Microsoft outage drags on for five hours; 1.38 lakh Outlook complaints reported in US as disruption hits Teams, Copilot
Tech giant Microsoft struggled to restore access to some of its workplace software on Thursday (local time), nearly five hours after the outage began, warning that users might still face difficulties accessing services such as its email and chat platforms.
Bloomberg reported that the disruption affected services such as Outlook, Teams, and Copilot, the company's artificial intelligence (AI) service, for a significant part of the US workday. The tech giant's products are among the most widely used software across businesses, government agencies, and educational institutions.
Reuters reported that as of 6:00 pm ET (3:30 am IST the following day), Microsoft was still working to restore the affected servers. The company said it had observed limited recovery, with several users gradually able to reconnect. Reports of Outlook problems peaked at around 1:00 pm ET, reaching 138,058, before falling to approximately 34,490 by the evening, according to Downdetector.
Earlier on Thursday, Microsoft attributed the disruption to several servers becoming unexpectedly unavailable under increased load, rather than a surge in traffic. A company spokesperson said, "We are aware and investigating reports of users experiencing issues with Microsoft 365 services, primarily issues with Exchange Online."
The company also shared a series of updates on its status page, detailing its efforts to restore the malfunctioning systems and redirect user traffic away from affected servers. After initially failing to identify the issue and find a solution, Microsoft said in an update shared after 6:00 pm New York time that it had observed "limited recovery in some regions.”
In an update at 5:11 pm, Microsoft said, "We’re continuing to pursue all available pathways to restore service, as our actions taken thus far have not provided the anticipated relief." It added, "Our investigation has found that a core process on the affected servers is becoming overwhelmed, which causes the servers to stop responding and contributes to the capacity loss.”
The company further said that the servers brought back online were functioning steadily. It was also redirecting traffic through alternative routes wherever possible and working to speed up the restoration of the remaining affected servers. In a statement, Microsoft added, "As capacity is restored, users may experience a gradual recovery as their clients reconnect."
The Microsoft outage disrupted businesses across the United States. OpenAI said it was investigating problems with Microsoft connectors, warning that users might be unable to establish new connections and that some tools were not functioning as expected. Anthropic also reported an issue with an upstream provider that affected its Microsoft 365 connector.
Electric truck manufacturer Workhorse Group postponed the release of its third-quarter results from November 12 to November 16, citing operational disruptions caused by the global Microsoft outage.
Last month, Microsoft reported another outage affecting its Azure cloud platform, which disrupted the tech giant's suite of productivity software and affected several industries worldwide.
(with inputs from agencies)
Swati Gandhi is a digital journalist with over four years of experience, specialising in international and geopolitical issues. Her work focuses on foreign policy, global power shifts, and the political and economic forces shaping international relations, with a particular emphasis on how global developments affect India. She approaches journalism with a strong belief in context-driven reporting, aiming to break down complex global events into clear, accessible narratives for a wide readership.<br><br> Previously, Swati has worked at Business Standard, where she covered a range of beats including national affairs, politics, and business. This diverse newsroom experience helped her build a strong grounding in reporting, while also strengthening her ability to work across both breaking news and in-depth explanatory stories. Covering multiple beats early in her career has helped her be informed about her current work, allowing her to connect domestic developments with wider international trends.<br><br> At Live Mint, she focuses on international and geopolitical issues through a business and economic lens, examining how global political developments, foreign policy decisions, and power shifts impact markets, industries, and India’s strategic and economic interests.<br><br> She holds a Bachelor’s degree in English (Honours) from the University of Delhi and a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. Her academic training has shaped her emphasis on precision, analytical rigour, and clarity in writing. Her interests include global political economy and the intersection of geopolitics with business.<br><br> Outside work, Swati focuses on exploring her passion and love for food. From fancy cafes to street spots, Swati explores food like a true foodie.
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