Microsoft restores European services after global outage affecting 70 countries

Microsoft is gradually restoring services across Europe after a global outage lasting over 12 hours disrupted communications for businesses, hospitals, police, and financial institutions in more than 70 countries. The company reported encouraging recovery progress, though some users may still face intermittent issues. The outage affected Microsoft 365 services including Outlook, Teams, and Exchange Online, forcing some organizations to resort to fax machines for financial transactions and delaying corporate announcements. Microsoft has extended its email delivery window to 48 hours to manage backlogs, and stated there is no evidence of malicious activity. This marks the second major Microsoft 365 disruption in 2026, renewing concerns about global reliance on a single technology provider. Microsoft shares fell 2.6 percent in pre-market trading, though the stock remains up about 8 percent since the start of the year.