TLDR
- A Microsoft outage cut off Outlook, Teams and Copilot for users in several countries.
- Microsoft said servers it restored could become unresponsive again.
- Schools, courts and businesses in the US and Australia were disrupted.
- OpenAI and Anthropic were also affected through their links to Microsoft systems.
- Workhorse Group moved its earnings report to 16 November.
A major Microsoft outage left people around the world without Outlook email, Teams meeting tools and other office services. The problems began around noon on the US East Coast on Thursday. By 3:30 a.m. GMT on Friday, the outage was still widespread.
‼️Update: Microsoft confirmed that its recent fixes haven't worked as expected. Engineers are exploring other ways to increase capacity and address ongoing traffic imbalances. Administrators can track updates in the Microsoft 365 admin center under EX1550543 and MO1550821.… https://t.co/4E4c8fxo7S
— Cyber Security News (@The_Cyber_News) November 13, 2026
Microsoft said the cause was a number of servers being unexpectedly unavailable. That strained its remaining systems. The BBC reported there was no indication of a cyber-attack.
What Microsoft Said as the Outage Continued
Microsoft posted updates on X and on its service health status page. At 1:59 a.m. GMT on Friday, it said it was seeing positive results from efforts to restart affected infrastructure.
By 3:13 a.m. GMT, the company said changes it had applied were not taking as expected. It said it was looking for other ways to add capacity.
Earlier, Microsoft said its actions had not provided the anticipated relief. It also said servers it returned to service could become unresponsive again once they received traffic.
A Microsoft spokesperson thanked customers for their patience. The company said customers in any region could be affected. It first said the problems were in the Americas, but they later proved to be global.
Users in the US, Japan and Singapore reported disruptions. Downdetector counted between 130,000 and 140,000 Outlook reports at the peak, depending on the outlet. Most people do not report problems, so the true number is higher.
The outage hit Microsoft 365 services tied to Exchange Online. That includes Outlook, SharePoint, Teams and the Copilot AI tool. Some users could not view certain files or calendar details.
Microsoft said messaging and online meetings were largely functional. Copilot may not have worked properly. International organizations rely on the platform to work with colleagues worldwide.
How Businesses, Schools and Governments Responded
Some US companies sent workers home early on Thursday. Others kept working through Slack, phone calls and in-person talks. Some office workers joked that the weekend had started early.
Small businesses looked for other ways to communicate. Local governments asked residents to call instead of sending email. Problems grew worse as the outage dragged on past an hour or two.
In Australia, Friday began with the Microsoft cloud not responding. Businesses could not print invoices, and some schools could not hold online classes.
Live feeds from courts went down. Schools texted parents to phone in absences until email systems returned. Reports of Outlook problems slowed as the US business day ended.
Australia’s ABC reported that people missed job interviews because they could not join virtual meetings. It also reported supply issues at distribution centers that stock supermarkets.
AI companies felt the impact too. OpenAI said it was investigating an issue affecting its connections to Microsoft services. Anthropic, which also works with Microsoft’s systems, was affected as well.
Microsoft reported an outage of its Azure cloud platform last month. That outage affected its productivity tools and companies worldwide.
Electric truck maker Workhorse Group planned to report third-quarter results on 12 November. The company has now rescheduled the report to 16 November. It cited business disruptions caused by the global Microsoft outage.
