Microsoft Outage: Live Updates on 365, Office, Outlook, and Teams Disruption

Microsoft recently experienced significant outages affecting various services, including Microsoft 365, Outlook, Teams, and Azure. The disruption began on January 22, 2026, shortly after 11 a.m. Pacific Time, when users began reporting difficulties accessing these platforms.

Overview of the Outage

At its peak, the issues saw over 12,000 reports related to Outlook and nearly 16,000 for Microsoft 365 on platforms like Down Detector. Despite some services showing signs of recovery, reports indicated that the problems persisted for many users.

Current Status and Updates

• Microsoft acknowledged ongoing disruptions and reported that they had restored some infrastructure to a healthy state.
• The company indicated a need for further load balancing to fully mitigate the outage.
• Users reported difficulties with email functionality, experiencing issues such as emails not sending or receiving.

Access Challenges

The official Microsoft status page became difficult to access, often displaying a 429 error due to high traffic. Users struggled to obtain updates through the status page, which frequently went down.

Specific Services Affected

• Outlook: Continued to have the highest number of reports, with notable issues in email functionality.
• Microsoft 365: Users faced challenges with functionality and access.
• Teams: Reports showed fluctuating access issues.
• Azure: Initially affected, it began to recover but still faced interruptions.
• Microsoft Store: Encountered increased report levels during the outage.

Cause of the Disruptions

Microsoft identified issues related to a portion of its service infrastructure in North America. This failure affected traffic processing and load balancing, resulting in widespread service disruptions.

Communications from Microsoft

Throughout the incident, Microsoft provided updates via social media and their status page, though access was inconsistent. The company reassured users that they were actively investigating the issues and working toward a complete resolution.

Conclusion

The disruption significantly impacted users across various Microsoft platforms, highlighting the importance of infrastructure stability. As Microsoft works to fully resolve these issues, users are advised to monitor official communications for updates on service restoration.