticing.

One fee is the "Administrative and Telco Recovery charge" that is typically tacked on to your bill. According to Verizon, this fee is supposed to cover network maintenance, regulatory compliance and property taxes. And that fee is seeing a slight increase.

The fee increase was noticed by a Reddit user who saw that the Admin fee is raising $.20 from $3.30 to $3.50 per month per voice line. They also saw that the fees for data lines is rising from $1.40 to $1.60 per line.

This isn't the first time Verizon has raised these fees, though the last increase was a near 70% leap that launched a $100 million class action lawsuit over the fee.

In 2022, the company raised the admin fee from $1.95 to the current $3.30 per line. The lawsuit was brought in 2023 and eventually settled this year with Verizon not admitting to any wrongdoing and keeping the increase in place. At the time, Verizon warned that the fee was likely to increase again, though when was not specified.

Between the first raise and the new one, Verizon has raised the price 80% in two years.

To be fair to Verizon, competitors AT&T and T-Mobile have similar hidden fees in their monthly bills that cost a similar amount.

Tom's Guide reached out to Verizon for comment. A spokesperson responded to us with a statement, "Starting December 18, the monthly Verizon wireless Administrative and Telco Recovery Charge will increase by $0.20 per line for mobile voice (basic phones, Second Number, smartphones, etc.) and data-only (hotspots, tablets, etc.) products. Verizon Home Internet services are not affected. You can review your bill and adjust your plan at any time by visiting the account section of the MyVerizon app or at verizon.com."

They did not comment on the data line fee increase.

You might not see the fee in your bill yet, but it looks like everyone will get the new charge on December 18.

If you find yourself annoyed by rising costs in hidden fees, you might want to check out one of the best prepaid plans. In general, prepaid plans don't carry administrative fees outside of some taxes or regulatory fees. However, those fees are usually lower than those on postpaid plans. Verizon even offers its own version of prepaid plans that start $35 a month.

Otherwise, there are MVNOs like Visible or Xfinity Mobile, that run on top of Verizon's network but have their own plans and also have lower or no admin fees.

More from Tom's Guide

• Best Unlimited data plans
• Best cell phone plans
• Best phone carriers

I’ve spent the last couple of weeks scouring the web for the best Black Friday phone deals on today’s best phones, like the iPhone 16 Pro, Pixel 9, and Galaxy S24 FE, and have realized that some people don't look at what wireless carriers have to offer. That’s why I want to give you the lowdown on the best Verizon Black Friday deals you can get right now.

The best Verizon Black Friday deal by far is a free iPhone 16 Pro, normally $999. And Apple is throwing in a free Apple Watch and iPad to go along with them, provided you're willing to pay for cellular service.

I want to share why these deals are worth looking at — as well as reveal the additional ways you can save more money with your purchase. Since Verizon provides cell phone and home internet services, you can tailor a package that fits your needs. You have complete control over what you get, including add-on packages such as the best streaming services. You can see the entire list of Verizon Black Friday deals on Verizon's website.

Verizon Black Friday deals: Quick links

• Apple iPhone 16 Pro: was $999 now free @ Verizon
• Samsung Galaxy S24 FE: was $649 now free @ Verizon
• Apple iPhone 15 Plus: Get 4 iPhone 15 Plus for free @ Verizon
• Google Pixel 9 Pro: was $999 now free w/$300 gift card @ Verizon
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: free Samsung 75-inch QLED TV with purchase
• Samsung Galaxy S24 Ultra: $5/month for 36 months @ Verizon
• JBL Partybox On-The-Go Essential: was $349 now $199 at Verizon
• Ultrahuman Ring Air: was $349 now $297 at Verizon
• Sony PlayStation 5 Slim (disc): was $499 now $424 @ Verizon

Verizon Black Friday deals: Best deals

With data breaches hitting millions of Americans repeatedly this year, it's not often clear who is behind these hacks and what they're doing with the sensitive information which they've gained access to.

Recently, Chinese hackers have been to blame for a surge of cyberattacks in the United States targeting everything from corporations to government systems and infrastructure.

This week, the FBI and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) released a joint statement (via TechSpot) confirming that Chinese hackers were behind several breaches of US telecommunications providers. However, they also compromised wiretap systems used by law enforcement for surveillance.

In the statement, the agencies described the cyberattack campaign as "broad and significant" while tying the breaches to a group called "Salt Typhoon" that the agencies say is backed by the People's Republic of China.

Reportedly, the group infiltrated several telecommunications providers. The statement does not name any specific companies but the Wall Street Journal has reported that AT&T and Verizon were among the affected providers.

Apparently, the group had "carte blanche" access to network systems, however, US officials stated that compromised data was only taken from select individuals, mainly people involved with the government or political activities.

One of whom may have been Senator JD Vance, who told podcaster and comedian Joe Rogan, that he had been targeted by Salt Typhoon during a a recent interview. He claimed that the group only got "some offensive memes" and texts to his wife.

In the statement, the FBI and CISA stated they would assist any affected organizations or companies, "continue to render technical assistance, rapidly share information to assist other potential victims, and work to strengthen cyber defenses across the commercial communications sector."

The hackers are said to have copied information related to law enforcement requests and wiretaps, which could hinder ongoing investigations.

How to stay safe

While the agencies said that Salt Typhoon and other Typhoon-esque state-sponsored hacking groups didn't access the data of all Americans in the providers' systems, it doesn't mean they didn't take any data which could later be used in other attacks.

Regardless of whether your data was stolen or not, you definitely don't want to rush when going through your inbox. Scammers often instill a sense of urgency in their emails in an effort to make you stressed and more willing to go along with their instructions. Stay calm and cautious when handling an message in your inbox and you should always be on the lookout for phishing and other suspicious emails.

Hackers often disguise themselves as well-known brands by faking a company's email address. Look out for red flags like misspelled words or poor grammar and double-check the sender's email address or phone number to make sure it's correct. If you're not 100% confident, then err on the side of caution.

To keep your computer safe from malware and other viruses that could come from opening a phishing email, it's important to install and use the best antivirus software on your PC, the best Mac antivirus software on your Mac and one of the best Android antivirus apps on your Android smartphone.

More from Tom's Guide

• FBI issues alert over hackers posing as law enforcement to steal private information
• 123456 is the world's most popular password – again
• The best password managers in 2024

Major phone carriers across the United States have had a slew of outages in recent months and yesterday Verizon was hit. A sudden spike in reports appeared on Downdetector, with more than 1,000 customers visiting the website to report smartphone issues.

Users also took to popular social media sites like X to let Verizon (and everyone else know) that their smartphone connectivity is having problems. While it looks like the cause of the issue was dealt with swiftly, there may still be some users that struggle.

