Microsoft experienced a significant outage on Saturday that left tens of thousands of users unable to access critical services, including Outlook, Teams, Microsoft 365, and Azure. The disruption began around 3:30 PM ET and affected users across major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles.
Widespread Impact on Microsoft Services
Reports of outages surged on Downdetector, with over 37,000 users reporting issues with Outlook and approximately 24,000 users facing disruptions in Microsoft 365 services. Teams and Azure were also partially affected, though fewer users reported problems with these platforms. The outage caused frustration among users, many of whom flooded social media platform X (formerly Twitter) with complaints about their inability to access emails and other services.
Microsoft confirmed the issue via its official Microsoft 365 Status account on X, stating, “We’re investigating an issue in which users may be unable to access Outlook features and services.”
Service Restoration
By Saturday evening, Microsoft announced that the issue had been resolved. In an update shared on X, the company confirmed, “Service was restored.” Although services were back up and running, Microsoft did not provide details about the cause of the outage.
The company also updated its service health page to reassure users that all systems were operational.
Concentration in Major U.S. Cities
The outage appeared to be most concentrated in highly populated metropolitan areas such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, according to Downdetector data. The scale of the disruption highlighted how dependent businesses and individuals have become on Microsoft’s suite of tools for communication and productivity.
Social Media Reacts
The outage prompted widespread discussion and frustration on social media, with many users sharing their experiences and concerns about the global reliability of Microsoft services. The incident also raised questions about the resilience of cloud-based platforms that millions rely on daily.
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