Microsoft Services Outlook and Teams Suffer Widespread Outage, Affecting Tens of Thousands

Tens of thousands of Microsoft users experienced significant disruptions on Thursday, struggling to access their email via Outlook and connect to essential work applications like Teams due to a widespread service outage. The outage tracking site Downdetector registered a surge in reports, with approximately 130,000 users reporting issues with Outlook shortly after 1 PM Eastern Time (18:00 GMT). Users described a range of problems, including emails failing to send or arrive, and the inability to open their inboxes. By just before 3 PM (20:00 GMT), the number of affected users had decreased to around 77,000.

Beyond Outlook, users also reported difficulties accessing Microsoft’s workplace messaging application, Teams, its AI assistant Copilot, and other services within the Microsoft 365 suite. Microsoft indicated that the issues had the potential to affect users across all geographical regions.

In a statement on X, Microsoft acknowledged that its servers were unavailable and failing automatic health checks, which placed additional strain on the operational infrastructure. The company stated it was implementing a configuration change to reroute traffic that had become concentrated on certain parts of its network and was in the process of restarting affected services to restore functionality. "We’re working to safely return them to service," Microsoft communicated. The company did not provide an estimated time for the full restoration of services.