Microsoft 365 services experience major outage for thousands of users: Here's what happened
While Microsoft 365 services are starting to stabilize, the outage affected a large number of users and industries that rely on Microsoft’s suite for critical operations. Microsoft continues to monitor the situation for any further issues.
Thousands of users faced disruptions in accessing Microsoft's popular Microsoft 365 services on September 12, 2024, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com. The outage affected over 16,000 users, impacting access to widely used productivity tools such as Word, Excel, and Teams.
Microsoft 365 Down for Over 16,000 Users
Reports began flooding Downdetector early on Thursday, with more than 16,500 users experiencing issues with Microsoft 365 services. At its peak, the outage impacted up to 23,000 users, according to the data. The disruption affected a wide range of industries and users who rely on the productivity suite for work and personal use.
Microsoft’s Response: Investigation Underway
Microsoft took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to address the situation, stating, “We're investigating an issue where users may be unable to access multiple Microsoft 365 services.” However, no immediate explanation was given for the root cause of the outage.
This comes nearly two months after a CrowdStrike software update caused significant disruptions, affecting 8.5 million Windows devices across various industries like airlines, healthcare, and banking.
Azure Cloud Platform Also Impacted
In a related development, Microsoft's Azure cloud platform confirmed it was also investigating issues for users attempting to connect to services through AT&T networks. Many AT&T customers reported difficulties accessing Microsoft 365 services, with nearly 4,000 AT&T users submitting issues to Downdetector.
Signs of recovery and cause identified
By late morning, Microsoft had identified a change made by a third-party internet service provider (ISP) as the cause of the disruption. “We’ve worked with the third-party ISP and confirmed that a change within their managed environment resulted in the impact. The ISP has reverted the change, and we're now seeing signs of recovery,” Microsoft stated on its service dashboard.
Some users on social media reported that Microsoft's services were slowly being restored, but Microsoft has yet to provide a full recovery timeline.
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