AT&T Nationwide Outage: Service Restored After 11 Hours of Disruptions; Federal Agencies Seek Answers

Quincy Jon, Tech Times 22 February 2024, 06:02 pm

Telecommunications company AT&T grappled with a widespread network outage affecting users throughout the United States on Thursday morning, causing disruptions in making calls, sending texts, and accessing the internet for tens of thousands of Americans.

After roughly 11 hours, AT&T declared that service had been fully restored for all impacted customers around 3 p.m. ET. The company issued apologies and pledged measures to prevent future occurrences. According to CNN, The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is actively investigating the outage, and federal agencies are in contact with AT&T, although the definitive cause remains undetermined.

Is the AT&T Outage Caused by Cyberattack?

Digital service tracking site DownDetector reported over 74,000 AT&T customers facing outages, beginning around 4 a.m. ET, with a significant number still affected until the afternoon's service restoration. While AT&T acknowledged the outage, it did not specify the reasons. Industry sources suggest a potential link to call handling between cellular networks, known as peering, without indicating a cyberattack.

(Photo : Eric Thayer/Getty Images)A plane flies past a cellular tower on February 22, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. Customers across the country were left without mobile phone service due to a nationwide outage affecting thousands of people.

The San Francisco Fire Department issued a warning on X (formerly Twitter) in light of the significant outage, which has led to reports that impacted AT&T users are having trouble placing or receiving any calls, including emergency calls to 911.

The public was advised to avoid calling 911 to test their service, as the line is intended for genuine emergencies.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis held a news conference on the AT&T outage. DeSantis worried about the widespread use of mobile phones and likened them to EMP attacks, highlighting their jarring effects.

This AT&T outage incident happened after the US and UK authorities took down LockBit, a cybercrime gang that encrypts user data and demands money to restore it. TechTimes reported earlier about "Operation Cronos," Britain's National Crime Agency, the FBI, Europol, and an alliance of foreign law enforcement organizations collaborate to dismantle the cybercrime network, which is not aligned with any government.

Over 1,700 LockBit ransomware assaults in the US have targeted banking, education, transportation, and government industries.

How to Activate Wi-Fi Calling During Outage

Nationwide and prolonged outages are infrequent for AT&T. Affected customers were advised to follow carrier-provided troubleshooting steps, per Fox News. For alternatives, Wi-Fi calling is recommended in such a situation. In parallel, some iPhone users experienced SOS mode, limiting them to emergency calls or texts due to a lost cellular connection.

To restore connectivity, users can turn on Wi-Fi calling, navigate to device settings, select "Cellular," activate "Wi-Fi calling on this iPhone," and enable the feature. Troubleshooting includes updating iOS software or verifying account compatibility on the carrier's account page.

For Android phone users, Wi-Fi calls can be activated by clicking "Settings." Then, navigate to "Connections" or "Calls." Toggle on "Wi-Fi Calling."