Microsoft email outage passes 18 hours

Microsoft's status page still showed Outlook, Teams calendars and Copilot failing at about 14:45 Athens time on the 13th of November 2026. The outage began around 6 pm UK time on the 12th, The Guardian reported.

Microsoft said it saw no sign of an attack. It blamed problems with its servers.

Copilot went down with email

Parts of Microsoft 365 that rely on Exchange Online, its email service, were hit, Microsoft said. Copilot, its AI helper, may fail to load or to reach work files, Microsoft said.

Microsoft now holds delayed email for up to 48 hours before giving up, its status page said.

Hospitals, police and banks hit

Reports came from more than 70 countries, the BBC said, citing the tracker Downdetector. UK hospitals, police forces and schools moved to phones and paper, The Guardian reported.

Japan's trade minister said the outage had a major impact, The Guardian reported. The Bank of England said its critical work was running normally.

Signs of recovery

By about 14:00 Athens time on the 13th, Microsoft said recovery in Europe was encouraging. North America was improving, but some users could still see problems, Microsoft said.

What went viral on X

Microsoft's status post on the 12th had about 2.9 million views.

Below we break down the time

From about 20:00 on the 12th to about 14:00 on the 13th, Athens time, is 18 hours, by our arithmetic. That is three quarters of a day.

What is confirmed and what is not

Microsoft has not said how many people were hit. Microsoft 365 has about 430 million users, the BBC said, but not all were affected.

Key facts

The outage began on the evening of the 12th of November 2026.

Outlook, Teams and Copilot were hit.

Microsoft said there was no sign of an attack.

Reports came from more than 70 countries.