A Chicago-based IT manager, Michele Wyse, said via email that she had upgraded 50 laptop Verizon 3G modems to Pantech 4G LTE modems before the outage, but they "constantly drop [LTE] because Verizon still has not fixed their switching issues between 4G and 3G."

Wyse, who asked that her company not be identified, said she was surprised when Verizon's own technicians suggested she hack the Pantech modems so they "don't use 4G at all" to resolve the problem.

But Wyse said doing that to 50 modems is "honestly, far too time consuming and hardly something I want to repeat 50 times and then 50 more once it's been resolved!" She was surprised by the suggestion because carriers typically don't approve of such methods.

According to Wyse, a Verizon tech said he hacked his personal USB LTE modem on the day of the outage -- April 26 -- and didn't suggest doing so at the time. "But since so much time has passed and I've threatened to return all the devices I just upgraded, they are now proposing the hack," she said.

Verizon for $249.99 on a month-to-month data plan or for $99.99 with a two-year service contract that can be discounted down to $49.99 with an online purchase.