By requiring customers to redeem the credit manually, Verizon is adding an extra obstacle to the process, knowing that many affected customers will never apply the credit, thereby saving money for themselves despite the massive service outage. Needless to say, this move sparked outrage on social media.

On Wednesday January 14, 2026, Verizon experienced a 10-hour outage, affecting more than 175,000 users. As of January 15, the network is back up.

Verizon is offering customers a $20 account credit following a massive outage that brought down service across the US on Wednesday. In an update on X, Verizon says you’ll receive a text message when the credit is available, which you can redeem by logging into the myVerizon app and accepting it.

Verizon users reported widespread outages Wednesday afternoon.The telecommunications company acknowledged the outage on social media."We are aware of an issue impacting wireless voice and data services for some customers.