Thousands of users reported issues using the workplace messaging service Slack as of Wednesday morning, leading to widespread frustration among remote workers and companies alike. The disruption affected both the messaging service’s website and app, leaving many unable to communicate effectively during their workday.
According to DownDetector, more than 3,000 users flagged issues late Wednesday morning. Slack responded with caution, stating, "We're investigating reports of trouble connecting or loading Slack, we'll provide another update once we have news to share," which came around 10:30 AM. By 1 PM, the troubleshooting team announced, "We're still working to restore functionality to affected Slack features such as sending messages, workflows, threads and other API-related features." Despite the chaos, some features remained unaffected, such as notifications and file sharing.
The company, owned by Salesforce, has over 40 million daily users and is utilized by more than 750,000 organizations worldwide, including major players like Target, Uber, and Airbnb. This marks another hurdle for Slack, who previously faced service issues on January 13, 2025. On this occasion, users again struggled with basic functionalities, but it appears the current outage has surpassed those troubles as communication broke down significantly across various platforms.
For many users, the outage felt like more than just inconvenience; it upended their entire work routine. Online reactions erupted almost instantly as people flocked to social media, leading to witty memes and humorous commentary. "Slack has been tits-up for nearly two hours and you haven't got a pun-filled rant about it?" quipped one disgruntled internet user to The Register.
Slack acknowledged their problems on their status page, stating, "Something's not quite right." By 8 AM PT, they confirmed they were actively working on rectifying the issues, signaling urgency as they aimed to restore full functionality as soon as possible. "We appreciate your patience as we sort this out," the Slack team added.
Fast forward to around 1 PM, the company discovered the core issues were related to their database shards, requiring extensive repairs. "We identified the cause of the issue and are continuing to monitor our health metrics, but we are still not fully resolved," Slack said, urging users to brace for continued disruptions.
While some employees were left burning with frustration, others opted to find the humor within the chaos. One user humorously stated on DownDetector, "My boss is working from home ... so I should slack off and study since she can't see me." Another user echoed this sentiment, exclaiming, "Slack being down is the adult version of a snow day," prompting many to reflect on their unexpected free time.
The lighthearted responses starkly contrasted with the seriousness of the situation. Remote work, heavily reliant on seamless communication tools like Slack, exposes the tech industry's vulnerabilities. Users were forced to confront how much they relied on these systems—many feeling somewhat anxious and unsure about their work situations. The gravity of this outage brought to bear the fragile nature of technology and how it can disrupt the flow of operations for countless organizations.
Even as the day wore on, Slack maintained their commitment to restoring full functionality and repairing the outages, with updates flowing through their Slack Status channel and social media posts. The situation begs the question of how organizations can mitigate such disruptions moving forward, considering these tools have become integral cogs within the complex machinery of modern workflows.
For now, the silence from Slack and their determination to act is being met with mixed feelings from the affected users. Some have turned to humor as a coping mechanism, indulging in playful banter about the situation, and keep supporting one another through platforms outside of Slack.
This incident serves as both a reminder of our dependency on digital tools and the unpredictability of technology. While companies like Slack strive for exceptional service, outages will still occur from time to time, leading to unexpected changes and adjustments in everyday work routines. Slack's outage on February 26, 2025, may eventually become just another day of digital misfortune, but for those affected, it was certainly more than just technical difficulties—it was quite the deviation from routine.