- Microsoft 365 core services, including Teams, Outlook, SharePoint, and OneDrive, are affected by a widespread outage.
- The company has already identified the problem, and it’s actively working to fully restore the services.
- Users may continue to experience login issues, delayed emails, and interrupted collaboration.
- The Microsoft 365 outage has been resolved, and services are now operational.
A major service disruption has struck Microsoft 365 today, knocking out access to a wide range of productivity tools used by businesses. The outage has affected key services, such as Outlook, Microsoft Defender, Teams, SharePoint Online, and Purview. The company acknowledged and is actively working on restoring full service.
What happened
Reports of downtime began around 2PM EST, with user complaints spiking on Downdetector and social platforms into the afternoon.
At peak, tens of thousands of users were affected, reporting login failures, undelivered emails, connection errors, and degraded app functionality.
Microsoft’s official status alerts confirm issues across multiple Microsoft 365 services, with users encountering errors such as 451 4.3.2 temporary server error
when sending or receiving email.
In the latest update, Microsoft says We’re refining our load balancing efforts to optimize performance and reduce potential impact. In parallel, we’re assessing alternative solutions to reinforce recovery and enhance long-term stability
.
Cause identified
The company traced the outage to a portion of its service infrastructure in North America that stopped correctly processing traffic, disrupting traffic flow and service availability. Engineers restored the affected infrastructure component, but ongoing load balancing and traffic redistribution are still required to fully stabilize the platform.
Services impacted
Some of the affected services include:
- Outlook email
- Microsoft Teams
- Exchange Online
- SharePoint Online and OneDrive
- Microsoft Defender and Purview
- Other Microsoft 365‑dependent services
User experience
Thousands of users reported being unable to send or receive email, experiencing delayed messages, or experiencing complete login failures. Teams users also experienced issues joining meetings or accessing chats. Many errors surfaced concurrently across multiple regions, especially in major North American markets.
Microsoft’s response
Microsoft posted updates through its official “Microsoft 365 Status” (@MSFT365Status) account on X, acknowledging the impact and outlining recovery actions. The company urges administrators and users to monitor the Microsoft 365 Admin Center and service health dashboard for real‑time status information.
Current situation
Though initial infrastructure issues have been addressed, intermittent access problems may persist as traffic is rebalanced across healthy systems. No official timeline has been provided for full restoration. Users are advised to check Microsoft’s service health pages and status updates for the latest information.
Microsoft 365 outages are relatively rare, but not unprecedented. Previous disruptions have occurred due to networking changes or infrastructure issues. Today’s outage highlights the dependence of global enterprises on cloud‑based productivity suites and the operational risks when core components fail.
Update January 23, 2026: The company has confirmed that the impact has been resolved
and all services are now operational.
Mauro Huculak is a Windows How-To Expert and founder of Pureinfotech in 2010. With over 22 years as a technology writer and IT Specialist, Mauro specializes in Windows, software, and cross-platform systems such as Linux, Android, and macOS.
Certifications: Microsoft Certified Solutions Associate (MCSA), Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP), VMware Certified Professional (VCP), and CompTIA A+ and Network+.
Mauro is a recognized Microsoft MVP and has also been a long-time contributor to Windows Central.
You can follow him on YouTube, Threads, BlueSky, X (Twitter), LinkedIn and About.me. Email him at [email protected].