Microsoft outage enters second day as Outlook service slowly recovers

Microsoft is gradually restoring its Outlook email service after a major outage affecting global businesses and governments entered its second day. Some users regained access Friday, though recovery remains incomplete. The disruption began Thursday afternoon, impacting Outlook, Teams, Copilot AI, and multiple Microsoft 365 services. Downdetector reported nearly 130,000 complaints. Government offices in the U.S., UK, and India, plus NHS facilities and airlines, reported communication issues. OpenAI and Anthropic also experienced connectivity problems. Microsoft attributed the failure to Exchange Online infrastructure overload and unexpected server shutdowns during automated checks. No evidence suggests malicious activity. The company is restoring servers and clearing delayed emails but has not provided a full recovery timeline.