Microsoft Services Hit by Major Outage

On Thursday, Microsoft users reported widespread outages impacting both Exchange Online mailboxes and Microsoft Teams functionality. The company initially acknowledged investigations into issues affecting mailbox access across multiple connection methods in the Americas, and problems with Teams in North America.

Microsoft clarified that the strain on its infrastructure was caused by a number of servers unexpectedly becoming unavailable, not an increase in user traffic. The company stated that its investigation pointed towards a specific component responsible for processing server health checks as a potential origin of the problem.

By Thursday afternoon, Microsoft indicated progress towards a resolution. An alternative service health check method was validated, allowing some affected servers to return to service, with broader application planned. Automated recovery systems were also being prepared to continuously monitor and restart unresponsive servers, thereby maintaining stability.

Users experienced prolonged disruptions with Outlook as Microsoft deployed several fixes. While no recent changes correlated with the outage's start, the company took steps to prevent further server impact. Microsoft confirmed that the issue could affect Microsoft 365 service connectivity globally, and they aggressively pursued all pathways to reduce impact, including pausing deployments and restarting affected servers.