Microsoft is working to fully restore its services following a global outage that disrupted access to Outlook, Teams and other Microsoft 365 applications across several countries.
The disruption began on Thursday, November 12, leaving thousands of users unable to access their email accounts, send or receive messages and use other services. The outage was reported in 74 countries and territories, according to outage-tracking platform Downdetector.
Other affected services included Microsoft’s artificial intelligence assistant, Copilot, SharePoint Online and OneDrive, disrupting communication and operations for businesses, government agencies and other organisations.
Microsoft initially attributed the problem to servers that unexpectedly became unavailable, resulting in increased pressure on its infrastructure. The company said some servers became unresponsive again after being restored, complicating its recovery efforts.
However, in an update on Friday, November 13, Microsoft reported early signs of stabilisation following further measures to improve service capacity, although operations had not fully returned to normal.
The company also said it had no indication that the disruption was caused by malicious activity or a cyberattack.
Microsoft said recovery efforts were continuing across affected regions, warning that users might experience gradual restoration as services and server capacity returned to normal.
