AT&T Resolves Issue of Users' Calls Failing to Go Through to Other Carriers Over Network Issues

AT&T has reportedly resolved a recent outage that caused users' calls to fail to go through to other networks, recently confirming that the issue was with the network rather than a user issue.

Following early concerns about an outage, the carrier issued an amended statement stating that it has not had an outage and is working with other carriers to resolve it.

An AT&T spokeswoman stated that the interoperability problem between carriers has been fixed, adding that the mobile network worked with the other carrier to find a solution. The firm also expresses gratitude to its clients for their patience throughout this time. 

Although AT&T did not provide the number of affected customers, the website Down Detector showed a rise in reports of service disruptions beginning about 1 p.m. ET. Those figures rose in the hours that followed. However, according to sources, by 6 p.m. ET, the number of reported occurrences had begun to diminish.

According to reports, the cities with the most reported concerns include  Philadelphia, Dallas, Chicago, New York City, Pittsburgh, and Indianapolis.

Sources verified that calls placed in New York via AT&T service were not routed to Verizon earlier Tuesday, but as of 6:25 p.m. ET, calls from AT&T were operating properly with T-Mobile and Verizon. 

Calls made to other AT&T customers performed flawlessly, as were calls made using applications or services like FaceTime or WhatsApp, which functioned properly using cellular data such as 5G. AT&T's data services did not appear to be experiencing problems.

Read Also: Experts Call for 911 Systems Modernization After Multistate Outage 

AT&T 911 Calls

AT&T informed sources that 911 calls got through despite several places, such as Camden County, Georgia, Pennsylvania, and Scranton, sending social media notifications claiming the outage was affecting 911 calls. AT&T reportedly stated that the warnings were mistakenly received when a template for such a notice was activated and sent. AT&T stated it is looking into why this happened. 

AT&T's outage is the latest big problem the business has encountered in recent months. In February, the service had a national outage, disrupting service and cutting off cellular access for many hours. It blamed the software for the problem and apologized by giving consumers $5 in account credits.  

Major Data Breach on AT&T

One of AT&T's most important concerns was a significant cyber breach reported on March 31. At the time, the personal information of millions of current and past AT&T customers was exposed. The hacked data affects around 73 million people, including 7.6 million current AT&T account users and 65.4 million past accountholders.

The breach, which appears to have occurred in 2019 or earlier, also contains personal information such as complete names, email addresses, and birth dates. AT&T took swift action by resetting current users' passcodes and began informing those affected.

While the hacked data did not include financial or call history, the disclosure of personal information raises worries about potential abuse and identity theft. AT&T encourages concerned consumers to stay watchful by checking their account activity and credit reports.

In reaction to the compromise, AT&T published a statement reassuring consumers about its commitment to cybersecurity and data privacy. The corporation has hired external cybersecurity specialists to look into the problem further.

Customers should proactively protect their personal information, such as signing up for free fraud alerts from credit agencies and examining their credit reports regularly. AT&T has given users tools to monitor their accounts and report any unusual behavior. 

Related Article: Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile Fined $200 Million After Unauthorized Sharing of User Location Data