Full coverage
A global Microsoft outage disrupted Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook and Teams, from Thursday into Friday.
Users and organizations in many countries reported problems with email and other Microsoft services. Microsoft cited unavailable servers and elevated infrastructure loads as it worked to restore service; several outlets reported that the company ruled out a cyberattack.
What the reports agree on
- The outage affected Outlook and other Microsoft services, including Teams. Newsweek, Guardian World, France24, Al Jazeera and 4 more
- The disruption began on Thursday and continued into Friday. Newsweek, France24, Al Jazeera, Guardian World and 1 more
- Microsoft reported that servers became unavailable or experienced elevated load as it worked to restore service. Guardian World, France24, Al Jazeera, BBC Tech and 1 more
- Microsoft said the outage was not caused by a cyberattack or malicious activity. Al Jazeera, Guardian World, France24, BBC Tech and 1 more
- The outage affected users or organizations in multiple countries. Newsweek, France24, Al Jazeera, BBC Tech and 2 more
Where reports differ
- BBC Tech reported nearly 140,000 Outlook problem reports from 74 countries on Thursday evening. BBC Tech
- France24 reported about 130,000 U.S. Outlook problem reports shortly after 1 p.m. Eastern Time. France24
- Al Jazeera reported at least 43,000 Outlook problem reports from users in 72 countries at about 07:00 GMT on Friday. Al Jazeera
Reported by one outlet
- Newsweek reported that New Zealand Immigration paused processing all visa applications until its systems were restored. Newsweek
- Newsweek reported that a Colorado sheriff’s office said an email disruption forced online bond payments to be made in person. Newsweek
- Guardian Business reported that Microsoft traced most problems to Exchange, the email service behind Outlook. Guardian Business
- BBC Tech reported that the disruption lasted more than 22 hours and recovery took nearly a full day. BBC Tech
The original reports
- BBC Tech Microsoft outage 'stark reminder' of how much we rely on tech
- CBS News Widespread Microsoft 365 outage continues, impacting email and other services
- CBS News Eye Opener: Microsoft Outlook email outage
- The Hill Microsoft ‘seeing encouraging recovery progress’ in global Outlook, Teams outage
- BBC Tech What we know so far about the Microsoft outage
- BBC Tech How the Microsoft outage has been felt worldwide
- France24 Microsoft faces a major Outlook outage: ‘no signs of a cyberattack’
- CBS News Microsoft battling major worldwide outage
- Guardian World Microsoft outage hits hospitals, GPs, schools and police across UK
- France24 'One of the biggest outages ever': Disruption to Microsoft services enters second day
- Al Jazeera Microsoft hit by global outages: What happened and why?
- BBC Tech GPs, police and pharmacies among UK services affected by Microsoft outage
- Newsweek Microsoft Outage Hits Global Operations: From Airlines To Visas
- BBC Tech What happened overnight with the Microsoft global outage
- BBC Tech What we know about the global Microsoft outage
- Guardian Business A global Microsoft 365 outage has hit millions – what happened and when will it be fixed?
- France24 Major Microsoft Outlook outage disrupts services in 74 countries
- Guardian World Global Microsoft outage affecting Outlook and Teams users, with company ‘restarting’ servers
- Al Jazeera Microsoft outage hits tens of thousands of users
- Newsweek Is Microsoft Outlook Down? Thousands Report Email Access Issues in US
- ABC News Outlook outage: Microsoft reports 'issues' with Teams and email