A major outage affecting Microsoft Outlook left numerous users unable to send and receive email on Thursday, according to multiple media reports, with some users of other major cloud and internet services also reporting problems.
Reports published on 12 November 2026 described a widespread disruption to Outlook, Microsoft's email service. WIRED characterised the incident as a major outage that left people who depend on email for their work unable to use it. The Kitsap Sun reported that thousands of users had submitted reports of email outages.
Wider Reports of Disruption
CNBC reported that users of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Google also reported issues during the same period. The available reports do not establish whether those problems were related to the Outlook disruption.
Cause and Duration Not Established
The reports reviewed for this article do not specify the cause of the outage, its precise duration, or the full number of people affected. Microsoft's official account of the incident was not included in the material available at the time of writing. Further details are expected to emerge as the company and independent observers examine the disruption.
Impact on Business Users
Email remains a central communication tool for many workplaces, and an interruption to a widely used service can affect day-to-day operations. Users experiencing difficulty are generally advised to consult the service status pages published by the providers concerned for the latest information.
Sources
- WIRED: Major Microsoft Outlook Outage Leaves People With Email Jobs Unable to Email
- CNBC: Microsoft outage hits Outlook. AWS and Google users also report issues
- Kitsap Sun: Is Microsoft Outlook down? Thousands of users reporting email outages
Original report: WIRED
