Global Microsoft Outage

• Hours-long outage: A Microsoft outage that began over 12 hours ago has left millions around the world without access to Outlook email, Teams meeting tools and other staples of modern office life. Banks, governments and courts in multiple countries are affected. • No quick fix: Microsoft said it had “observed marginal success” in solving the problem. The outage was not caused by a cybersecurity breach , the tech giant said. • Global disruption: Outage reports “reached 74 countries and territories in about an hour,” according to Downdetector. In the US, city governments across the country reported widespread email disruptions. In the finance hub of Hong Kong, bankers at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs told CNN their work had been disrupted. Read more Updates (14) All catch up +0 3 min ago Published Nov 13, 2026, 2:57 AM ET Link Copied! The Microsoft global outage is ongoing after the US tech giant first reported problems with its email services on Thursday. More than 430 million people use Microsoft 365 apps and more than 90% of Fortune 500 companies use its Copilot AI chatbot, according to the company’s website. Millions worldwide lost access to Outlook email, Teams meeting tools and other essentials of modern office life as the disruption quickly spread . The company reported “marginal success” in repairing the outage in its latest update, early Friday ET. A Microsoft executive confirmed the outage was not the result of a security breach. As Europe woke on Friday, the outage remained widespread. Here’s the latest if you’re just tuning in: Return to sender: The outage hit in 74 countries and territories in around an hour, according to tracking website Downdetector. Several airlines reported disruptions to their email support. In the US : City governments countrywide reported widespread email disruptions and encouraged residents to call local offices and agencies if necessary. At least one American company postponed its quarterly earnings call. In Asia Pacific: Some of Japan’s government services switched to paper documents due to the outage and courts in the Philippines experienced delays. Australian schools, courts and government services were also affected. In Hong Kong, staff at Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs told CNN their work was disrupted through to their lunch break. Scams warning : Banks warned customers to beware of scams and phishing attempts as cybercriminals may use the outage to target individuals and businesses. CNN’s Helen Regan, Hilary Whiteman, Karina Tsui, Kathleen Magramo and Ross Adkin contributed reporting. Read more 14 min ago Published Nov 13, 2026, 2:46 AM ET Link Copied! More than 12 hours after Microsoft first warned of a global outage affecting some of its most popular products, the company said it had “observed marginal success” in fixing the problem. “We’re continuing to monitor activity across regions to evaluate server status and determine actions that can be taken to improve capacity,” Microsoft said in a statement posted on its Service Health Status page early Friday. “This includes reviewing server performance and confirming that developed patches have been applied and working as intended after infrastructure reboots are completed.” “At this point, we have observed marginal success,” the company wrote. Reiterating what it said in an earlier statement, Microsoft stated it was not aware of any malicious activity causing the outage but will continue to treat the incident “with urgency and priority until full resolution.” “Once mitigated, we will provide full details of the root cause, defense-in-depth repair items, and more within a Post-Incident Report.” Read more 57 min ago Published Nov 13, 2026, 2:03 AM ET Link Copied! An IndiGo Airbus A321-253XLR aircraft takes off from Athens International Airport in Athens, Greece, on November 6. Nicolas Koutsokostas/NurPhoto/Getty Images Several airlines are reporting disruptions to their email support and communications due to the Microsoft outage, posting statements to customers on social media. Indian budget carrier IndiGo said its “email support services are currently impacted, and we may not be able to receive your emails.” It directed customers to reach out via their website or mobile app. Akasa Air, another low-cost Indian carrier, similarly said its “email support services are currently experiencing delays.” And South African carrier CemAir said it was “experiencing some system disruptions due to the global Microsoft outage.” None of the carriers reported flight disruptions. Indian flag carrier Air India said it was “closely monitoring the ongoing Microsoft outage” and has rerouted emails. The airline said its flight operations “remain unaffected” and “there is currently no impact on any of our communication channels.” “Consider this your cue to plan that getaway.” Read more 1 hr 1 min ago Published Nov 13, 2026, 1:59 AM ET Link Copied! The Microsoft logo is visible in Munich, Germany on October 26. Matthias Balk/picture alliance/Getty Images The Microsoft outage comes at a time when Europe is pushing for greater tech sovereignty, aiming to run its own servers and reduce dependency on foreign providers. Europe lacks the kind of mega tech companies that abound in the US, making it reliant on American firms for its digital services, but there is sentiment in Europe that it should become less reliant on the United States for its tech needs. That sentiment has hardened during US President Donald Trump’s second term, when he has hit the continent with huge tariffs and threatened to take over the Danish territory of Greenland . Earlier this year French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu said that government officials will ditch Zoom and other US-owned video conferencing tools and begin using French-owned software. The decision is intended partly to reduce “dependencies on non-European actors,” Lecornu said. “The internet in Europe is essentially a US construct, a US system. And Europe doesn’t really have a competitor to any of that,” Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics, told CNN earlier this year. On Friday, that question resurfaced as Microsoft’s outage stretched beyond 12 hours, disrupting countries across the globe . “That tech sovereignty conversation, while it’s been mostly political, I bet it’s real sharp today,” technology journalist and founder of The Rip Current podcast Jacob Ward told CNN. “I think it is probably, for everybody, a wake up call about just how vulnerable we can be, even as we enjoy the convenience of these cloud systems.” Anna Cooban contributed reporting. Read more 1 hr 2 min ago Published Nov 13, 2026, 1:58 AM ET Link Copied! City governments across the United States have reported widespread email disruptions since Microsoft’s global outage began and have encouraged residents to call local offices and agencies if necessary. The outages are affecting inbound and outbound email services at local government offices across major cities, including Miami Beach , Austin , and Jacksonville , though officials assured residents that emergency services were still active. Baltimore County officials said on X that government staff could not send or receive emails and urged residents to contact relevant departments by phone. In California, officials from the cities of Pasadena , Fremont , Burbank , and Santa Barbara also issued statements warning of downed email use. Several police and sheriff departments said the outage was affecting their email and communication platforms, including Colorado’s Arapahoe Sheriff’s Office, which said the outage had delayed bond payments for prisoners . Read more 1 hr 30 min ago Published Nov 13, 2026, 1:30 AM ET Link Copied! Memes and jokes abounded online as the global outage of Microsoft’s Outlook emails and Teams meeting platform crossed the 12-hour mar