How to claim your free $20 from Verizon

Verizon experienced a massive nationwide outage on Wednesday that knocked out service across the US, leaving some users without service for more than 10 hours. Verizon customers first started reporting issues with service around 12pm ET on Jan. 14, with many reporting they couldn’t text, make or receive calls, or use data. It wasn’t until 10pm ET that Verizon finally resolved the outage and fully restored service.

Understandably so, many Verizon customers who went nearly a full day without service were extremely upset with the company, which is one of the largest phone carriers in the US. In response to Wednesday’s outage and as an apology, Verizon is now offering customers a $20 account credit, which can be redeemed on their next bill.

“Yesterday, we did not meet the standard of excellence you expect and that we expect of ourselves,” Verizon said. “This credit isn’t meant to make up for what happened. No credit really can. But it’s a way of acknowledging your time and showing that this matters to us.”

How to redeem your $20 Verizon account credit

You can claim it in the myVerizon app

If you’re a Verizon customer looking to claim your $20 credit, the company says it will send you a text message once the credit is available on your account.

Once it’s available, you can log in to the myVerizon mobile app to redeem it and apply it to your next bill. Verizon says the $20 credit should, on average, cover multiple days of service. It would’ve been nice if Verizon applied this $20 account credit automatically rather than having to do it yourself in the app, but at least the process seems pretty straightforward.

If you’re still having issues getting service following Wednesday’s outage, Verizon says that restarting your device is the fastest way to fully reconnect to its network.

While Verizon has apologized for the disruption and is now offering a $20 account credit, the carrier still hasn’t explained what caused the outage — and it’s unclear if they will. All in all, if you’re a Verizon customer, keep an eye on your messages for when you’re able to claim the $20 credit.