You can still call 911 despite AT&T outage

So far, no local agencies have reported being affected by the outage, but they did explain ways customers who are impacted can reach 911 or emergency responders if needed.

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Tens of thousands of AT&T customers are without cell service Thursday as a nationwide outage is impacting their signal. Some T-Mobile and Verizon customers have also reported signal outages, but impacts aren't as widespread as AT&T's.

KXAN reached out to AT&T to find out what was going on. An AT&T spokesperson said in a statement the company is "working urgently to restore service to [impacted customers]. We encourage the use of Wi-Fi calling until service is restored."

KXAN also reached out to local emergency response agencies to ask if they're seeing impacts from the outages. So far, no local agencies have reported being affected by the outage, but they did explain ways customers who are impacted can reach 911 or emergency responders if needed.

According to 911.gov, all wireless phones can call 911, even if they don’t have service from a specific carrier. However, it said without service, the location of the cell phone is not properly delivered to the call center, so if you call, it’s important to communicate where you are. The website said without service, 911 call-takers cannot call the phone back either.

Austin agencies respond

University of Texas Police said on social media that it's monitoring the issue impacting customers making and receiving calls, including 911.

UTPD also noted people can use any UTPD emergency call box located along campus walkways, inside Celebrated Entrances and in and around parking garages and an officer will immediately respond. If you have wifi, you can message UTPD on the LiveSafe app for police assistance.

The Austin Police Department said on social media it is aware of the outage and its 911 system is still able to receive incoming calls. However, APD said it’s having issues connecting back with people if they call 911 and the call disconnects. APD said if this happens to you, do not hang up unless you’re certain the call has dropped.

APD also said it’s important that 911 callers provide the most important information at the beginning of the phone call, including specific details about location, name of the person calling, and an alternate way to connect if disconnected from the call. If the call is disconnected, try calling 911 again.

APD said it’s continuing to monitor the situation and recommended using a landline, use someone else’s cell phone, or switch to wifi calling if the outage is impacting you and you need to call 911.

Austin-Travis County EMS said it is not aware of any effects from the outage.