Scroll through the posts below to see how the outage unfolded.

Up and down reports

Downdetector is seeing a massive spike in outage reports, with reports blowing past the baseline of 88. So far, we saw a peak of 1,257 reports before it declined slightly to 1,035.

The up-and-down nature of the reports leads us to believe that is a still a scattered outage that Verizon is working quickly to repair.

You can use this service to get a good idea of how many people have problems with their Verizon service. In fact, Downdetector is one of the first places people turn when something isn't working, so it's a great resource in a situation like this.

Eastern reports

Most of the reports seem to be coming from the eastern portion of US, with New York City serving as a hotbed. Washington, D.C., is also seeing a lot of user reports for this Verizon outage.

Connecticut and Massachusetts seem to have dodged the outage for the most part. There are small blips of outage reports in Boston, but the rest of the area seems to be okay with their Verizon service, at least for now.

Verizon acknowledges the issue

Verizon says that a fiber cut is causing issues for customers in "Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia." While we're seeing reports spring up a little further north into places like New York City, these areas are also shown on the outage map.

The @VerizonSupport account on X responded to a customer, saying, "A fiber cut has caused a service disruption for some Verizon wireless customers in parts of Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. We are working to quickly to solve the issue."

Verizon's status site acknowledges outage

After posting on social media that there was an outage happening in three U.S. states, Verizon's status website has also acknowledged that there was a fiber cut that is negatively impacting the service of some users.

We used Pittsburgh, PA, a major city in the affected area to get the report. Other places in PA, WV and OH are also having problems with their service.

Here's what it says on the Verizon website: "A fiber cut has caused a service disruption for some Verizon wireless customers in parts of Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. Our engineers are engaged and we are working with our vendor partners to quickly solve the issue."

Complaints on X

As is always the case when there's an outage like this, people are taking to social media to complain to the company in question. This one is no exception, as a slew of users are sending X posts to Verizon's customer service account saying their service isn't working.

Most of these users seem to be in the three primarily affected states, which makes sense if that's where the fiber cable was reportedly cut.

Fios outage two days ago

Unsurprisingly, users aren't happy about the situation at Verizon when there was just an outage a couple of days ago. T-Mobile's outage took most of the headlines because it happened during prime time, but Verizon had one in the early hours that left users in an uproar about their Fios service not working.

In an X post on November 12, Verizon said, "A network issue early this morning disrupted service for some Verizon Fios customers in the Northeast for a short period of time. As soon as the issue was identified, our engineering teams quickly restored the service."

Hopefully, the company is able to resolve its mobile outage by fixing the impacted fiber cable quickly so its customers can get back online and using their phones agian.

Straight Talk outages coming in

Several smaller carriers, known as MVNOs, rely on Verizon's network. Straight Talk is a popular carrier that uses Verizon's towers. As such, we're seeing a spike in reports from Straight Talk users that seems to coincide with the main Verizon being down.

Normally, Straight Talk hovers at four reports. Currently, it's sitting at 142. While that doesn't sound high, the relatively small user pool is a sizable percentage, mainly when the outage is primarily focused in three states.

Because carriers typically offer network priority to their own post-paid users, Straight Talk (and other Verizon MVNOs like Visible and Xfinity Mobile) may be seeing network deprioritization to help with the outage in WV, OH and PA.

An upswing

It looks like there's been an uptick in the number of reports for the first time since the Verizon outage started. It has remained steady for the last hour or so at just under 600 reports, but it jumped suddenly to 643 after 3:00 p.m. ET.

Whether that means other areas are affected or Verizon is taking other users offline while it fixes the issue isn't known yet. Still, it's something we'll continue to watch, as it was starting to seem like the downtime might come to a close for a while there.

Staying steady

At this time, there doesn't appear to be new developments in the ongoing Verizon outage. The Verizon website still says, "Our engineers are engaged and we are working with our vendor partners to quickly solve the issue."

We're unsure how long it will take for Verizon to restore service, though we've reached out to Verizon's PR department to find out if there's an end in sight for those dealing with the outage.

In the meantime, we'll keep our eyes on Downdetector and social media to see if there are any new developments in the Verizon outage and if it starts spreading to other areas.

Outage blamed on cut fiber line

The X account for the Kanawha County government, which is in West Virginia, reported that a cut fiber line is to blame for the current outage affecting people in the area.

The image they posted appears to come from Verizon.

Emergency service should still work, which means your phone is likely in SOS mode, but can't make normal calls.

No change

It is now 4:30 p.m. eastern, and there is no status change.

The Verizon website still reports, ""Our engineers are engaged and we are working with our vendor partners to quickly solve the issue."

We have not seen a timeline for Verizon to restore service. We have reached out to Verizon PR to determine when service might be restored.

Meanwhile, Downdetector has stabilized around 400 reports in the last hour. The issue does not appear to be spreading. We'll keep checking social media and Verizon's sites to in case something changes.

Outage has lasted over four hours

It is now 5:00 p.m. Eastern and the states of Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia remain affected by the cut fiber line.

We have not received any updates from Verizon via social media or the PR department.

The Verizon website still has the same message about service being down and engineers working on the issue.

Unfortunately, there is no timeline for when service will be returned.

Try VoIP, as outage continues

With no end in sight for the outage affecting people in Ohio, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and West Virginia, it may be timed to tur to VoIP services like Google Voice.

Check out our guide on how Google Voice works and how it can help during cell service disruptions.

There are other services like but Google Voice is free. If you're internet goes out, you're out of luck but it is a backup for when service goes down.

Unfortunately, nothing has changed

Unfortunately, whatever cut caused the ongoing Verizon outage in several east coast states is still broken.

We have not received an update from Verizon.

Customers on X still appear to be without service. The Verizon website still retains the same outage message from earlier.

If you have internet service, Wi-Fi calling should still work and we recommended looking up VoIP services earlier.

It has been 5 hours since service initially went down.

Outage appears nearly settled

We still do not have an official word on whether or not Verizon has resolved the cut fiber problem from earlier today.

However, Down Detector's reports has settled under 200 for the first time since the outage began.

We've also seen a slow down in complaints on social media, though people are still chiming in about their phones being stuck in SOS mode.

The Verizon status page still reports that engineers are working on the problem.

Tom's Guide will keep an eye on things and update this story if anything changes. For now, things remain in a holding pattern.

Everything should be working

Last night at 8:23 p.m., Tom's Guide received a statement from Verizon that the outage had been resolved.

Here's what the spokesperson said: "The network disruption in parts of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia is largely restored. Our engineers are working with our vendor partners to repair the remaining sites that are out of service. Please visit our Check Network Status page for updates on service in your area."

