Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

AT&T reveals cause of Thursday’s massive outage

By Trevor Mogg Published February 22, 2024

Chad Morehead/Unsplash

An AT&T service outage that impacted a huge number of its customers across the U.S. on Thursday was not caused by a cyberattack, the company’s initial investigation has revealed.

Instead, the cellular and internet outage was the fault of work that it was carrying out on its systems, AT&T said in a message posted on its website on Thursday evening.

Recommended Videos

“Based on our initial review, we believe that today’s outage was caused by the application and execution of an incorrect process used as we were expanding our network, not a cyberattack,” the company said in the message. “We are continuing our assessment of today’s outage to ensure we keep delivering the service that our customers deserve.”

Earlier in the day, at 3:10 p.m., AT&T said it had managed to restore wireless service to all of its affected customers. “We sincerely apologize … Keeping our customers connected remains our top priority, and we are taking steps to ensure our customers do not experience this again in the future,” the company said.

The FBI said in a widely reported statement that it was “in contact with AT&T” regarding the network outage. “Should we learn of any malicious activity, we will respond accordingly,” it added.

The service disruption began in the early hours of Thursday when AT&T customers started reporting difficulties placing calls, sending texts, and accessing the internet. Early on, the Down Detector site showed more than 32,000 reported outages across AT&T’s network. As more people began their day, the number climbed, with 75,000 outages reported by around 9:15 a.m. ET.

AT&T finally began to turn the situation around later in the morning, reporting at 11:15 a.m. ET that it had restored “three-quarters” of its network. Then, at 3:10 p.m. ET, the company confirmed that it had “restored wireless service to all our affected customers.”

While it’s reassuring to know that the outage doesn’t appear to have been caused by malicious activities, customers will be eager for more details about the incident, as well as information on what action AT&T is planning to take to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Topics

Phones

The $1,500 flagship might be closer than you think

Flip phones already broke the $1,500 mark this year, and slab flagships aren't far behind.

iPhone 17 Pro and Google Pixel 10 Pro.

In July, a Google executive broke the silence on the ongoing memory crisis, highlighting a more than fourfold increase in RAM prices between 2025 and 2026, and I haven't stopped thinking about it since. The prices have gone up from $2.80 in 2025 to roughly $12 in 2026, as mentioned in the same report. Run the math for a 16GB memory package, and the cost to the company has apparently gone up from $45 to $192.

That's not a rounding error; it's the floor moving under the entire industry's feet. Google is not alone in speaking about the ongoing memory crisis. We've also seen Nothing's CEO speak about it, and other brands like Motorola, OnePlus, and Xiaomi make price adjustments across their lineup.

Phones

I’ve used the Pixel 10 Pro a year. I hope Google fixes these nagging issues on the Pixel 11 Pro

Electronics, Mobile Phone, Phone

I’ve been using the Google Pixel 10 Pro for almost a year now, which means I’ve had plenty of time to figure out what I love about it and, more importantly, what still gets on my nerves. And with the Pixel 11 Pro launching on August 12, just three days from now, my wishlist for Google has gotten pretty long. There’s a lot the Pixel already gets right. The software is still one of my favorite Android experiences, performance is generally solid, and Google’s Gemini features have become genuinely useful in ways I didn’t expect. Those are all big reasons I’ve stuck with Pixel phones for as long as I have.

But spend enough time with any phone and the little annoyances stop feeling so little. Over the past year, I’ve run into a handful of recurring Pixel problems that I really don’t want to carry over to another generation. Some have frustrated me for months, while others have made me question whether I can completely rely on my Pixel when I need it most. So, with the Pixel 11 Pro almost here, I have a few things I desperately want Google to get right this time.

Computing

Apple is testing Chinese DRAM even after CXMT refused to cut prices

Apple may be testing CXMT memory for iPhones and MacBooks

iPhone 17 Pro Max

Apple’s search for more memory supply has taken another step forward. The company is now testing DRAM from Chinese manufacturer CXMT across several products, including iPhones and MacBooks, according to The Wall Street Journal. Apple has also held early talks with CXMT about supplying memory for some devices sold in China and is seeking support from the US government before moving ahead.

The timing is particularly interesting. Just recently, we learned that a shortage of DRAM could already be holding up production of the A20 Pro chip expected inside the iPhone 18 Pro. TSMC is said to have around $1 billion worth of finished chips waiting for memory before packaging can continue.