A global disruption affected Microsoft 365 services for more than 12 hours, starting on Thursday and continuing into Friday. The outage impacted users in the United States and other regions, including parts of Asia-Pacific. Some users were unable to access their email or reported problems sending and receiving messages. Microsoft services such as Outlook, Teams, and Copilot were affected, causing inconvenience to users and businesses worldwide.
The outage affected Exchange Online, the email service used by Outlook, as well as some connected workplace applications. Microsoft said services that did not rely on Exchange Online continued to function normally. Reports to outage-tracking website Downdetector peaked at more than 130,000 for Outlook in the United States. The disruption was also reported in countries including India, Australia, and Japan, with government agencies and businesses among those affected.
Microsoft said attempts to bring affected servers back online had produced only partial recovery. In some cases, servers became unresponsive again when traffic returned, forcing engineers to investigate other ways to stabilise the system. The company initially pointed to elevated load on parts of its infrastructure and servers that had become unavailable. It said the issue was not caused by an increase in overall demand, but by reduced server capacity.
Microsoft said it had no indication that malicious activity or a cyberattack caused the outage. Engineers have been adjusting traffic routes and restarting affected servers. However, those efforts had not yet delivered a sustained recovery, and the company was examining other options to restore service. Microsoft apologised for the disruption but had not provided a firm timetable for full recovery in its latest updates.
The outage had a significant impact on users and businesses worldwide. OpenAI and Anthropic reported problems with services that rely on Microsoft connectors. Some users were unable to access their email or reported problems sending and receiving messages. The disruption caused inconvenience to users and businesses, highlighting the importance of reliable technology services.
Microsoft's outage is a reminder of the importance of having robust technology infrastructure. The company's services, including Outlook, Teams, and Copilot, are widely used by businesses and individuals. The outage affected users in various regions, including the US, Asia-Pacific, and countries such as India, Australia, and Japan. Microsoft's efforts to resolve the issue are ongoing.
The investigation into the cause of the outage is ongoing. Microsoft's services are critical to many businesses and individuals. The company will likely face scrutiny over its handling of the outage and its impact on users.
Key points
- The outage affected over 130,000 users in the US, according to Downdetector reports.
- Microsoft services, including Outlook, Teams, and Copilot, were affected by the outage.
- The company had no indication that malicious activity or a cyberattack caused the outage.
