Verizon says issue fixed after issue with incoming/outgoing calls on cellphones in NYC area

ByMike Waterhouse WABC logo
Monday, July 18, 2016
(Map via downdetector.com)
wabc-Map via downdetector.com

NEW YORK (WABC) -- Verizon Wireless customers in the New York City area experienced an outage impacting calls Monday evening.

Multiple Eyewitness News viewers reported that they could not make or receive calls on their cellphones. The reports came in from Long Island to New Jersey, and including New York City.

Eyewitness News reached out to Verizon to see what happened. Andrew Testa, a Verizon spokesman, said the problem started just before 5 p.m.

"At 4:50 p.m., Verizon experienced a network issue affecting voice service for some customers in New York and New Jersey," Testa said. "Verizon Wireless engineers were able to identify and resolve the issue promptly and service was fully restored by 6:30 p.m."

Testa added that the cause of the outage is not yet clear, and they're working to figure it out.

The map above shows where reports came into downdetector.com, which tracks service outages across the country.

Here are some of the reports of the outage on social media:

Verizon representatives on Twitter have responded saying they're unaware of a major outage:

And since the service was restored, it appears Verizon support is telling customers to turn their phones off/on to fix any lingering problems:

Keep checking abc7NY for the latest on this developing story.