Microsoft 365 is currently facing significant outages affecting users worldwide, with reports of failures primarily concentrating on services such as Outlook, Teams, and other Office 365 applications. These disruptions, which began on March 1, have left tens of thousands unable to access key functionalities for over three hours, raising concerns and frustrations among users.
According to Downdetector, user complaints began rising around 3:30 p.m. ET on March 1, peaking with over 37,000 reports for Outlook, 24,000 for Office 365, and about 150 complaints for Microsoft Teams. The majority of these reports originated from major U.S. cities, including New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles, though social media posts indicated the outage had affected users globally. Affected users took to social media, expressing their frustrations, with one stating, "I thought I was getting my outlook hacked; turns out the entire Microsoft platform is getting hacked. Thank God it’s not personal," after experiencing issues accessing their emails.
By 4:34 p.m. ET on the same day, Microsoft acknowledged the problem through its official Microsoft 365 Status account. They mentioned, "We’re investigating an issue in which users may be unable to access Outlook features and services." The problem, they reported, was related to multiple Microsoft 365 service outages, not only limited to Outlook but also affecting Teams and Exchange functionality.
At approximately 5:00 p.m. ET, Microsoft communicated they had identified the potential cause of the disruption, which they later described as stemming from “problematic code changes.” By 7:02 p.m. ET on March 1, they confirmed the restoration of services after reverting the problematic code. "We’ve identified a potential cause of impact and have reverted the suspected code to alleviate impact. We’re monitoring telemetry to confirm recovery," said Microsoft in their follow-up communication.
Despite the fixes implemented, some users continued to report issues. By early March 3, the “Status Is Down” account on X indicated residual disruptions with Outlook and Office 365 services. One frustrated user complained, "Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves,” reflecting the financial concerns surrounding business operations due to these outages.
Reports indicated the outage’s impact was even broader, affecting not just Outlook and Teams, but also OneDrive, SharePoint, and Azure services. Users reported inability to connect to Exchange, with many stating, "It affects multiple services, including Teams, Exchange, SharePoint, Bing, and so on. So, it’s bigger than this," as they tried to navigate their work amid the chaos.
Over the preceding weekend, just before the March 1 disruption, Microsoft had addressed another outage related to Outlook and authentication services impacting Exchange Online. Users experienced difficulties accessing their calendars and messages post-repair, indicating a pattern of unresolved connectivity issues related to Microsoft 365 services.
This latest series of outages raises alarms about user reliability on Microsoft's ecosystem, particularly for businesses dependent on these tools for daily operations. The company is no stranger to connectivity issues—back in November 2024, Microsoft Teams faced delays spanning over 24 hours, and there were earlier reported problems with Copilot and Multi-Factor Authentication.
The unfortunate timing of these outages coincides with previous disruptions. Last month, Azure faced severe outages affecting Nordic customers, along with login problems with 365 services experienced by numerous users right at the start of this year. It seems the technical team at Microsoft will have their hands full troubleshooting these recurring issues as they work to stabilize their offerings.
Overall, the Microsoft 365 services outage has highlighted vulnerabilities within Microsoft's infrastructure. With thousands of users reliant on these services for business communication and productivity, the disruptions serve as a significant wake-up call for both users and the tech giant to address these technical challenges. The company has yet to provide comprehensive insights or reports detailing the outlying factors behind these outages but is promising relief as they continue to monitor system performance and user feedback.