MICHIGAN, USA — Several major cell providers are suffering outages Thursday morning. West Michigan is among the areas experiencing those issues.
AT&T, Verizon, Boost Mobile and Cricket Wireless are just some of the companies experiencing an uptick in spotty coverage, according to Down Detector.
The outages started between 3 and 5 a.m. Thursday, the site says.
13 ON YOUR SIDE received numerous texts Thursday morning from people saying they are having trouble with their network here in West Michigan.
That leaves many wondering, how do you reach 911 if you don't have good service?
In Kent County, you can text 9-1-1 or enable WiFi calling.
Many first responders say you should always have a plan for how to call 911 if you don't have cell service, whether it be a landline or simply knowing your closest phones if yours isn't usable. Outages are not uncommon.
If you need to reach emergency services and are having trouble finding bars, dispatch says to first just try dialing 911. The call may go through in emergency mode.
If this doesn't work, you can try WiFi calling. With an iPhone, you can do this in your settings under the "Phone" section and turning "Wi-Fi Calling" to on. On an Android, go to your phone app and hit "More" and "Settings." Then hit "Calls" and turn on "WiFi Calling."
As of publication, it's not clear what's causing the outages. The companies have yet to release any statements.
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