Microsoft 365, Outlook hit by major outage; global impact possible

Microsoft is investigating a major outage affecting Outlook, Exchange Online and other Microsoft 365 services, with thousands of users reporting difficulties accessing email on Thursday, November 12.

The company initially acknowledged problems affecting Exchange Online users in the Americas, including difficulties connecting to mailboxes through multiple methods.

According to Reuters, thousands of users in the United States reported disruptions affecting Microsoft 365, Outlook and Teams, citing the outage-tracking website Downdetector.

Are UAE users affected?

Microsoft later warned that the disruption could affect Microsoft 365 service connectivity in any region, raising the possibility that users in the UAE could experience similar problems.

However, the extent of any disruption in the UAE has not been independently confirmed.

What caused the outage?

Microsoft said it had identified connectivity errors affecting part of its Exchange Online infrastructure responsible for processing user access requests.

The company is examining network logs to determine the source of the errors and the steps needed to restore normal service.

Further service-health updates indicated that affected infrastructure was experiencing elevated loads across multiple regions, contributing to connectivity problems.

Which Microsoft services are affected?

The reported disruption involves Exchange Online, Outlook and other Microsoft 365 services, with users reporting difficulties accessing mailboxes and sending or receiving emails.

Microsoft Teams, SharePoint Online, Microsoft 365 Copilot and Microsoft Defender XDR have also been identified as potentially affected services.

When will services be restored?

Microsoft has not announced a confirmed restoration time.

The company is working to restore affected infrastructure and has directed administrators to the Microsoft 365 admin centre for further updates.

The Exchange Online incident was initially identified under reference EX1550543.