If you're in the area and still have issues, you might have to wait longer. Still, most people in the four affected states should have cell signals fully functioning, and the Downdetector reports back that up, with Verizon being back to its baseline now.

It appears that Verizon has accidentally leaked all the contents of the upcoming Pixel update scheduled for November.

Leaks for phone updates aren't uncommon but rarely come from major providers. However, a recent report from Android Authority has revealed that Verizon seemingly released everything we can expect in the next update. The first thing to note is that the post confirms a release on November 11, meaning there isn't long to wait.

Firstly, the update doesn't bring any new features for your Pixel phones, but there are the same necessary security patches that we would expect and recommend with every update. There are also some general improvements to the performance and stability of certain UI transitions and animations.

However, the update primarily seems to focus on solving certain issues that have cropped up recently. These include issues with the range of the Bluetooth, issues with adaptive brightness not activating, camera tilt occurring when using the zoom and white dots appearing on the screen. None of these are phone-breaking problems, but solving them helps with the overall user experience.

Google has been working to improve a fair amount of its services, for instance, the recent APK that unveiled changes coming to the Pixel Screenshots app. However, the biggest change coming to every Android device will be Android 16, which is touted for release much sooner than anyone anticipated. While we don't know all the coming features, there are indications of an iPhone-inspired change alongside a focus on multitasking.

Google phones remain some of the best Android phones you can buy, and with Black Friday coming up, there has never been a better time to grab one, so these fixes are perfectly timed.

More from Tom's Guide

• Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra benchmark leak blows away the iPhone 16 Pro Max
• Own a Google Pixel? One of its best AI features is about to get even more useful
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Nearly a week after Verizon experienced a massive outage that caused many of its customers to be without service for almost an entire day, reports began trickling in indicating that another outage occurred today.

User reports on Downdetector showed a massive outage spike at around 1:00 p.m. ET, affecting users located in New York City, Atlanta, Los Angeles, Chicago, and many more. There was about 1,538 reports as of 12:44 p.m. ET, with a Verizon spokesperson confirming that they received over 6,800 reports today. Over on X (formerly Twitter), many users were reporting outages with their phones once again going into SOS mode. Meanwhile, users on Threads report that outages with Verizon were happening across Florida due to Hurricane Milton.

In total the outage started picking up steam around 6 a.m. ET before peaking at noon. Reports began tapering down around 3:30 p.m. ET.

Verizon confirmed that customers in Minnesota and Nebraska were experiencing service issues. Later they amended that claim to include the "Great Plains region", which includes the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa and part of Missouri. Though  we saw and received reports from people across the country including New York, Seattle, Chicago and Wichita. 

Sudden spike in outage reports

There were reports of Verizon service disruptions in the last 24 hours, but Downdetector shows a huge spike in the last hour, with over 1,500 reports coming in. It doesn't look isolated to one area either. Are you experiencing disruptions? Let us know.

Outage reports span the country

Although the Verizon outage doesn't appear to be as massive right now as the last time, there are customers in many markets across the country experiencing service disruptions. The most reported locations based on Downdetector include the following:

• New York City
• Tampa
• Omaha
• Philadelphia
• Minneapolis
• Atlanta
• Chicago
• Los Angeles
• Lakeland

Verizon rivals appear unaffected

As of 1:32 p.m. ET, Downdetector is showing 1,255 reports of users having service disruptions with Verizon. Meanwhile, rivals AT&T and T-Mobile don't appear to have mass disruptions with their services.

Spectrum Mobile customers also affected

Meanwhile, there are reports from users on Threads saying that Spectum Mobile is also experiencing outages today and the Downdetector reports from today seem to indicate this. Spectrum Mobile operates off Verizon's 4G LTE and 5G networks.

Outage has lasted at least 2 hours

Two hours since the initial spike, there are still reports of customers having service disruptions with Verizon, but it has gone down to a total of 1,186 reports  at 1:59 p.m. ET according to Downdetector.

This is nowhere close to the amount from the previous Verizon outage, which accumulated over 100,000 outage reports.

Verizon Status page reveals outage in New York

Verizon has a tool on their website to check the status of their network. Enter you address and the tool will inform you whether or not an outage is happening. 

We put in the address for our New York office and it does appear that the service is down. The message reads, "Data, voice, text and wireless home internet service are limited in New York, NY."

The tool also states that Verizon is aware of the issue and is working on a solution. We have reached out to Verizon for comment and will update if the company officially responds.

The message currently claims that the issue should be resolved by 3:55 P.M. Eastern time on October 10, 2024.

I am on the west coast currently and checked for Los Angeles. For LA, the status tool says that Verizon is "looking into Los Angeles, CA area for a potential network disruption." It goes on to say that they would know more within 12 hours. I am currently not experiencing any issues, so it's unclear if the issue is only occurring on the East Coast.

Verizon acknowledges the outage

A Verizon spokesperson provided the following comment: “We are aware of an issue impacting some customers in a couple of states in the Great Plains region. Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to resolve the issue.”

Obviously, the outage is affecting more than just the Great Plains area of the country. The Down Detector outage map currently shows big outages in New York and Washington DC and the Wichita, Kansas metro area with a smattering of other areas across the country reporting issues.

Verizon support directing people to DMs on X

Over on X (nee Twitter), the Verizon Support account is responding to people with complaints about service outages by directing them to DM the company. 

Neither the support account or the main Verizon account have officially acknowledged the outage but they are clearly getting inundated with replies from aggrieved customers. 

As of this posting, over on Down Detector the spike appears to be decreasing but it's still ongoing. 

Service appears to be returning

As the Down Detector graph trends below 500 reports as of 2:00 PM Pacific, it does appear that service is returning to people.

We're seeing reports on X that people are getting service back. Of course, there are still people tweeting at the Verizon Support account that they have been in SOS mode for awhile now. 

Surprisingly, we haven't seen too many reports out of Florida regarding lack of service. A couple of tweeters noted they were in Jupiter, Florida without service but most of the reports appear to be coming or came from other areas of the country. 

Verizon, and other providers, did take some heat after Hurricane Helene knocked out service for a number of people across multiple states just 10 days ago. Though they appear to have bolstered the service or put resources towards ensuring service after a hurricane.

Verizon provided Tom's Guide with a statement which reads: Some Verizon customers  in a few states in the midwest experienced a brief service interruption today.  Engineers were able to identify and resolve the issue and service was restored by 3:30 PM ET.

Service does appear to be returning as reports have started to go down across social media and status pages. 

The company did not elaborate on what may have caused the interruption.

Down Detector basically back to normal

Quick one: Down Detector just shifted from the Red "problems" color on the graph to the orange-y yellow that indicates "some problems." Basically this means the problem is going away. Blue indicates that there are no problems.

