Global Microsoft outage disrupts email, AI tools and public services
Microsoft has ruled out a cyber-attack as connectivity failures affect users worldwide, with early signs of stabilisation but service capacity still below normal.
By Vanessa Lopez ·
A global outage affecting Microsoft services has disrupted email, artificial intelligence tools and public services, leaving users with uneven access to applications. Microsoft said on Friday morning that there were early indications of stabilisation, but capacity remained below normal after efforts to restore services had largely failed to resolve the problems.
The disruption has affected Microsoft 365 products including Outlook, Teams and Copilot. Some customers have been unable to send or receive email, open certain files or see information in their calendars. Access has varied, however, with some Teams users continuing to exchange messages and join online meetings without difficulty.
The total number of people affected has not been established. Microsoft's website says more than 430 million people use its Microsoft 365 applications. On Thursday evening, outage monitoring website Downdetector recorded reports of Outlook problems from 140,000 people across 74 countries. Because the site depends primarily on users reporting difficulties themselves, the actual number affected is likely to be substantially higher.
The disruption has also reached other technology companies. OpenAI and Anthropic both reported problems linked to the Microsoft outage. OpenAI, which makes ChatGPT, said it was examining an issue with its connections to Microsoft services that had prevented some tools from operating as expected. With businesses around the world relying on Microsoft 365, further effects on other services are expected.
Government bodies, including the Singaporean government and Australia's spy agency, have also reported being affected. In the UK, the outage has disrupted GP surgeries, pharmacies, police and schools. Some GP practices have asked patients to avoid sending messages through their websites while the difficulties continue. Several large police forces have directed people who want to make a report to telephone instead.
Microsoft attributed the outage to unusually heavy demand on its infrastructure after numerous servers unexpectedly became unavailable. Traffic was then diverted to the servers still operating, placing them under additional strain. The company ruled out a cyber-security incident. Before reporting signs of stabilisation on Friday, it had acknowledged that its attempted fixes were not producing the expected results.
Australian cyber-security expert Troy Hunt told the BBC that the disruption could have broad consequences, affecting work as well as appointment communications, purchases requiring verification and access to accounts and services. He highlighted Microsoft's central role in internet infrastructure and the continuing importance of email. Paul Spain of New Zealand-based advisory firm Gorilla Technology said companies had effectively "lost a business day" as email and other services went offline, frustrating users.
