Microsoft Teams and Outlook Outage Hits Global Users

A major Microsoft service outage struck on Thursday. It crippled essential business applications worldwide. Users reported widespread problems with Teams, Outlook, and Office 365. The disruption began in the afternoon, affecting thousands of companies.

Microsoft quickly acknowledged the incident on social media. The company confirmed it was investigating the reports. According to Down Detector, outage maps lit up with user complaints across the globe.

Scale of the Microsoft Service Disruption

The outage impacted multiple core services simultaneously. Over 13,000 users reported issues with Microsoft Office 365. More than 10,000 people encountered problems with the Teams collaboration platform.

Microsoft Outlook email service also experienced significant failures. Over 8,000 users reported being unable to access their accounts. The gaming platform Xbox and cloud service Azure faced related disruptions.

Microsoft’s Response and Investigation

The company issued its first response via the Microsoft 365 Status account on X. It stated engineers were investigating reports of access issues. Microsoft directed administrators to its Service Health Dashboard for updates.

A follow-up message provided more technical detail. The team was working on rebalancing traffic to healthy infrastructure. This suggests a potential internal network or routing failure caused the cascade.

The widespread Microsoft outage highlights the global economy’s deep reliance on a handful of digital platforms. Businesses are left scrambling as these essential tools remain inaccessible.

Info at your fingertips

Which Microsoft services were affected by the outage?

The outage impacted Microsoft Teams, Outlook, and the broader Office 365 suite. Services like Xbox and the Azure cloud platform also experienced problems. Thousands of users reported issues with these applications.

What was the cause of the Microsoft outage?

Microsoft has not yet confirmed a final root cause. The company’s initial statements pointed to traffic routing problems. Engineers worked to shift user load to healthier parts of its infrastructure.

How long did the Microsoft service disruption last?

The full duration of the outage is still being assessed. Services began failing on Thursday afternoon. Microsoft provided ongoing updates as restoration efforts continued.

What should users do during a Microsoft outage?

Users should check the official Microsoft 365 Status social media account. The Service Health Dashboard in the admin center is the primary source for updates. Alternative communication plans are advised for businesses.

Was the outage related to a cyber attack?

There is no current evidence suggesting a security breach or cyber attack. Microsoft’s initial investigation pointed to an internal infrastructure issue. The company has not indicated any malicious activity.

Trusted Sources

Reuters, Associated Press, Down Detector.