No official word on X

It's worth contrasting Verizon's response today with the one from the September 30 outage more than a week ago. Verizon's support account on X/Twitter gave several updates about that outage, but the one today has yet to product a response on the social media network. Verizon has responded to our comment when we reached out to them and this outage doesn't appear to be as widespread as the Sept. 30 one, but it's still a striking difference.

Reports on the decline

It's now after 6 p.m. ET, and the trend line on Down Defector is definitely sliding downward. It still seems that some customers are reporting outages, though.

From the chart, it looks like outage reports peaked just after noon ET. (The chart above is showing the Pacific time zone.) And as we mentioned earlier, the chart has shifted from red to orange, suggesting things are improving.

Service has been restored

With reports dwindling and the Down Detector tracker on the steady decline, it appears that the latest Verizon outage has finally been resolved. 

Tom's Guide is wrapping up our coverage of the event. However, while the outage appears to be over, we will keep an eye on the service in case there is any change in status. 

Many Verizon customers spent yesterday (September 30) in complete disarray with their phones stuck in SOS mode due to an apparent outage. Verizon has since reported it solved the issue on their press account on X, but as of Oct. 1 there are still complaints of outages and SOS issues on phones. 

The first sign that something was wrong occurred at around 10:00 a.m. yesterday, as service tracker Downdetector registered a huge spike starting with many customers saying on X and Threads that they were having issues placing phone calls. The reports started to tail off by 7 p.m. ET, with many Verizon customers reporting that they could make calls once again, with the situation remaining stable overnight.

There doesn’t appear to be any definite cause for the outage from yesterday, but Verizon engineers have been actively looking into the issue. Many of the affected customers say that they were unable to make outbound and inbound phone calls — while others say they can’t make any calls due to their phone going into SOS mode.

Phones usually enter this mode due to being disconnected from the network, whether it’s from poor connection on their part being in an area with no or weak coverage — or on the flip side, the problem stems from the carrier’s network.

The outage has affected both iPhone and Android phones, as well as disrupting Wi-Fi calling services for these devices which would typically be fallback solutions. As of 6:15 p.m. ET, Verizon reported that service has been restored. But customers are still reporting service disruptions. 

Are you still having issues with Verizon? Let us know.

Tracking website Downdetector is showing a big spike on an outage with Verizon this morning. Prior to 10:00 a.m. ET, the service appeared to be normal, but now there's an increasing amount of people reporting issues.

So far, customers reporting issues with Verizon are mostly isolated to the east coast, with New York City and Washington D.C. having the most. Meanwhile, there's a huge spike in the mid west.

While Verizon customers are reporting outages, Visible on the other hand doesn't seem to be affected at all. Downdetector can also verify this as the amount of outages reported from Visible customers is low. This is interesting because Visible uses Verizon's network.

Over 100,000 reported Verizon outages

It's been more than an hour since the first reports about customers having issues with Verizon, but now it's topped more than 100,000 reports according to service tracker Downdetector.

AT&T reported outages are beginning to spike

Meanwhile, rival AT&T is also starting to see a similar spike with reported outages. Even though it's nowhere close to the amount reported by Verizon customers, it's already eclipsed over 1,000 reports according to Downdetector.

Chicago, Phoenix, and Denver have the most reported outages

Chicago, Phoenix, Denver, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, Omaha, Minneapolis, Columbus, and Seattle round out the top locations with the most Verizon outage reports, according to Downdetector

Verizon responds to reported outages hitting its network

We've reached out to Verizon for a comment about the situation. According to a Verizon spokesperson, "we are aware of an issue impacting service for some customers. Our engineers are engaged and we are working quickly to identify and solve the issue."

Customers using #VerizonOutage to share experience

Verizon customers who are having issues with their devices this morning are going on social media to report their experience so far with the hashtag #VerizonOutage. Over on X (formerly Twitter), many customers are still reporting their devices are stuck in SOS mode. Meanwhile, the same reports are being posted over on Threads.

Reported outages spike in Los Angeles

Although there weren't as many reports as other cities, Los Angeles has quickly garnered a substantial amount of outages from Verizon customers there — with over 3,000 reports in the last hour and growing, according to Downdetector.

Outage reports starting to recede

Over 2 hours since the first batch of outage reports from Verizon customers, it appears as though they've been receding since 12:00 p.m. ET. It peaked at 104,932 reported outages at 11:13 a.m. ET, but it has since started to decline. Most recently at 11:59 a.m. ET, there were about 75,000 reported outages according to Downdetector.

Northern California outage

Philip Michaels, our managing editor for mobile, uses Verizon for his wireless service, and he's experiencing the outage as well from his home base outside of San Francisco. When trying to place a call, the phone immediately goes to a Call Ended screen (pictured above) without so much as a ring.

The official word from Verizon

The statement Verizon provided to us earlier is now on X for all to see.

AT&T: No outage here

AT&T may have seen its own spike in reports on Down Detector, but the carrier says there's nothing wrong with its network. In a statement posted on X, AT&T says "Down Detector is likely reflecting challenges our customers are having attempting to connect to users on another network."

Verizon outage: What we know so far

Here's a quick TikTok report from news editor Dave LeClair on the outage. (Note that this video was produced before AT&T's statement that it's not experiencing an outage.)

The current status

We're about three hours into this outage, and while the Down Detector chart appears to be trending downward, that's still a high level of outage reports. From Northern California, Philip Michaels confirms that he still can't place calls on Verizon's network.

Verizon engineers trying to identify outage issue

From Verizon's own network status page, the company says it's aware about the ongoing wireless service interruption that's affecting some customers. There's still no work on what exactly has caused the outage, but the company says that network engineers are working to quickly identify the problem and solving it.

Over 2,600 replies to Verizon on X

Clearly customers are voicing their concerns about the ongoing Verizon outage. In fact, there has already been over 2,900 replies to Verizon's post on X. Many of the responders still claim they are unable to make phone calls.

Reported outages continue to slow down

We're more than 4 hours into when the first reports about Verizon outages began and it's still slowly declining.  As of 2:01 p.m. ET, there was a total of 49,730 reported outages according to Downdetector, which is a steady decline. Verizon's still investigating the cause of the outage and is actively pursuing a solution to restore service.

Consider VoIP services as a backup

Even though many wireless carriers offer Wi-Fi calling as an extra way to stay connected, broader network outages such as today's Verizon one can still affect Wi-Fi calling services.

This is why a backup solution to stay connected is to look at VoIP services such as TextNow and Google Voice. Obviously you'd have to create new accounts to use these services, but they're great backup options in the event your main service provider goes down. That way, you can still receive text messages and calls through your mobile device or through a browser.

