Microsoft outage disrupts email and other services

Microsoft is investigating widespread connectivity issues affecting Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook.

The company initially reported Thursday that users in the Americas were experiencing problems accessing Exchange Online mailboxes through multiple connection methods.

Microsoft later said the disruption may be worldwide.

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"While we're working to mitigate impact, we've confirmed the issue may affect Microsoft 365 service connectivity for users in any region," the company said in an update on social media.

Microsoft said its investigation found that a portion of its infrastructure was experiencing unusually high demand across multiple regions, likely contributing to the connectivity problems.

The company has not said how many users are affected or when service is expected to be fully restored.

However, it noted that it is "aggressively pursuing all pathways to reduce impact."

While the outage frustrated some workers, others appeared happy to have an unexpected break.

"Take your time, baby girl. Matter of fact, dont fix it until after 5PM," one social media user joked.

Another offered Microsoft some tongue-in-cheek tech support: "Did you try unplugging it and plugging it back in????"