Microsoft has provided an update on the ongoing recovery process following a significant disruption affecting its services, including Outlook and Teams, on November 25. The company reported progress in resolving the issues, with recovery efforts continuing as they monitor the situation.
Earlier in the day, users in various regions experienced difficulties accessing Microsoft’s critical communication tools, Outlook and Teams calendars. The outage disrupted business operations, particularly in Europe, where the issues began during the early part of the workday.
Microsoft first acknowledged the problem in a tweet, stating: "We're investigating an issue impacting users attempting to access Exchange Online or functionality within Microsoft Teams calendar. For more information, please refer to MO941162 in the admin center."
Shortly after, the company identified a system change as the likely cause and began taking corrective measures: “We’ve identified a recent change which we believe has resulted in impact. We've started to revert the change and are investigating what additional actions are required to mitigate the issue.”
Microsoft deployed a fix to address the issue, while also manually restarting machines in “unhealthy states.” The company updated users: “We’ve started to deploy a fix which is currently progressing through the affected environment. While this progresses, we’re beginning manual restarts on a subset of machines that are in an unhealthy state.”
The fix was reported to have reached the majority of affected users, with Microsoft stating: “Our fix has reached approximately 98% of the affected environments, and our targeted restarts required for mitigation are being performed as quickly as possible.”
Despite progress, the company admitted delays in restoring services for some users: “Our targeted restarts are progressing slower than anticipated for the majority of affected users. An ETA for resolution will be provided as soon as available.”
In its latest update, Microsoft reported progress in recovery efforts, stating: "We’ve completed additional actions and are seeing some recovery. We’re continuing to monitor the service while we complete other workstreams intended to fully resolve the issue."
The outage left many users unable to communicate with colleagues, particularly as it coincided with the start of the workday in Europe. Frustration quickly spread across social media, with users reporting issues accessing emails and participating in Teams calls.
