New Delhi: Microsoft’s widespread service disruption has continued into its second day, affecting Outlook, Microsoft Teams, Copilot and several other Microsoft 365 applications across multiple countries. The outage began on Thursday, November 12, and had lasted nearly 22 hours by 7:45 PM IST on Friday, November 13.
The disruption has created difficulties for millions of users who rely on Microsoft’s platforms for emails, online meetings and routine business operations. According to reports collected by Downdetector, service problems have been reported across 74 countries and territories.
Initially affecting Outlook users in the Americas, the disruption gradually extended to Europe and Asia, including India. Several airlines, government organisations and technology companies also reported difficulties with their services. Microsoft said its technical teams were working to restore affected servers and improve system stability, with some users reporting gradual improvements.
When Did the Microsoft Outlook Outage Begin?
According to Microsoft’s service health records, the major disruption started at approximately 9:47 PM IST on November 12, corresponding to 4:17 PM UTC.
The impact became particularly noticeable in the United States later that evening, where Downdetector received nearly 1.3 lakh complaints about Outlook services. Users reported problems accessing their inboxes, delays in receiving emails and difficulties signing into their accounts.
The disruption continued throughout Friday, November 13. However, the extent of the problem and the pace of recovery differed across geographical regions and Microsoft services.
Which Companies and Government Services Were Affected?
The Microsoft outage also affected organisations in India and several other countries.
Indian airlines IndiGo and Akasa Air reported difficulties with their email-based customer support systems. IndiGo advised passengers to seek assistance through its official website, mobile application and 6E Skai chatbot. Air India, meanwhile, stated that its operations were running normally and that it had redirected its email traffic.
Technology companies also experienced problems. OpenAI and Anthropic reported disruptions involving their Microsoft 365 connectors, affecting users who depend on these integrations to access workplace information through AI platforms.
Government organisations in other countries also faced service interruptions. Singapore reported difficulties with government email services, while Japan acknowledged disruptions affecting government IT infrastructure. The Supreme Court of the Philippines also reported problems with certain operations.
Was Xbox Also Affected by the Microsoft Outage?
Some users reported Xbox-related problems on online outage-tracking platforms during the wider Microsoft disruption. However, there was no confirmed evidence of a widespread Xbox network outage directly connected to the Microsoft 365 incident.
Xbox services operate separately from Outlook and Exchange Online. Service monitoring also indicated that Xbox was functioning normally.
Users experiencing login or multiplayer issues were advised to check the official Xbox service status page rather than automatically linking their problems to the Microsoft 365 outage.
Microsoft’s Response and Latest Recovery Update
Microsoft identified server availability problems that placed additional pressure on its remaining infrastructure. According to the company, some servers that had been restarted became unresponsive again when user traffic returned.
The company said, “We’re aggressively pursuing all pathways to reduce impact.”
Microsoft’s engineering teams began redistributing network traffic, restarting affected systems and testing technical changes to bring services back online. The company reported improvements in availability across certain regions, although full restoration had not yet been confirmed.
Microsoft executive Charles Lamanna also stated that there was no indication of malicious activity or a cyberattack behind the disruption.
For users who were still unable to access their accounts, Microsoft had not announced a confirmed timeline for complete recovery. Even as access gradually returned, delays in email delivery could continue for some users.
Disclaimer: This article is based on reported service disruptions and company statements available during the specified reporting period. Outage conditions and service availability may change as technical recovery progresses. Readers should refer to Microsoft’s official service status updates for the latest information.