Microsoft says it has fully restored its services after a Microsoft outage that disrupted Outlook, Teams and the Copilot AI assistant for users across the world. The company confirmed on Saturday that it had addressed the underlying issue and restored service to the remaining customers and regions.
What Happened in the Microsoft Outage
Problems began around midday on Thursday, 12 November, in the United States and spread quickly. Outage tracking showed reports from at least 74 countries and territories. Microsoft 365 apps, including Outlook email, Teams and Exchange Online mailboxes, were among the services affected. Microsoft reported a broad recovery on Friday before announcing full restoration.
Cause Given by Microsoft
Microsoft said a technical issue during a network capacity upgrade, following a recent network change, triggered the incident. The company said there was no indication of malicious activity and ruled out a cyberattack or AI-related cause. It also apologised, saying it was deeply sorry for the disruption to customers and partners.
Impact Around the World
- Government agencies in several countries, including Japan, Singapore, Australia, Greece and Norway, reported disrupted operations, including email.
- In the UK, a court trial was halted and some pharmacies faced prescription delays.
- Some banks and businesses in Hong Kong were affected.
- Schools, hospitals and companies that depend on Microsoft 365 struggled to communicate.
Microsoft says more than 430 million people use Microsoft 365 apps, although the total number affected has not been disclosed.
What Happens Next
The Microsoft outage is likely to raise fresh questions about how much businesses and governments rely on a single cloud provider. Organisations may review backup communication plans, while Microsoft is expected to share more details on the root cause and the steps it will take to prevent a repeat.
For official updates, visit the Microsoft service status page.
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