Microsoft 365 users encountered significant disruptions with the free email service Outlook on Monday morning. According to Downdetector, reports of the outage began surfacing shortly before 8 a.m. ET, with the majority of issues involving the website version of Outlook.
Downdetector cautions users
Microsoft 365 acknowledged the problem on social media, stating that they are actively investigating and have deployed a fix to address the issue. Meanwhile, Downdetector cautioned users to remain vigilant against scammers posing as support agents. The platform advised individuals who may have paid for fraudulent support to contact their financial institution to secure their accounts and report potential fraud.
The outage appears to be global in scale, with reports from Downdetector indicating widespread disruption, particularly during early working hours in BST and CET time zones. Over 800 users reported issues, including problems accessing Teams Calendar, Outlook, and Exchange, as well as instances of Outlook crashing. Some users experienced partial functionality, such as receiving emails but being unable to load attachments.
Microsoft shares update about Outlook outage
Microsoft shared updates on its online admin center and on the social media platform X. In a post, the company noted that “a recent change” was likely responsible for the disruption. Microsoft stated, “We’ve started to revert the change and are investigating what additional actions are required to mitigate the issue.”
This outage follows a significant global IT disruption in July, which was ultimately traced to a faulty update from cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. That incident, which affected several Microsoft solutions, initially raised concerns about a potential cyberattack. Subsequent investigations confirmed that the disruption stemmed from a technical error rather than malicious activity, highlighting the vulnerability of modern workplaces reliant on Microsoft’s services.
Outlook users report difficulties
Users from various countries, including the Netherlands, Poland, France, and Sweden, reported difficulties with Outlook on X. One user described widespread issues, stating, “Exchange Online, Teams, Outlook—none of these services are working as expected. Can’t access quarantined emails either.”
Mailmeteor, an email marketing platform, confirmed the global scope of the outage, noting that over 423 reports of service disruptions were logged on Monday alone.
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