Microsoft 365 services recovering after outage: Outlook still unstable for some users

Microsoft says Outlook and the other services have largely returned to stability after the outage that began on November 12, but full normalcy has not yet been reached for all customers. The stated cause is a network capacity issue, with malicious origin ruled out.

What happened

Microsoft has announced that its services, including Outlook, have overall returned to operation and are showing stability, although restoration is still underway for some customers and geographic areas. IT之家 reports this based on the official @MSFT365Status account and the company's communication MO1550821.

According to the account provided, the outage began at around 13:25 on November 12, 2026, U.S. Eastern Time, corresponding to the early morning of November 13 in China. Outlook, Teams, Copilot and OneDrive were affected, along with work features that depend on Exchange Online.

The causes, according to the company

Microsoft linked the outage to earlier network capacity expansion work: the problem reportedly emerged after a recent infrastructure change and caused increased load on the systems. The company said it had resolved the underlying cause and classified the event as a technical malfunction, ruling out a cyberattack and any link to artificial intelligence or agent systems.

In the same communication, Microsoft apologized to customers and partners for the service interruption, without providing further details on the technical methods of the network work that triggered the problem.

Restoration status and open questions

To return services to normal, the company chose a gradual restoration, reintroducing traffic in phases and verifying stability at each stage. Microsoft acknowledged that this approach takes longer but said it was motivated by the need to ensure a return to operation without further disruptions.

The results reported so far concern access to mailboxes and the handling of delayed messages, areas in which improvements are being recorded. According to the company, it may still be possible to encounter intermittent access or delays in email delivery while work continues on the final portions of infrastructure still to be brought back to normal operation.

It is not disclosed how many people or organizations are still affected, nor which areas are involved. No firm timeline has been communicated for completion of the restoration: the full normalcy announced by the company concerns most services, but the definitive condition for all customers remains something to be verified. The report, picked up by a Chinese technology outlet, is based on Microsoft's public statements and not on independent verification.

Source and attribution: this original summary was prepared by AICronaca based on the report by IT之家 ↗The statements are attributed to the source; any information limitations: The material does not indicate the number of users or companies involved, the regions still affected, the overall duration of the outage, or a firm date for completion of the restoration. The information comes from Microsoft's communication and its coverage by IT之家, without independent corroboration.