You probably know about how bad it is in areas of North Carolina and eastern Tennessee that were hit by Hurricane Helene. These communities are not prepared for this sort of disaster like other places are, and the clean-up is going to be slow and painful. We here at Android Central and across the Future brands wish everyone well and are hopeful that people will be able to return to a normal life sooner rather than later.
If you'd like to help out victims and survivors, you can donate to the Red Cross or sign up as a volunteer.
Unfortunately, Verizon is having an unplanned outage over much of the United States including areas impacted by Hurricane Helene making communication difficult or even impossible for many. It doesn't appear that the two are connected, as people across the U.S. in unaffected areas also report issues with Verizon. That's little consolation to people trying to survive another day, though.
There are two very important things you need to know about if you're a Verizon customer: Satellite messaging and disaster roaming.
If your phone is equipped with emergency satellite services like recent iPhones and the Pixel 9 series, you can use it to send out a message for help.
To enable and use satellite messaging on the iPhone, head here.
To enable and use satellite messaging on your Pixel 9, head here.
With the iPhone, you can use satellite services for non-emergencies as well, so don't be afraid to text your friends and family. They want to hear from you.
I realize this may not help people who can't get connected, but if you can, visit these links and share them — especially with responders and volunteers.
Another important thing to know is that the state of North Carolina has enabled the disaster roaming rule. This means anyone with any phone can connect to any available cellular provider provided your phone has the correct network capabilities (it probably does). This means Verizon customers can connect using AT&T or T-Mobile infrastructure to make calls and send messages.
This is important because not everyone has a new phone that can connect to a satellite, especially in rural areas most affected by Hurricane Helene. The list of satellite-supported Android phones is unfortunately thin, but there are a number of companies working to make this a more ubiquitous feature across devices and carriers (Motorola even launched a device that more or less brings Satellite connectivity to any phone). Hopefully, disasters such as this can help provide a bit of added urgency to get these services off the ground. Until then, we have to work with what we have.
To use disaster roaming, you simply need to go into your phone's network settings and make sure roaming is enabled. Don't worry — it's not going to cost you anything and it might get you connected in a pinch.
Verizon will get things sorted out in due time, but until then, some people absolutely need to be able to use their phones. Playing games and using social media can be fun, but the main purpose of your smartphone is still to be in touch with the people you care about and care about.
If you're affected by Hurricane Helene or have friends and family who are, I hope they are safe and sound. Material things can be replaced, and there should be plenty of help in the weeks and months to come.
Satellite SOS when you need it
The Pixel 9 isn't just a fun AI phone — it also comes with potentially life-saving satellite SOS connectivity that can get you help when you're in an area with no cell coverage. This is particularly helpful when facing major network outages.
