Is Verizon Down... Or Is It Just You?

If your Verizon cable or internet connection seems to be down, there may be a Verizon service outage in your area. If you're worried about a Verizon outage, it's important to know if the service is down for you or everybody. Fortunately, there are some simple but key ways in which you can figure out if the issue is you or if there's a Verizon internet outage right now.

How to Tell If Verizon Is Down

Verizon wireless outages in your area? Or is it just you? Try these simple steps to figure out if there's a Verizon outage for everyone.

You'll need an alternative internet connection to check these. Your smartphone is the perfect alternative, providing you switch Wi-Fi off on it and use your cell phone signal to connect.

Check the Verizon Support Twitter account for updates.

You can also tweet the account to ask about outages in your area, although it may not offer the fastest of responses.
Search Twitter for #Verizondown. If the ISP is down for everyone, people will definitely be tweeting about it. Make sure to pay attention to when the tweets have been sent so that you're not reading about an earlier outage.
Check the Verizon website for outages.

You'll need to log into your Verizon account to confirm for your area.
Use a third-party "status checker" website for independent verification of how Verizon is doing right now. Popular options include Downdetector, Is It Down Right Now?, and Outage.Report. All of them will tell you if Verizon is working and include comments from users with issues.

What to Do When You Can't Connect via Verizon

If no one else is reporting a problem with Verizon, then the problem is likely something on your end. There are a few things you can try if Verizon seems to be working fine for everyone else, but not you.

Restart your router or modem. This often fixes network problems and is the best thing to try initially.
Check that your Verizon account is fully paid up so far. An unpaid bill can affect your service.
Try a different device that's also connected to Verizon Wi-Fi. Switch to your phone or tablet, and see if that works. If it does, then you know your issue is with one specific device. If that's the case, the next few tips may help solve the problem for that device.
Clear your browser's cache.
Clear your browser's cookies.
Check your computer for malware.
Restart your computer.
Sometimes, there can be an issue with your DNS server. If you feel comfortable switching DNS servers, there are many free and public methods, but they can require more complex steps for the average user.

If You Still Can't Connect via Verizon

If nothing has fixed the Verizon connection for you, you may need to contact its technical helpline for further help. Before then, try its troubleshooting page for more detailed advice that you can try at home.

Alternatively, ISP issues often fix themselves. You can try waiting it out in case there's an unannounced issue on Verizon's end. Hopefully, the problem will be fixed reasonably quickly.