The cause of Thursday’s AT&T network outage has been revealed. In a statement posted Thursday evening to the company’s website and shared with CNET, the carrier said the issue was the result of software and not a cyber attack.
“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 cyber attack,” the statement says. “We are continuing our assessment of today’s outage to ensure we keep delivering the service that our customers deserve.”
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The outage began early Thursday morning and ran for several hours, knocking off cellular connectivity for AT&T users across the country. A source familiar with the matter tells CNET the issue occurred when AT&T was doing regular maintenance, which it normally does overnight.
Reports on social media suggested the outage was widespread, with Downdetector, a website where users can report issues with websites and services, showing a spike in problems with AT&T nationwide beginning at around 4 a.m. ET. The carrier recommended that customers use services like Wi-Fi calling to connect with others while the network was down.
Services were restored around 3 pm ET.
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