In short, when you see SOS on your phone, it means you're not connected to a cellular network. "If you see SOS or 'SOS only' in the status bar, your device isn't connected to your cellular network, but you can still make emergency calls through other carrier networks," reads an Apple support page on the feature.

Telecom giant Verizon experienced a phone service outage on Wednesday that impacted over 100,000 users in the U.S., with the company working to restore connectivity.

Verizon outages today, Wednesday, Jan. 14, hit the U.S. with customers reporting "SOS" mode on their phones, Fios outages, home internet and Wi-Fi outages and other Verizon service issues. In an update on X today, Verizon said it is "working on the issue."

When iPhones aren’t connected to a cellular network, they will typically alert the user by giving an indication in the phone’s status bar. Those notifications usually say “No Service” or “Searching,” but your phone may also say “SOS” or “SOS only.”

More than 180,000 people have reported having connectivity problems with their Verizon devices, according to Down Detector

When iPhones aren’t connected to a cellular network, they will typically alert the user by giving an indication in the phone’s status bar. Those notifications usually say “No Service” or “Searching,” but your phone may also say “SOS” or “SOS only.”

Hours after an "issue" began impacting Verizon service Wednesday, the company issued an apology and promised account credits for those impacted.

If you're low (or completely out) of signal today, keep these pages in mind to stay up to date with the Verizon outage.

The Federal Communications Commission revised a long-standing rule that required Verizon Communications to unlock ​its mobile phones 60 days after activation, which it said ‌is costing the telecommunications company hundreds of millions of dollars annually due to fraud.