A Microsoft service outage disrupted Outlook, Teams and Copilot on Thursday, November 12, with user reports recorded across 74 countries and territories. Microsoft said elevated load on infrastructure in multiple regions was contributing to connectivity problems and described recovery as limited hours after the disruption began.
The outage spread internationally within about an hour, according to DW, citing Downdetector reports. The count reflects reported problems, rather than an official tally of countries where every Microsoft service was unavailable.
Outlook reports eased but service recovery remained limited
In the United States, Downdetector recorded nearly 130,000 reports of Outlook problems shortly after 1 p.m. Eastern time. By 6 p.m., the number had fallen to about 37,000, though users were still reporting issues with Outlook, Teams and Copilot, The Associated Press reported.
Microsoft said it had paused deployments, redirected traffic away from affected infrastructure and restarted servers as it worked to restore service. In an update shortly after 6 p.m. Eastern time, the company said it was seeing only limited recovery and warned that users could reconnect gradually as capacity returned.
The company initially said it was investigating reports in the Americas, then indicated that Microsoft 365 connectivity problems could affect users in any region. Its subscription services include Outlook and Teams; Copilot was also among the products for which users reported disruptions.
Clayton Ward 
Reid Bentley