Microsoft 365 outage on 12–13 November 2026: what happened and what to do
An incident affecting Microsoft’s infrastructure has been causing access problems with Microsoft 365 since 12 November 2026. Outlook and Exchange Online are the main services affected, with knock-on effects on features in other services that depend on email and calendars.
This report brings together the available information about the incident’s impact, the features that remain operational and the official channels for tracking updates.
Microsoft 365 incident at a glance
Main reference: MO1550821. The Exchange Online incident is tracked as EX1550543. The impact is international, but not all users or every feature in each application are affected in the same way.
Status snapshot: Microsoft communications dated 13 November 2026 at 07:25 UTC, 08:25 in mainland Spain. At that update, service degradation remained in place and Microsoft reported improved stability after changes to part of its infrastructure. Neither full resolution nor a time for complete recovery had been confirmed.
Which services are affected and what is still working?
Microsoft distinguishes between affected features and those that remain available. This is the reported impact on tools commonly used by businesses:
| Service | Reported issues |
|---|---|
| Outlook / Exchange Online | Mailbox access failures on web, desktop or mobile, and possible email delivery delays. |
| Microsoft Teams | Calendar, invitation and other Exchange-dependent features may fail. Microsoft says core calls, meetings and chats are not affected. |
| SharePoint Online | Some external sharing and Exchange-dependent features may be affected. Direct access to files stored in SharePoint remains operational. |
| Microsoft 365 Copilot | Chat loading, responses or access to work data such as email and calendars may fail. |
| Microsoft Planner | Reliability issues with plan and task operations. |
| Microsoft To Do | The app may fail to load or display errors during operations. |
The advisory also covers other enterprise products and features. Each organisation should check its own admin centre for its specific impact; this table does not mean that all of Microsoft 365 is unavailable.
What happened to Microsoft’s infrastructure?
Microsoft reported that a number of servers became unavailable, shifting load onto the remaining infrastructure. Its teams are applying recovery measures and adjustments to stabilise services.
The definitive technical explanation must be confirmed in Microsoft’s post-incident report. For now, this incident should not be attributed to a cyberattack or given an expected resolution time without official confirmation.
How to check the status and act if Outlook is not working
Before changing device settings, check whether your symptoms match a provider incident. Your IT team can coordinate these checks:
- Open Service health in the Microsoft 365 admin centre and look for MO1550821 or EX1550543 to check your organisation’s impact.
- If the admin centre does not load, check Microsoft’s public status page and official communications.
- Record the affected service, start time, error message and affected users to help diagnosis.
- Coordinate urgent communications by phone and ask your IT team to assess the alternatives available in your environment.
The team responsible for IT systems administration can compare these advisories with symptoms in the local environment before making changes to devices.
Frequently asked questions about the Microsoft 365 outage
When will the Microsoft 365 incident be resolved?
The update consulted does not give a time for full resolution. Recovery may vary between services and organisations. Check the official status for changes after this article.
Are all Teams and SharePoint services down?
No. Microsoft reports that certain features remain available while others dependent on Exchange Online are affected. Check which operation is failing before assuming the entire application is down.
Does an Outlook error mean my device is faulty?
Not necessarily. An access error may be related to this Microsoft incident or to an issue in the local environment. Service health information and the observed symptoms help the IT team distinguish between the two.
Sources and incident updates
Information reviewed on 13 November 2026. This article summarises the status consulted and is not a live status monitor. Refer to the sources for subsequent updates.
How to check service health: Microsoft Learn
Reporting on the start and international impact: BleepingComputer