A major Microsoft outage disrupted businesses, government agencies and public services across 74 countries and territories on Thursday, November 12, 2026, with problems continuing into Friday. The failure affected Outlook, Teams and other Microsoft 365 services, preventing employees from accessing email, holding meetings and completing everyday tasks.
The disruption began Thursday and continued for more than 24 hours before significant improvements were reported. Financial institutions, government offices, schools and businesses experienced varying levels of service interruption, with some organizations temporarily relying on telephone calls, fax machines and in-person communication.
By Friday afternoon, Microsoft reported that its systems were recovering and most affected services were becoming more stable. However, the company cautioned that some customers could continue experiencing intermittent connection failures and delayed email delivery.
Microsoft Outage Spreads Across 74 Countries
The disruption began affecting Microsoft 365 users Thursday, with complaints increasing sharply as customers struggled to access workplace software.
Outlook was among the hardest-hit services. Users reported being unable to open their inboxes, send messages or retrieve previously received emails.
Microsoft Teams also experienced problems, interfering with video meetings and workplace messaging. Other affected services included SharePoint, OneDrive, Exchange Online and Microsoft's Copilot artificial intelligence assistant.
The disruption extended beyond individual applications. Some businesses reported failures involving software connections that allow different Microsoft services and third-party platforms to exchange information.
Downdetector recorded nearly 130,000 reports of Microsoft service problems during the initial wave. Reports came from 74 countries and territories, indicating that the disruption affected users across several continents.
Those figures represent reported problems rather than a verified count of individual customers. Microsoft has not disclosed exactly how many people or organizations lost access to its services.
The problems were also unevenly distributed. Some customers experienced complete interruptions, while others could continue using certain applications despite failures elsewhere.
Congressional Offices Face Communication Problems
The outage caused difficulties for congressional staff members in Washington, D.C., as lawmakers worked through legislative business.
Employees in the U.S. House of Representatives reported problems accessing Outlook and related Microsoft services. The House's chief administrative officer issued a technology alert warning staff members about the disruption.
The timing was particularly inconvenient because congressional offices were handling legislative negotiations and preparing for the transition to the next Congress.
Staff members who depend on email to communicate with lawmakers, constituents and government agencies encountered delays in their daily work.
Some employees turned to alternative communication methods while waiting for Microsoft services to recover.
Sharon Eliza Nichols, communications director for Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton of Washington, publicly questioned whether congressional business would need to move to direct messages on social media.
Her comment reflected the frustration of employees who rely heavily on Outlook to coordinate official activities.
Although email performance improved Friday, some congressional users continued reporting error messages and interrupted access.
The difficulties demonstrated how even the federal government can become vulnerable when widely used commercial technology services fail.
Local Governments and Public Services Affected
Government agencies outside Washington also experienced significant problems.
The City of Tampa, Florida, warned residents that Microsoft service disruptions were affecting communications between municipal employees and the public.
Officials said email messages could be delayed or fail to reach their intended recipients. Residents needing assistance were encouraged to contact city departments by telephone.
Tampa emphasized that city offices remained open and that essential emergency services, including 911, continued operating.
Elsewhere in the United States, local governments reported problems involving administrative services and public communication.
In Colorado, a sheriff's office warned that the outage had temporarily disrupted online bond payment processing. People needing to post bond were instructed to complete transactions in person.
The disruption also affected government operations internationally.
Australian federal agencies reported communication problems, including departments responsible for security, agriculture and foreign affairs.
In Japan, government officials acknowledged that the outage had affected business and administrative operations. Similar problems were reported by public institutions in several European countries.
Businesses Resort to Fax Machines and Telephone Calls
The disruption created difficulties for companies that depend on Microsoft's cloud services to communicate with customers, suppliers and international partners.
Financial organizations were among those affected. Some trading firms temporarily relied on fax machines to confirm transactions after electronic communication became unreliable.
European stock exchange operator Euronext reported problems affecting email communication within its listing operations.
British insurance company Aviva also prepared alternative arrangements to support business communications during the disruption.
Other companies experienced delays issuing financial reports and coordinating scheduled meetings.
For businesses operating across international borders, the loss of email created additional complications. Employees working in different time zones often depend on written electronic communication to manage orders, deliveries and customer requests.
When those systems become unreliable, organizations may struggle to confirm transactions or obtain time-sensitive information.
The outage also disrupted connections between Microsoft services and artificial intelligence platforms operated by OpenAI and Anthropic.
Both companies reported problems involving integrations that depend on Microsoft's infrastructure.
These failures demonstrated how one technology disruption can affect organizations that do not directly operate the underlying systems.
Schools and Universities Report Service Interruptions
Educational institutions across several countries also encountered problems accessing Microsoft services.
Some school districts in the United States warned parents that email systems were unavailable and encouraged families to contact schools by telephone.
Districts in Virginia and New York reported communication difficulties, while other school systems announced that their services had already recovered.
The Colorado School of Mines advised faculty members to consider extending assignment deadlines for students affected by the outage.
In Australia, schools experienced interruptions involving administrative email and staff collaboration tools.
Education officials in Western Australia emphasized that classroom instruction was continuing despite problems with Microsoft services.
The disruption also affected the University of Cape Town in South Africa, where technology officials warned students and employees about difficulties connecting to Microsoft 365.
The City of Cape Town separately reported problems with its municipal email, Teams and OneDrive services.
These examples illustrated how the outage reached organizations with different responsibilities but similar technology requirements.
Microsoft Identifies Technical Problems With Servers
Microsoft initially reported unusually heavy demand on parts of its infrastructure while engineers investigated widespread connection failures.
The company later determined that some servers had unexpectedly become unavailable following a technical problem associated with an infrastructure upgrade and network changes.
When those servers stopped functioning properly, remaining systems experienced additional pressure.
Recovery efforts were complicated because some servers became unresponsive again when engineers attempted to restore normal traffic.
Microsoft responded by adjusting configurations, applying fixes and gradually restoring affected systems.
The company also acknowledged problems involving Microsoft Graph, a service that allows applications to access information across Microsoft 365.
Those failures affected automated workflows, data refreshes and software connectors used by businesses.
According to technical incident reports, some Power Platform applications and connectors experienced intermittent failures because they depended on the affected Microsoft Graph services.
Microsoft said the incident was not caused by a cyberattack or artificial intelligence systems.
The company apologized to customers and said it understood the importance of maintaining dependable services.
Recovery Continues After More Than 24 Hours
By Friday afternoon, Microsoft reported sustained improvements across North America, Europe and the Asia-Pacific region.
Email delivery was improving as engineers worked through messages that had accumulated during the disruption.
However, restoring the underlying infrastructure did not immediately return every service to normal.
Some users continued experiencing occasional connection problems, while others faced delays receiving messages sent earlier during the outage.
Microsoft said it had addressed the underlying technical issue but continued monitoring service availability to ensure that recovery remained stable.
The company had not established a precise worldwide deadline for complete restoration.
Organizations affected by the outage were encouraged to continue using alternative communication methods when necessary.
The incident renewed concerns about the concentration of essential digital services among a relatively small number of major technology providers.
Microsoft 365 is used by hundreds of millions of people, including employees in government, education, healthcare and private industry.
When a central service fails, the consequences can extend far beyond the original technical problem.
Microsoft has promised to provide additional information about the incident after recovery efforts are complete. Businesses and government agencies are continuing to assess the disruption while reviewing their backup communication procedures.