Wi-Fi calling service is also affected by the outage

Wi-Fi calling service is also affected by the outage

Outage is still ongoing

As of 4:06 p.m. ET, the Verizon outage is still ongoing with approximately 45,172 reported incidents according to Downdetector. This is a slight decrease from 1:00 p.m. ET when there was a dramatic dip.

Some customers say that service has been restored

More and more customers are saying that service has been restored. Our own managing editor, Philip Michaels, says that his service is back up and running after being down for most of the day.

Other customers who have been experiencing outages since this morning report that they're finally getting their service restored according to users on X and Threads.

And finally, Verizon has come out to say that its engineers have been making progress with restoring service and it expects to continue working to make sure it's fully resolved.

Over 1.6 million user-reports record outages

Downdetector has been keeping tally of how many user reports there have been with outages with Verizon. Based on its data, there have been a total of 1.6 million users-reports indicating that there have been service disruptions.

While this figure doesn't necessarily say they're from Verizon customers directly, it's still a sobering amount that shows the gravity of the outage — which has also affected customer on AT&T and T-Mobile. Although, their reports seem to stem from not being able to get in touch with Verizon customers who were without service today.

Back in business?

Well, if the chart from Down Detector up above is any indication, Verizon appears to be making progress at restoring service to customers. This data was pulled from the site just after 7 p.m. ET, and it shows a drop-off in incident reports over the last hour, which is when Verizon said that it's network was getting back online.

Verizon says disruption over 

Verizon has confirmed to us that the service disruption is over, and that Verizon customers should be able to once again make and receive calls and do all the other things included with their service plan.

"Verizon engineers have fully restored today's network disruption that impacted some customers," a spokesperson told us. "Service has returned to normal levels.  If you are still having issues, we recommend restarting your device. We know how much people rely on Verizon and apologize for any inconvenience.  We appreciate your patience."

We're checking with Verizon to see what may have caused the outage as well as how many people were affected. We'll update this blog with that info if it becomes available.

Verizon remaining stable over night 

So far this morning the reports regarding Verizon have remained relatively stable. This suggests that the worst might be behind us, although it should be noted that this could change as more people on the East Coast wake up and start their day. Otherwise, it appears that Verizon has managed to solve the issue as it said on X. 

FCC Investigating 

While we wait for Verizon to reveal more details about its major outage, the FCC is stepping in to probe what happened and why. The FCC said it was "working to determine the cause and extent of these service disruptions," according to a report in Reuters. 

Customers Still Facing Issues 

As of October 1 there are still complaints coming in about Verizon's service not working properly. For example, Joyce B in Maryland says she's still getting an SOS status on her phone and another user in Washington claims that she is still on SOS mode. 

Fewer outage reports, customers looking for compensation

Things are looking like they're back to normal order after yesterday's massive Verizon outage. This morning, there are still some reports of outages according to Downdetector, but for the most part service has been restored.

Meanwhile, Verizon customers who were directly affected from the outage have been vocal on social media about compensation for not having service for most of the day yesterday. Verizon is still investigating what caused the network outage in the first place. However, the company hasn't publicly stated what it could do to offset the loss of service.

YouTube Premium is a surprisingly popular streaming service. Lots of people pay $13.99 a month for the privilege of an ad-free experience, and having tested it out myself for the past few months, I get the appeal.

But there's another perk to YouTube Premium that YouTube has kept surprisingly quiet. First reported by Droid Life, being a YouTube Premium subscriber will save you $100 on NFL Sunday Ticket this season.

That's not chump change. A Sunday Ticket subscription through YouTube Primetime Channels currently costs $479 for the 2024-2025 NFL season. But as a YouTube Premium subscriber, I'm currently being offered it for $364 — $125 off. If I want to add NFL RedZone — normally $519 — I can get $125 off on that plan too, bringing the price down to a (slightly) more affordable $404.

Make sure to act fast though. This deal, like any Sunday Ticket deal, could disappear at any time.

How to score $100+ off NFL Sunday Ticket with YouTube Premium

Signing up for NFL Sunday Ticket through YouTube is simple. Just head over to YouTube Primetime Channels and select the NFL channel. 

Once you're there, there will be a button prompting you to sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket. Just make sure you're logged into your YouTube Premium account to score that $100+ off.

Other ways to save on Sunday Ticket

Having a YouTube Premium account isn't the only way to save on NFL Sunday Ticket. There are a surprising amount of ways to save, meaning many people will never need to pay full price for a Sunday Ticket subscription.

Case in point, while I have my YouTube Premium account associated with one Google account, my YouTube TV account is associated with a different one. When I go to sign up with that account, I'm being offered an even bigger discount — $150 off.

Some people are even lucky enough to get Sunday Ticket for free through Verizon. But if you don't have Verizon, we've rounded up several discounts currently available for Sunday Ticket, which you can check out on our NFL Sunday Ticket hub. 

Just whatever you do, don't sign up through your iPhone or iPad, as Sunday Ticket is $300 more on Apple devices.

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If you own a Pixel phone that you bought through Verizon, it could be vulnerable to man-in-middle attacks, malware and spyware thanks to a pre-installed app.

According to a new blog post from the mobile device security firm iVerify, a severe vulnerability in this app could be exploited by hackers to launch all sorts of different attacks targeting Pixel users.

To make matters worse, this app can’t be uninstalled because it’s part of the firmware image that ships with Pixel devices, as Google doesn’t allow end users to alter it for security reasons.

Here’s everything you need to know about this hidden Pixel app and what steps Google is taking to remedy this situation, along with some tips on how to keep your Android smartphone safe from hackers.

Weaponizing demo mode

The app in question is an APK file called Showcase which comes pre-installed on Pixel phones sold through Verizon. As you might have guessed from the name, it’s designed to ‘showcase’ Pixel-specific features when a device is placed in demo mode at Verizon’s retail stores.

The app itself isn’t inherently malicious but it contains a severe vulnerability that can be exploited by hackers. However, iVerify has yet to see this flaw weaponized by hackers in the wild.

Since the app is installed using HTTP instead of the more secure HTTPS, it creates a backdoor which can be used by cybercriminals to compromise Pixel devices. For instance, a hacker could leverage it to access system privileges and take over a device. They could also use it to distribute malicious apps, remote code and to “configure files to compromise the app development chain and alter the app’s functionality” according to iVerify and Palantir Technologies’ research.

A Google spokesperson provided further insight into the matter in an email to Tom's Guide:

"This is not an Android platform nor Pixel vulnerability, this is an APK developed by Smith Micro for Verizon in-store demo devices and is no longer being used. Exploitation of this app on a user phone requires both physical access to the device and the user's password. We have seen no evidence of any active exploitation. Out of an abundance of precaution, we will be removing this from all supported in-market Pixel devices with an upcoming Pixel software update.”

