Why does my phone say SOS only? What to know about Verizon outage in Phoenix

Hundreds of Phoenix cellphone users were affected by a telecommunication outage early Tuesday.

More than 400 Verizon users were impacted, according to Downdetector.com, a website that monitors real-time outages. The website showed minor impacts in other cities.

The surge in outage reports began at about 3 a.m. and peaked just before 7 a.m. People took to social media to report the disrupted connection.

Estimates showed that other services were affected early Tuesday, including Open AI, Valorant and Destiny, with about 700 customers impacted.

When a service outage happens, it is likely that your phone shows an SOS icon where the cellphone service usually displays on the screen. Here's what it means and how to fix it.

Why does my phone say SOS?

An SOS symbol appeared on the screens of iPhone users who use Verizon where cell service bars are normally shown.

According to Apple support, if you're having trouble with phone service and you see SOS or "SOS only" in the status bar, it means your device can still make emergency calls despite not being connected to a phone network.

The purpose is that you can make calls to first responders in an emergency despite not having cellphone service. When users make an SOS call, the iPhone automatically calls the local emergency number and shares the user's location information with emergency services, according to Apple said. In some countries and regions, might need to choose the service they need.

If you need more help with the outage, you can contact Verizon Support.

If the cellular issue has been solved and you still can't connect to a cellular network, contact Apple support.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Why does my phone say SOS only? What to know about Verizon outage