Is Outlook down? Widespread outage hits Microsoft apps

FILE - A Microsoft logo and sign outside the Microsoft Visitor Center are seen at the company's headquarters Monday, Nov. 9, 2026, in Redmond, Wash. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson, File)

The Details

CHICAGO (AP) — A widespread outage hit Microsoft platforms including Outlook on Thursday, with many users encountering trouble using their email accounts and other errors across the tech giant’s suite of apps.

As of around 1:30 p.m. ET, more than 120,000 users on outage tracker Downdetector reported problems accessing Outlook — with many saying they couldn’t send and receive emails, or encountering delays. Thousands also reported issues with Microsoft’s workplace messaging app Teams, as well as its AI assistant Copilot and wider Microsoft 365 services.

Microsoft said that it was investigating.

In updates posted on social media, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft said it was aware of users “experiencing issues accessing Exchange Online mailboxes through multiple connection methods in the Americas.”

Microsoft later added that a portion of its infrastructure was “experiencing elevated load” — which it said was “likely contributing to the connectivity errors.” The company said it would begin ”redistributing” traffic to help balance the load.

Microsoft did not immediately provide further information. Earlier in the day, the company said it had “successfully restored” problems related to Microsoft Teams in North America, although some users continued to report connectivity issues.