If you don’t own a Pixel phone yet or are considering upgrading to one, Google points out that the app won’t come pre-installed on the Pixel 9, Pixel 9 Pro and the Pixel 9 Pro XL. At the same time, the search giant is also notifying other Android OEMs about the risks an app like this one poses to users.

How to keep your Pixel phone safe from hackers

Even if you don’t own a Pixel phone purchased through Verizon, you still need to be on the lookout for hackers that want to take over your device and steal the sensitive data stored on it.

To keep your Pixel phone safe, you first want to ensure that Google Play Protect is enabled as this pre-installed security app can scan all of your existing apps and any new ones you download for malware. From here, you may also want to consider using one of the best Android antivirus apps alongside it as they provide additional protection along with some other useful extras like a VPN or a password manager.

The biggest thing that sets Google’s Pixel devices apart from the other entries on our list of the best Android phones is that they receive security patches and updates before other smartphones do. However, to benefit from this, you need to install them when they become available. Keeping your phone up to date and running the latest software is the easiest way to stay safe from hackers who often leverage older vulnerabilities in their attacks.

Google is in the process of having this hidden Pixel app removed and going forward, I doubt Verizon will require an app like this to come pre-installed on the phones it sells.

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The NFL regular season starts this Thursday (Sept. 5), but it's NFL Sundays that NFL fans long for. 

Thankfully, this Sunday (Sept 8), we will get a full slate of Sunday games, and that means you officially need NFL Sunday Ticket.

For those who are unfamiliar with the NFL-only streaming service, Sunday Ticket gives you access to every regular season out-of-market game. Specifically, these are the games that kick off around 1 p.m. or 4 p.m. ET, but only if they're not in your local TV market. For example, as someone who lives in Atlanta, I would not get access to Falcons games as part of NFL Sunday Ticket, regardless of when the game kicks off.

If you want to sign up for NFL Sunday Ticket this year, there is a way to get it for free. Verizon is giving away Sunday Ticket subscriptions to select customers for a limited time. Here's how to see if you're eligible as well as how to redeem your offer once you have it.

Who is eligible for free NFL Sunday Ticket

There are a few different ways to score free Sunday Ticket. You can be a new or existing wireless customer or add one of Verizon's "premium" Home Internet offerings. Here are the full details on who is eligible:

Eligible wireless customers

• New premium unlimited mobile customers
• Existing customers who add a new line to their existing account
• Customers who purchase a select smartphone — Verizon explicitly mentions the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6, Galaxy Z Flip 6 or the Google Pixel Fold — and then also sign up for a mobile line on Unlimited Plus or Unlimited Ultimate

Eligible home internet customers

• New customers who sign up for premium Verizon home internet plans: 5G Home Plus or LTE Home Plus, or Fios 1 Gig or 2 Gig
• Existing customers who upgrade to a premium home internet plan

The good news is even if you're not eligible for free NFL Sunday Ticket, you can still get $100 off just for being a Verizon customer. 

How to redeem your free NFL Sunday Ticket offer

To redeem your free NFL Sunday Ticket offer, you must redeem your offer in My Verizon and then activate your Sunday Ticket subscription through YouTube. You'll have until December 10 or within 60 days from when you redeem your offer — whichever comes first. You cannot combine this offer with an existing Sunday Ticket subscription. 

Verizon confirmed to us that this promotional subscription will only allow you to access Sunday Ticket through YouTube Primetime Channels. NFL Sunday Ticket does not require a YouTube TV subscription because it is also offered through YouTube Primetime Channels and is the same product on either platform. However, YouTube TV Sunday Ticket subscribers can combine their local games with Sunday Ticket games using multiview, whereas YouTube Primetime Channels Sunday Ticket subscribers cannot.

Finally, there is one last offer from Verizon! In addition to the aforementioned Sunday Ticket promotions, Verizon is also offering all 5G Home, LTE Home and Fios internet customers $10 a month (for 12 months) off on YouTube TV base subscriptions. This offer is not eligible for those who are already YouTube TV Base Plan subscribers or have been in the past, but everyone else can score a discount on one of the best cable alternatives out there.

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I did something the other day that I usually advise people never to do — I bought an iPhone within two months of a likely Apple event where new iPhones are almost certain to debut. Or, to be completely accurate about what I did, I actually bought two iPhones.

By doing so, I'm passing up on whatever wonders the iPhone 16 promises, and based on rumors so far, those wonders should be quite notable. Apple's standard iPhone is likely to gain the Action button that current adorns the iPhone 15 Pro models, and all new iPhones have been tipped to get Capture buttons. 

Speaking of the Pro models, were I to have planned paying up for an iPhone 16 Pro, I could expect a larger screen and an upgraded telephoto lens. And, of course, the new iPhones will be able to run all those Apple Intelligence features Apple's been hyping up this summer.

But I'm cool with giving up all that. Because I got a pretty good deal on my purchase that more than makes up for the awkward timing.

Let's make a deal

I guess I should explain. Neither of the new iPhones in my possession are for me. Rather, the iPhone 15 that we planned on buying is now my wife's. And the surprise iPhone 14 purchase I also ended up making has given my teenage daughter her very first smartphone.

This was not the plan when we set out to buy a new phone for my wife. Instead, we were going to get her the iPhone 15, and then hand over her aging but still-capable-of-running-the-latest-software iPhone XR to my daughter. And why not? The XR may be long in the tooth, but it's still powerful enough to upgrade to iOS 18 in the fall. And if my daughter happened to damage a 5-year-old phone, well, c'est le guerre.

Well, you know the old saying: Make plans, and God laughs. I'd amend that to: Make phone upgrade plans, and Verizon offers you a deal.

Verizon is our wireless carrier, because their network is particularly strong where we live, work and recreate and we had a fairly solid monthly cell phone plan grandfathered in from when it was just me and the missus needing monthly service. So when we outlined our objectives to Verizon — get my wife an iPhone 15 on her old number, move the iPhone XR over to my daughter on a new line and switch the three of us to one of the carrier's unlimited data plans — they made us a pretty compelling counter-offer.

As a long-standing customer with a paid-off phone, my wife was eligible for a priority upgrade — the iPhone 15 could be hers for half off on a monthly installment plan... but only if she also traded in her iPhone XR. Doing so would have left my daughter without a hand-me-down phone, but not to worry — she could get an iPhone 14, and it would be free since we were opening a new line of data on the Welcome Unlimited plan, one of the best Verizon phone plans for families looking for unlimited data at the lowest rate the carrier charges.

