Verizon officials reported Monday afternoon that a hardware issue blocking 3G phones in the area from making calls has been fixed.

Owners of the 3G phones have been experiencing trouble making and receiving phone calls for the weeks leading up to Monday, when none of the phones were able to make voice calls.

Raymond McGough of Highland Home was at the Troy Verizon Store Monday about the problem. He said he’s been having trouble with his cell phone for about two months now.

“I’ve been having trouble with people not being able to hear me when I call or sometimes, they could hear me, but I couldn’t hear them,” he said. “Now no calls come in and no calls go out. Only text messages will send.”

McGough explained that he first went to the Verizon store in Montgomery for help, but it was packed with people who are also having problems. Because he needs be able to make phone calls for his business, he came to the Verizon store in Troy.

“For two or three weeks, when I called someone, I could hear them, but they couldn’t hear me, now I can’t make calls at all,” said Bill Pearson.

People using a variety of different brands including Android, Samsung, and iPhone were facing this issue. These people also acknowledge that their phone is several years old, or that they haven’t updated in a while.

“(Verizon officials) have been telling us they are working on the problem and trying to get it resolved,” said Lon Dennis, who works at the Troy Verizon store.

Chris Dozier, Pike County 911 director, said the issue was also reported to them, leading to concerns that local residents suffering from the issues wee unable to call 911 services.

“For some people that is the only line of communication they have,” Dozier said. “That’s our big concern. We just wanted to make sure Verizon is aware of it and is working on it; if an emergency happened for the affected people, they couldn’t call for help, and no help would come.”