Microsoft system is paralyzed globally: Outlook, Teams, Copilot are affected
Microsoft said that many servers were unexpectedly unavailable, and AI services such as OpenAI and Anthropic were also affected.
Quick Look
- Microsoft's systems were disrupted on a large scale, and services such as Teams, Outlook, and Copilot experienced connection problems, affecting tens of thousands of users in 74 countries around the world, including the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore.
- AI services such as OpenAI and Anthropic were also affected.
- Microsoft said that many servers were unexpectedly unavailable.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
Microsoft reported an outage on its Azure cloud platform last month, affecting its suite of office tools and companies around the world.
Microsoft systems experienced large-scale outages, and services including Teams, Outlook, and Copilot experienced "connection issues," which also affected the connections of AI services such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
It is reported that tens of thousands of users around the world are affected, covering the United States, Japan, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, etc.
Microsoft said on the
According to data from the monitoring website Downdetector, the Microsoft service outage affected 74 countries in about an hour. At around 18:00 GMT on Thursday, the number of reports of Outlook problems worldwide reached a peak of nearly 140,000, more than 2,000 times the normal level.
Downdetector said the issue had been ongoing for at least eight hours and was first detected just after 1615 GMT on Thursday.
The BBC understands that there is currently no indication that the outage was caused by a cyber attack.
User cannot send email
For businesses and international organizations, Microsoft 365 online services are an essential tool for work.
Currently, users are unable to view emails or files, but messaging and online meetings are generally normal.
Affected users used memes and jokes to poke fun at Microsoft's service outage, and also took the opportunity to laugh at themselves about their workplace lives.
"Days like today remind you that your entire job is to send emails," US real estate company Surmont said on Instagram.
Some netizens also wrote: "If Outlook cannot be restored, can we take the entire week off according to law?"
Artificial intelligence companies are also affected
The outage also affected other companies, including artificial intelligence giants Anthropic and OpenAI, which work with Microsoft systems.
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, said it was investigating an issue affecting its connection to Microsoft services, causing some tools to not work as expected.
Microsoft reported an outage on its Azure cloud platform last month, affecting the tech giant's suite of office tools and companies around the world.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Microsoft will continue repairs and gradually restore affected services
Very likely · Within hours
Some restored services may become unresponsive again
Likely · Within hours
Open Questions
- Which servers are unexpectedly unavailable?
- Specific time for service to be fully restored
- Will it cause substantial business losses to enterprise users?