But wait, there's more — it turns out all this phone purchasing and plan upgrading made us eligible to receive six months of the Disney bundle for free. So, half-a-year after giving Disney Plus the heave-ho because its monthly cost got to be too much, the streaming service was back in our lives at no extra cost. (And once that six-month trial runs out, we can always keep Disney Plus, Hulu with ads and ESPN Plus as a $10 add-on through Verizon — a $9 markdown from the regular price.)

Adding it up

So to sum up, we walked out of Verizon with a discounted iPhone 15, a free iPhone 14, a plan that gave all three of us unlimited data for a total of $120/month and free Disney streaming. Yeah, I'll take that over an iPhone 16.

(One caveat about the free and half-off devices. Like other carriers, Verizon gives you these discounts in the form of monthly bill credits; in Verizon's case, those credits are spread out over 36 months. So if we change wireless providers before then — not really a risk in our case — we'd be on the hook for the remaining balance of both the iPhone 15 and iPhone 14.)

Admittedly, I wound up with the deal Verizon offered because of very specific circumstances that other shoppers may not be facing. And after seeing our detailed iPhone 16 vs. iPhone 15 comparison, my wife was not terribly fussed about losing out on the rumored upgrades coming to Apple's phone this fall. Others will likely feel differently and should wait.

But if you are in the market for a new phone and not especially swayed by rumors surrounding upcoming devices like the iPhone 16 or Pixel 9, it might be worth checking out the best Verizon phone deals right now — or the deals available at the carrier of your choice. You could wind up with a free or significantly discounted device that will serve you perfectly well

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Two new studies from the mobile analystics company RootMetrics have been released with a look at how network carriers performed through the first-half of 2024.

The first study took a look at the state of 5G connectivity in the United States. T-Mobile took top spots for speed and coverage in a speed study from Ookla. Surprisingly, and for the first time in awhile, a different network carrier took the top spot in RootMetrics' 5G testing. 

Of the three major metrics that were looked at, Verizon was awarded the winner in two: speed and reliability. T-Mobile won for availability, confirming data from the previous Ookla report. AT&T was generally in third place.

It's a pretty significant shift from the 2023 report that came out earlier this year. In that study, T-Mobile was tops in availability and speed. Verizon still won for reliability in that study.

Across the board, what seemed to separate Verizon from its competitors was the company's network speed outside of major metropolitan areas. Seemingly, the big 3 carriers all have very similar performance in cities, but once you leave high-population centers it can get more spread out.

Based on the most current study and the earlier 2023 one, the difference is what data Rootmetrics used. Previous studies apparently mostly just looked at metropolitan areas or combined urban stats and rural stats. 

The newer study separated out data for rural areas and shows a marked difference between the carriers as they get away from cities.

Accordingly, Verizon also won its seventh straight "Most Reliable 5G" award from RootMetrics, which was bolstered by the new inclusion of rural scores in this year's study.

Perhaps T-Mobile will catch up as the company is showing a commitment to be available everywhere.

The second study from the firm was on the state of mobile through the first half of the year. 

For the most part its a summary of "awards" for how each carrier performed in various markets across the country. However, there are some insights that can be gleaned. 

T-Mobile continued to have the best download speed across major markets capable of hitting 100 Mbps in every market. 

In general, every company was able to improve their download speeds, though AT&T trailed the other two by quite the margin in most tests. Though the report claimed that AT&T performed better in categories like call and text performance. 

Should you consider switching carriers if the numbers speak to you? 

Perhaps. Verizon appears to have the most consistence performance across the board, while AT&T looks to be decent at everything, and T-Mobile has the coverage and speed.

None of that guarantees that you will be able to connect to the network and get those services. Tom's Guide editor Mark Spoonauer recently switched from Verizon to T-Mobile and found that his devices did not enjoy the speed and coverage that the network supposedly provides.

And they are close enough in score that you should find pretty good service everywhere, especially metropolitan areas. 

If the network isn't working, you could always check out some of the best carriers that aren't the big three. 

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T-Mobile continues to blanket the country in pink speed as the "Un-carrier" was reported to have the fastest mobile network in the US. 

The report furnished by Ookla, a web testing and network diagnostics company, looked at several metrics over the first half of 2024. T-Mobile was either comfortably ahead of competitors Verizon and AT&T or blowing them out of the water. 

Ookla studied the speed of the network carriers' mobile networks, their 5G network speed, network consistency, video experiences, gaming experiences and how consumers felt about their carriers. 

In the mobile network and 5G tests, T-Mobile's network showed median download speeds of over 220 megabits per second (Mbps). Verizon and AT&T were further away at around 110 Mbps on their mobile networks. The report notes that Verizon has significantly improved since last year, with their 5G speeds hitting 191 Mbps compared to 146 in 2023.

All three companies were relatively similar in consistency, as Ookla tests found that they all exceeded 80%, meeting the threshold of 5 Mbps download and 1 Mbps upload throughput. T-Mobile was the highest at 86%.

Similar stories can be read in video and gaming for the trio of network carriers. And they weren't far off in consumer sentiment, with AT&T being rated the lowest at 3.14 stars out of 5, while T-Mobile was at 3.79 stars out of 5.

It should be noted that these tests are a general outlay of the United States. On a state-by-state level, it can be a different story. For example, Illinois had the fastest median download speeds of around 160 Mbps. Meanwhile, states like South Dakota, Maine and Vermont hover around only 42 Mbps, an astounding drop-off. T-Mobile led the pack in every state except North Dakota, where Verizon is the fastest.

Should you switch to T-Mobile?

With all this talk of superior speed and consistency, should you consider switching to T-Mobile? 

Maybe.

Since acquiring Sprint and its network in 2020, T-Mobile has been integrating the yellow carrier's network into a nearly 100% pink coverage map. This isn't to say that the coverage is always good, though.

Our global editor-in-chief, Mark Spoonauer, recently switched from Verizon to T-Mobile; in his words, it's been a total disaster. 

Based out of New York, the T-Mobile network consistently had problems staying connected or getting connected for him.

"Overall, I’ve not been satisfied with T-Mobile’s network based on my experience so far. It has simply not been reliable enough for calls. Even while writing this story and talking to my wife on the way home, she cut out every few sentences or so, and I kept having to ask her to repeat herself. That's not sustainable."

Is one man's anecdotal evidence enough to say you shouldn't try it?

Not necessarily, but it is something to consider if the speed tests made your eyes go wide with network envy. 

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I keep tabs on what phone carriers charge for wireless data plans, so I can recommend the best cell phone plans overall based on a mix of price, perks and coverage. If money's really tight, I can even point out the best cheap cell phone plans under $40 that deliver value beyond their low cost.

But what if money is not just a concern, but the only concern? What if you're looking for the cheapest plan available, regardless of any perks it contains.

Well, I can help you there, too.

