Microsoft says it is working to restore service after a widespread Exchange Online problem left many users unable to reach their inboxes

November 13, 2026

The Microsoft outage on Thursday, November 12, disrupted Outlook email services, leaving users across multiple regions struggling to send, receive, and access their inboxes.

Various outage trackers across the globe logged problems with Outlook, Teams and other Microsoft products as the day went on. Users reported delayed or missing messages, sign-in failures and a desktop app that froze repeatedly.

What Microsoft Said

Microsoft first said it was investigating problems accessing Exchange Online mailboxes “through multiple connection methods” in the Americas. It later said the issue could affect Microsoft 365 connectivity for users in any region, according to ABC News.

Microsoft continued investigating the outage as reports of connectivity problems spread across regions, raising concerns about the availability of essential Microsoft 365 services.

The company said some of its infrastructure was under heavy load because a number of servers had become unexpectedly unavailable. To reduce the impact, Microsoft said it had paused all deployments, moved traffic away from affected infrastructure, and begun restarting servers.

Some of those steps did not bring the relief Microsoft expected. Around 6 p.m. ET, it said a portion of the servers had returned to service and were stable, but warned they could become unresponsive again once traffic returned. Engineers were working on a fix for that problem.

Microsoft also said an earlier Teams disruption had been resolved.

Impact on Public Services

The disruption reached public services. New York City’s Emergency Management Department warned residents they might face delays contacting city agencies by email or using online services that depend on Microsoft systems. It advised people with urgent requests to use another contact method, and to call 311 for non-emergency city services and 911 for emergencies.

What Users Can Do

While Microsoft worked to resolve the outage, affected users could take several steps to check service availability and maintain access to important communications.

  • Try Outlook on the web if the desktop app is not working.
  • Restart the app and check your internet connection.
  • Avoid resending the same email repeatedly, since it may be delivered once the service recovers.
  • Follow Microsoft’s official updates on its Microsoft 365 Status account on X.

Microsoft has not yet shared a final root cause for the outage. This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Conclusion

The Microsoft outage highlights the importance of reliable cloud infrastructure and alternative communication channels. While Microsoft continues working to restore affected services, users and organizations should monitor official service updates and prepare backup communication options for future disruptions.

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