Verizon outages have been reported in Chicago and several other cities.

On Monday morning, hundreds of Verizon outages were reported throughout the Chicago area, with thousands more occurring nationwide. 

Downdetector indicated that reports of outages in Chicago started around 7:15 a.m. By 9:15 a.m., the site recorded a spike of over 700 outages in the region. 

As of 9:15 a.m., over 20,000 Verizon outages were reported nationwide, a figure that surged to more than 70,000 by 9:30 a.m. according to Downdetector. 

The outage map indicated issues in several cities, including Indianapolis, New York City, Atlanta, Cincinnati, and Omaha. 

Many users commented on Downdetector, noting that their phones were intermittently showing "SOS" mode.

As of 9:30 a.m., Verizon had not addressed the issues on social media, but it did respond to tweets from several users reporting problems.

What is SOS Mode?

SOS Mode is a feature that indicates your device isn't connected to a cellular network, but still allows you to make emergency calls through other carriers. Currently, it's available only in the U.S., Australia, and Canada.

When you see "SOS" in your iPhone's status bar, it means there is a network available for emergency calls. Dialing SOS connects you directly to local emergency services, and your location will be shared with them.

Additionally, users can configure their phones to automatically notify emergency contacts via text after making an SOS call, sharing their current location and updating it if it changes.

For iPhone 14 models and later, there's also the option to use Emergency SOS via satellite to message emergency services when cellular and Wi-Fi coverage is unavailable.