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Verizon's network is experiencing technical issues that are impacting calls and wireless data. Verizon customers on X have reported seeing "SOS" rather than the traditional network bars on their smartphones, and even the network provider's own status page struggled to load, likely due to the number of customers trying to access it.
Based on the experience of Verizon users on Engadget's staff, the services that are impacted appear to be calls and wireless data. Text messages continue to be delivered normally, at least for some users. On DownDetector, reports of a Verizon outage started growing around 12PM ET and numbered in the hundreds of thousands at their peak.
DownDetector also shows spikes in outage reports on competing networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, but in terms of magnitude, they're much smaller than the issue Verizon is facing. For example, Verizon peaked at 181,769 reports, while AT&T's was just 1,769 reports. The difference between the two is great enough that those AT&T reports could be from people trying to contact Verizon customers and thinking that their personal network was the problem.
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X says it is changing its policies around Grok's image-editing abilities following a multi-week outcry over the chatbot repeatedly being accused of generating sexualized images of children and nonconsensual nudity. In an update shared from the @Safety account on X, the company said it has "implemented technological measures to prevent the Grok account from allowing the editing of images of real people in revealing clothing such as bikinis."
The new safeguards, according to X, will apply to all users regardless of whether they pay for Grok. xAI is also moving all of Grok's image-generating features behind its subscriber paywall so that non-paying users will no longer be able to create images. And it will geoblock "the ability of all users to generate images of real people in bikinis, underwear, and similar attire via the Grok account and in Grok in X" in regions where it's illegal.
— Safety (@Safety) January 14, 2026
The company's statement comes hours after the state of California opened an investigation into xAI and Grok over its handling of AI-generated nudity and child exploitation material. A statement from California Attorney General Rob Bonta cited one analysis that found "more than half of the 20,000 images generated by xAI between Christmas and New Years depicted people in minimal clothing," including some that appeared to be children.
In its update, X said that it has "zero tolerance" for child exploitation and that it removes "high-priority violative content, including Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and non-
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Verizon's network appears to be having technical issues that are impacting calls and wireless data. Verizon customers on X have reported seeing "SOS" rather than the traditional network bars on their smartphones, and even the network provider's own status page is struggling to load during the outage.
Based on the experience of Verizon users on Engadget's staff, the services that are impacted appear to be calls and wireless data. Text messages continue to be delivered normally, at least for some users. On DownDetector, reports of a Verizon outage started growing around 12PM ET and numbered in the hundreds of thousands at their peak.
DownDetector also shows spikes in outage reports on competing networks like AT&T and T-Mobile, but in terms of magnitude, they're much smaller than the issue Verizon is facing. For example, Verizon peaked at 181,769 reports, while AT&T's was just 1,769 reports. The difference between the two is great enough that those AT&T reports could be from people trying to contact Verizon customers and thinking that their personal network was the problem.
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 Apple today released a new update for Safari Technology Preview, the experimental browser that was first introduced in March 2016. Apple designed ?Safari Technology Preview? to allow users to test features that are planned for future release versions of the Safari browser.
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