When the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP) expired in 2024, I started compiling the absolute cheapest data plan options out there. I figured that without an ACP subsidy helping defray the costs of wireless phone service, low-income households might be desperate to find ways to keep recurring costs as low as possible.

Prices haven't abated since then. In fact, I'm sure that even if you've never heard of the ACP before this, you've been going over your budget, looking for ways to cut costs.

I've kept my list of the lowest-priced options at the best phone carriers updated, even adding some lesser-known services I've since evaluated. If you've decided that your monthly wireless bill is the place to start cutting, use this list of low-cost data plans as your reference point.

Cheap unlimited data plans

We've focused on tiered data plans because they tend to be the more affordable option. But as our research into the best unlimited data plans has found, you don't need to pay big bucks to enjoy unlimited data.

One way to keep the cost of unlimited data down is to pay for service up front. Just like Mint Mobile's 5GB plan gives you the best rate when you pay for a year in advance, so does the unlimited data plan at the carrier. A full year of service costs $360, which breaks down to $30 a month, though Mint runs promtions that can lower the upfront cost.

AT&T has a lower ceiling to its prepaid unlimited plan — just 16GB — but its upfront cost is lower than Mint's too. You'll pay $240 for a year of AT&T's service, which translates to $20/month for unlimited data.

Not everyone can swing that big upfront cost. Here are the three lowest monthly rates we've seen for unlimited data.

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Wireless carriers advertise cell phone plans at fixed prices, but more often than not, the fine details in those contracts could be littered with other chargers that may not be as clear to customers. That’s basically at the center of a class action lawsuit aimed at Verizon Wireless, in which plaintiffs allege that the advertised plans were misleading because they didn’t include an admin charge — going further to claim that an increase in the administrative charge was done in a deceptive and unfair manner.

The lawsuit has led to a $100 million settlement that could mean up to $100 payments made to current or former Verizon Wireless who bought a postpaid wireless plan in the past seven years. This is all contingent upon the settlement being approved and finalized, which Verizon would then pay out to a settlement fund.

While the plaintiffs claim to have been misled about the admin charge, Verizon responded in a statement to CNET saying that it “clearly identifies and describes its wireless consumer Admin Charge multiple times during the sales transaction, as well as in its marketing, contracts and billing. This charge helps our company recover certain regulatory compliance and network-related costs."

Here’s how you can claim your share.

Verizon class action settlement — who is eligible for this $100 million?

If you are a current or former Verizon Wireless customer who paid for postpaid wireless service from Verizon between January 1, 2016 and November 8, 2023 (and have paid for the administrative or administrative and telco recovery charge), you’re eligible to claim your share in this $100 million Verizon class action lawsuit.

Some customers were already sent a notice about this settlement via email or mail, which means they’re eligible to file a claim. This settlement only applies to postpaid wireless services, where customers pay for the service at the end of the cycle — so it doesn't apply to other Verizon services like its prepaid plans.

How to file a claim as part of the Verizon settlement

If you qualify or already received the notice about the settlement, you can fill out the online form to file a claim. You’ll want to file the claim as soon as possible because the deadline to submit is 11:59:59 p.m. PT on April 15, 2024. It requires a Notice ID and Confirmation Code, along with your Verizon account number.

Alternatively, you can physically fill out the form and mail it out to the following address:

Verizon Administrative Charge Settlement
c/o Settlement Administrator 
1650 Arch St., Suite 2210 
Philadelphia, PA 19103

How much can you expect from the Verizon settlement?

At most, you can expect to get up to $100 as part of the settlement, but there are factors that can affect that amount. Specifically, how long you’ve been a Verizon Wireless customer and the amount of valid claims filed — so chances are it’ll be less than $100 if there are more files claimed. In its most recent fact sheet, Verizon reported having 93.9 million postpaid connections through December 31, 2023.

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When Super Bowl LVIII kicks off Sunday (February 11), it will be the culmination of a season of hard work for the San Francisco 49ers and Kansas City Chiefs. For Verizon, it will mark the moment the wireless carrier has been working toward for the past three years when it's been upgrading its network to handle the crush of fans and media descending upon Las Vegas.

Some 72,000 people will pack themselves into Allegiant Stadium at game time. And when they get to their seats, Verizon says, they shouldn't have any trouble uploading videos, looking up stats and enjoying fast download speeds.

"Communications is everything," said Kyle Malady, vice president and CEO of Verizon business during a pre-Super Bowl event highlighting Verizon's network-boosting efforts in and around Las Vegas. "What we're really excited about is the investment we made with the NFL in the stadium. You won't get the spinning wheel where nothing's happening."

That's the result of work that began three years ago, Verizon says, as the carrier spent that time nearly tripling the capacity of its Las Vegas network. More than 547 miles of fiber have been installed around the city, while Verizon's C-Band spectrum covers 52 million square feet of casinos on the Vegas strip. 

Inside Allegiant Stadium itself, Verizon says it's put in around 250 5G mmWave radios for coverage in seating areas, suites, the press box and concourses. The use of C-Band puts a full 160 MHz of spectrum at fans' disposal, tripling the amount of 5G bandwidth available at the game last year.

That Super Bowl was meaningful in its own right, noted Joe Russo, Verizon's president of global networks and technology. "The last Super Bowl was the first with Ultra Wideband technology where you could be in the parking lots, the stadium, and you could FaceTime or stream videos," Russo told me. "Those kinds of things would have never been possible [previously]."

That's good news for anyone out there who's scored a ticket to the Super Bowl. But why should those of us who haven't dropped several grand to attend the game care about improved connectivity at the big game?

Because, Verizon executives say, even once the Super Bowl packs up and leaves town, the network improvements stick around. All that fiber and that increased C-Band spectrum are now as much of the Vegas scene as casinos and showgirls.

"We've put up lots of assets that not only will serve this weekend, but will serve Las Vegas well into the future," Russo said.

The same should hold true for New Orleans, host of next year's Super Bowl. According to Russo, the Verizon team tasked with getting that city's network ready for Super Bowl LIX is in Las Vegas this week to observe the current team in action, just as the folks responsible for the 2023 game in Phoenix are on hand to share what they learned from their experience.

"[The Super Bowl] gives us the opportunity to show off our technology and what we do, not just for the NFL, but for first responders and public safety," Malady said.

This year's game is also noteworthy because it marks the Super Bowl debut of Coach-to-Coach Communication, a private network product developed by Verizon and used throughout the NFL season to keep coaches on the sideline in communication with other coaches up in the booth without dropped connections or network interference. Verizon plans to take the headset worn by the winning coach — whether it's Kyle Shanahan of San Francisco or Andy Reid of Kansas City — and auction it off for charity.

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