By The Chronicle Staff

Thousands of Verizon wireless customers across the United States experienced service disruptions Aug. 8 after an outage left many unable to make or receive phone calls.

Reports of the problem began climbing Saturday afternoon, with outage tracking website Downdetector logging more than 12,000 customer reports at the peak of the disruption. Users across several states took to social media to report dropped calls, failed text messages and an inability to connect to Verizon’s network.

Verizon acknowledged the issue in a statement, confirming that it was aware of a problem affecting voice services for wireless customers in certain parts of the country.

“Our engineers are engaged, and we are working quickly to identify and resolve the issue,” the company said, while directing customers to its online Network Status page for updates.

Although Verizon did not immediately identify the cause of the outage or provide an estimated timeline for a complete restoration of service, the disruption served as another reminder of how dependent many Americans have become on their mobile phones for everyday communication.

Customers reported a variety of issues, including calls that would not connect, incoming calls going directly to voicemail and intermittent signal loss. Some users also said they were temporarily unable to send text messages.

The outage was not limited entirely to Verizon customers. Downdetector also received reports from some AT&T and T-Mobile users, although both carriers indicated their own networks were operating normally.

Industry observers noted that customers attempting to call Verizon subscribers may have experienced failed connections, creating the appearance of problems on other networks as well.

Telecommunications outages can have a ripple effect beyond personal inconvenience. Many businesses rely on mobile phones for customer service, delivery coordination and employee communication, while consumers increasingly depend on wireless devices for banking, navigation, two-factor authentication and emergency notifications.

Experts recommend keeping alternative methods of communication available whenever possible. Options such as Wi-Fi calling, internet-based messaging apps and landlines can provide backup communication during major wireless outages.

Verizon continued working to restore service as engineers investigated the problem. Customers experiencing ongoing issues were encouraged to check the company’s network status page and restart their devices after service was restored to help reconnect to the network. ■