Microsoft outage ends after 36 hours: Outlook, Teams and Copilot are back
PTC Web Desk: Microsoft has fixed its global outage. The problem lasted more than 36 hours. Outlook, Teams, Copilot and other Microsoft 365 services are working again.
The company said early on Saturday that its fix was complete. It said users of Outlook, Teams and Copilot should no longer face problems. Microsoft is still watching its systems and clearing backed-up emails.
How it started
The trouble began on Thursday, November 12. Users first reported that they could not open their Exchange Online mailboxes. Soon after, other services stopped working too. These included Outlook, Teams, Copilot, SharePoint, Planner and To Do.
Teams mostly kept working for chat and online meetings. But anything linked to Exchange Online, such as calendars and meeting scheduling, was affected. Copilot users had trouble loading chats. They also could not reach work items like emails, calendars and files.
More than 70 countries were hit. The outage disrupted companies, government offices and ordinary users.
What caused it
Microsoft says the cause was a technical fault. It was linked to an earlier upgrade of network capacity. The problem then showed up after a newer change to the network.
The company said it was not a cyberattack. It also said AI agents were not involved. In one update it said, “This was a technical issue not related to cyber or AI / agents.”
Who felt it
Many businesses could not talk to their customers or do routine work. Some could not reach their research material either.
In India, IndiGo said its email support was affected and that it might miss some customer emails. It told passengers with urgent needs to use its website or app. Air India said its flights ran as normal. It also moved its email traffic elsewhere so it could keep talking to customers.
AI firms were hit as well. OpenAI and Anthropic said their Microsoft 365 connectors had problems. These connectors let their tools read workplace data.
How Microsoft fixed it
The company did not restart everything at once. It brought services back step by step and checked each stage was stable. It also extended its email timeout to 48 hours. This protects delayed emails while it works through the backlog.
Microsoft apologised to customers and partners. It said it takes their trust “extremely seriously.” A full report on what went wrong will come after the investigation ends.
A bigger question
The outage has again raised a worry about relying on a few big cloud companies. Cybersecurity experts say it is a warning. Every business needs a backup plan for the day a major platform goes down.
Also Read | Outlook down again: Microsoft 365 outage drags into Day 2, hits IndiGo, Air India and Akasa Air
- PTC NEWS
