A widespread technical failure across Microsoft’s online network stretched into a second day on Friday morning, November 13, 2026, leaving local businesses, everyday computer users, and gamers locked out of email inboxes, cloud files, and digital accounts.
The disruption began midday Thursday and quickly overwhelmed Microsoft’s core systems, triggering nearly 130,000 problem reports for Outlook alone on Downdetector. By early Friday morning, the outage had passed the 12-hour mark, though Microsoft reported early signs of stabilization after overnight setbacks.
Late Thursday night, company engineers noted that initial fixes were not holding after a group of servers went offline, overloading remaining equipment. Overnight, technicians rerouted internet traffic and installed a software patch to repair the digital signals connecting users to Microsoft’s servers. While the patch is showing positive results and delayed emails are being preserved, Microsoft has not given a timeline for full recovery.
Despite social media rumors blaming a global hack, neither Microsoft nor federal cybersecurity officials have found any evidence that this outage is a hack or cyberattack.
Executives and security analysts confirmed that all technical signs point to an internal server routing failure rather than an outside intrusion.
For local shops and offices using Microsoft 365 business accounts, the outage has stalled daily operations. Even businesses with custom website domains have seen emails routed through Microsoft’s Exchange Online stop working across computers and phones, alongside lost access to shared calendars, Microsoft Teams chats, and cloud files in SharePoint and OneDrive. Without dedicated IT staff, many small businesses have fallen back on phone calls and text messages to reach customers.
Folks using free personal @outlook.com, @hotmail.com, or @live.com accounts face similar login errors and frozen inboxes, delaying password-reset links and security codes for banking or utility accounts. Documents saved directly onto a home computer’s hard drive still open normally, and non-Microsoft services like Gmail and Yahoo remain unaffected unless messaging an Outlook address.
Because a single Microsoft login acts as a master key across multiple devices, the disruption extends well beyond email. Gamers reported being signed out of Xbox profiles and losing access to downloaded digital games or cloud saves, while Windows 10 and Windows 11 users who sign into their PCs with an online Microsoft account encountered login delays.
Users of the Microsoft 365 Copilot AI assistant, Microsoft To Do, Planner, the Microsoft Store, and websites using a “Sign in with Microsoft” button have also faced connection failures.
Security specialists warn residents and business owners to stay on alert for fake “tech support” or password-reset scam emails, as scammers often exploit major outages to steal login details.
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