Microsoft says fixes for global service outage are not working as expected
The software giant is identifying alternate workstreams to increase capacity after Outlook, Teams and Copilot services faced widespread disruptions.
Microsoft has stated that changes applied to fix an ongoing global outage are not working as expected. According to reports from The Times of India and The New Indian Express, the company is now identifying alternate workstreams to increase capacity due to sustained traffic management imbalances.
The outage, which began on Thursday, has impacted Microsoft 365 services including Outlook, Teams and the AI assistant Copilot. Website performance platform Downdetector reported that nearly 130,000 users worldwide experienced problems at the peak of the disruption, while the Financial Express noted that reports reached nearly 140,000 around 18:00 GMT on November 12.
Microsoft identified elevated load across its infrastructure as a likely cause. The company clarified that this was not due to an increase in traffic, but because several servers became unexpectedly unavailable after failing automated health checks, shifting additional load onto the remaining infrastructure.
The disruption has affected various government operations. In Australia, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade advised directing urgent sanctions enquiries by telephone, while the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry reported service disruptions to its messaging systems. In Japan, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Masanao Ozaki said the outage affected the government's IT infrastructure.
Australian Home Affairs and Cybersecurity Minister Tony Burke said that Microsoft officials do not believe they are dealing with a cyber event. He suggested the issue might be similar to a previous incident where an update went awry. There is currently no information on when services will be fully restored.