A widespread Microsoft 365 outage has disrupted access to Outlook, Microsoft Teams and Copilot, leaving businesses, government agencies and millions of users struggling to communicate and carry out routine work.
The disruption, which began on Thursday, has continued into Friday, affecting users across several regions, including India and the US.
Microsoft has attributed the outage to servers unexpectedly becoming unavailable, putting additional pressure on its remaining infrastructure. The company has said it is not aware of any malicious activity behind the disruption.
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According to Reuters, the outage stretched beyond 12 hours, making it one of Microsoft's more significant service disruptions. Downdetector also recorded a sharp rise in complaints, with reports approaching 200,000 across Microsoft's services.
The disruption has affected Exchange Online, which powers Outlook, along with Teams, Copilot and other Microsoft 365 services. OneDrive and SharePoint users have also reported connectivity issues.
Microsoft said it was rerouting traffic across its global infrastructure, restarting affected servers and adding capacity to restore services. However, some servers that were brought back online became unresponsive as traffic returned, complicating recovery efforts. The company reported signs of stabilisation in its latest update but has not confirmed when all services will be fully restored.
For businesses that depend on Microsoft's ecosystem, the disruption has highlighted the risks of relying on a single technology provider. Reuters reported that several organisations faced communication difficulties, while some financial firms resorted to alternative methods, including fax, to confirm transactions.
Microsoft Outage: Seven Things You Should Do Right Now
If the disruption has affected your work, here are seven steps to minimise inconvenience and protect important information.
1. Avoid reinstalling or resetting apps: The problem originates from Microsoft's infrastructure. Reinstalling Outlook or clearing app data is unlikely to fix the issue and could put locally stored drafts at risk.
2. Check official service updates: Follow Microsoft's Microsoft 365 service health updates for information on affected applications and recovery progress.
3. Switch to alternative communication channels: Use phone calls, SMS or other approved workplace messaging platforms for urgent conversations if email services remain unavailable.
4. Save important files locally: With OneDrive and SharePoint also experiencing disruptions, keep local copies of important documents and ongoing work.
5. Maintain records of approvals: If business decisions or approvals are communicated through alternative channels, retain screenshots and written records for future reference.
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6. Avoid repeatedly sending urgent emails: Messages may remain stuck in the Outbox or arrive late. Confirm delivery through another channel before sending duplicates.
7. Stay alert to phishing attempts: Cybercriminals may exploit the disruption through fake password-reset messages, account verification requests and fraudulent recovery links. Do not click on suspicious links or share login credentials.
According to tech experts, until Microsoft confirms a complete restoration, users and businesses should rely on approved backup communication channels and avoid moving sensitive information to unauthorised platforms.
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