Furious AT&T customers have stormed local stores demanding answers from clueless sales assistants over the recent network outage.
Video footage circulating TikTok revealed lines of frustrated customers seeking answers after the network outage affected at least 70,000 phones.
‘Everybody going for the same s***,’ one camera man said, while capturing the crowded store packed full of disgruntled patrons.
‘That doesn’t answer nobody’s question,’ said one confused customer to an employee at the counter who could not provide an explanation.
Other viral videos showed employees at a loss for words when customers approached, demanding answers. ‘What do you want me to do,’ one employee asked. ‘… Y’all can call corporate, Obama, Trump, Biden, go to Verizon.’
Earlier today, the company blamed its network outage that downed at least 70,000 phones on a ‘software update glitch’.
Video footage circulating TikTok reveals lines of frustrated customers seeking answers after the network outage affected at least 70,000 phones
‘Everybody going for the same s***,’ one camera man said, while capturing the crowded store packed full of disgruntled patrons
The company blamed its network outage on a ‘software update glitch’
There had been speculation that the issue may have been the result of a cyberattack, but the company said there were ‘no indications of malicious activity’.
It remains unclear where the problem originated and, despite AT&T’s assessment, both the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and FBI are investigating.
‘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,’ AT&T said.
‘We are continuing our assessment of [the] outage to ensure we keep delivering the service that our customers deserve.’
It comes as tens of thousands of pharmacies across America are unable to get prescriptions to patients after a cyberattack on America’s biggest health insurer, United.
The outage was first reported in the early hours of Thursday morning when customers were unable to make emergency calls, with multiple 911 centers reporting that users were unable to connect.
There were reports that other networks were affected, but this is thought to have been the result of failed attempts to place calls to AT&T numbers.
Cyber experts told DailyMail.com the issue had hallmarks of a cyberattack, potentially an attempt by hackers to blackmail the company or steal user data.
Other viral videos show employees at a loss for words when customers approach them demanding answers
The widespread nature, according to experts, seemed similar to ‘a massive Distributed Denial of Services (DDOS) attack on core Internet infrastructure.’
Using DDOS, cybercriminals are attempting to crash a website or online service by bombarding it with a torrent of superfluous requests at exactly the same time.
The surge of simple requests overload the servers, causing them to become overwhelmed and shut down.
DDOS was deployed in 2016 when it knocked out major sites like Netflix, Twitter, Amazon and PayPal for hours.
But the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) reported that ‘the cause of the outage is unknown and there are no indications of malicious activity.’
While AT&T has said they are ‘working urgently’ to resolve the issues, customers have poked fun at the the service, which is considered one of the most expensive networks.
On social media, customers poked fun at the company over the outage with some making memes comparing it Netflix thriller ‘Leave the World Behind’, which involves a breakdown in all technology as part of the plot.
Other customers meanwhile expressed their disdain at the outage, and demanded refunds from the company.
There has been no official reason given for the widespread drop in service, which has in turn fueled speculation on social media that hackers are behind the blackout.
AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile users reported early on Thursday that they are having network issues nationwide and in Canada
According to DownDetector , over 70,000 customers had been reporting outages on the AT&T network
The largest number of issues was reported by AT&T users, which peaked at 51,000 customers without service before jumping to over 70,000 an hour later
One person said: ‘SOS only. AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon outage. Leave the World Behind trending?’
Another posted: ‘Y’all ready to go and watch ‘Leave the World Behind film now? Or you still holding out? AT&T/ US cellular outage/ SOS.’
Sharing a picture of Hunger Games character Katnisss Everdeen, one person said: ‘Me after sending my final texts and leaving my WIFI riddled home to run errands on ATT’s ‘American’s Oregon Trail provider’ wireless network.’
Posting a video of a child on a swing while a fire burns around him, another person posted: ‘Verizon users while AT&T users experience an outage.’
Another post states: ‘T-Mobile, US Cellular, Verizon, AT&T all reporting nationwide outages, but I still have to hop on this Zoom meeting at 9am.’
While one other posted: ‘Hey AT&T, did you try unplugging it, waiting ten seconds and plugging it back in yet?’
Despite some making fun of the situation, other users demanded that the company refund them due to the blackout.