Microsoft outage disrupts Outlook, Teams, and Microsoft 365 globally

Microsoft's global outage affecting Outlook, Teams, and other Microsoft 365 services was not caused by a cyber-security incident, the company said, but its fix efforts have largely failed so far. The disruption has impacted users worldwide, with 140,000 reports logged on Downdetector. The outage stems from "elevated load" on Microsoft's infrastructure, where servers became "unexpectedly unavailable," straining remaining systems. Affected customers report issues with email, files, and calendars, while some Teams functions work. OpenAI, Anthropic, Singaporean government, and Australia's spy agency have reported knock-on problems. Microsoft said Friday it sees "early signs of stabilisation" but capacity has not returned to normal. The incident highlights reliance on Microsoft's services, with GP surgeries and police forces advising alternative contact methods.