Last night solar flare cell phone outage cause

ATT customers experience a signal outage, but it is not due to a solar flare, and the western hemisphere is mostly unaffected.

AT&T customers across the country woke up to a frustrating surprise this morning - a widespread outage of cell phone coverage. The issue, however, was not caused by the solar flare that occurred around the same time. Despite what some may have seen on social media, the solar flare did not directly impact AT&T's cell phone service.

The solar flare, which occurred at 1:30 am EST, primarily affected the eastern hemisphere, causing disruptions in high-frequency signals in areas such as Europe and Western Asia. The western hemisphere, including the United States, was largely unaffected by the radiation from the solar flare.

While the Space Weather Prediction Center has reported incoming radiation from the solar flare, it's important to note that cell phones operate on a different signal frequency than what the radiation was affecting. Cell phones fall between radio waves and microwaves on the electromagnetic spectrum, sharing more similarities with high-frequency radars than with traditional radio stations.

The ionization of the lower levels of the atmosphere caused by the solar flare can interfere with long-range radios, such as ham radios, commercial airlines, and certain military and government agency tools. However, cell phone signals can still connect with cell towers and transmit without interference from the ionized atmosphere.

For those experiencing an outage in cell phone service, it's advisable to stay connected to a WiFi network for calls and messages, or to use a landline if available. Despite the inconvenience of the outage, it's important to understand that the solar flare did not directly cause the disruption in AT&T's cell phone coverage.