Microsoft Investigates Major Outlook Online Outage Affecting Users Worldwide

Ongoing Issues with Microsoft Outlook Web Access

Microsoft is currently investigating a widespread outage that is preventing Outlook on the web users from accessing their Exchange Online mailboxes. The disruption, which began several hours ago, has impacted thousands of users attempting to log into their accounts, access the website, or establish a stable connection to Microsoft’s servers.

Reports from DownDetector confirm a surge in complaints, highlighting issues such as login failures, service unavailability, and server connectivity errors. Microsoft has acknowledged the problem, stating that the incident affects “any user attempting to access Outlook on the web.”

The root cause appears to be a faulty code update. Microsoft has identified a section of code that is triggering errors and is currently working on rolling back the recent update to restore service. Engineers are analyzing logs and telemetry data to determine any additional steps needed for a full recovery.

While Microsoft has not specified the regions most affected by this outage, the issue is classified as a critical service disruption under EX1036356 in the Microsoft 365 Admin Center. Users encountering the problem may see a “Something went wrong” error message when trying to access their emails.

Other Ongoing Issues with Exchange Online

In addition to the Outlook outage, Microsoft is also investigating a separate Exchange Online issue (EX1035922) related to search functionality. Due to a code error in a recent update, some users cannot perform searches using Outlook on the web or the new Outlook client.

When affected users try searching their mailboxes, they may receive the error message: “We didn’t find anything, try a different keyword.” Microsoft suggests a temporary workaround—using a filter, such as specifying “Inbox” under folder names, in addition to a keyword search.

Past and Recent Exchange Online Failures

This is not the first time Microsoft has faced issues with Exchange Online in recent weeks. The company has been mitigating a week-long outage (EX1027675, now reclassified under EX1030895) that continues to cause delays and failures when sending or receiving emails.

According to Microsoft, the problem only affects a subset of messages, resulting in Non-Delivery Reports (NDR) and intermittent plain-text calendar invites with unexpected winmail.dat attachments.

Additionally, two weeks ago, Microsoft linked a major Microsoft 365 outage affecting Outlook and Exchange Online authentication to another “code issue.” That incident also impacted Teams users, causing disruptions to calls and meetings.

Microsoft’s Response and Recovery Efforts

Microsoft has now started rolling back the problematic update, reporting signs of improvement in service health. As of March 19 at 15:37 EDT, Microsoft stated:

“We’re reverting the problematic code change, and our service health telemetry is showing improvements. We will continue to monitor telemetry to track recovery progress and pursue additional workstreams to expedite full restoration.”

The company remains focused on fully resolving the issue while continuing to assess any further fixes needed to prevent similar disruptions in the future.

What Undercode Say:

The Growing Challenge of Cloud Service Stability

Microsoft’s recurring Exchange Online and Outlook outages highlight a significant challenge facing cloud service providers—ensuring stability while pushing frequent updates. As businesses and individuals increasingly rely on cloud-based email solutions, service disruptions like these can cause widespread inconvenience, financial loss, and frustration.

The Risks of Frequent Code Updates

One of the major takeaways from this incident is the risk associated with rapid software updates. While companies like Microsoft regularly push updates to improve security, add features, and fix bugs, unintended code issues can lead to serious outages.

This raises questions about Microsoft’s testing protocols—are changes being thoroughly vetted before deployment? Given that multiple recent outages were linked to code changes, it suggests that either testing environments are not catching potential failures, or updates are being rolled out too quickly without adequate safeguards.

Impact on Business and End Users

For businesses, Outlook and Exchange Online are critical tools for communication. Any prolonged outage affects productivity, disrupts workflows, and in some cases, can even cause compliance issues, especially for organizations subject to regulatory email retention policies.

For individual users, email access is essential for day-to-day activities. Losing access to their mailbox—even temporarily—can create serious inconveniences, particularly for those relying on email for work, financial transactions, or personal communication.

The Bigger Picture: Microsoft’s Recent Service Instability

Looking at Microsoft’s recent history, it’s evident that outages are becoming a pattern rather than an exception. Over the past few months, Microsoft 365 services—including Outlook, Teams, and Exchange Online—have experienced multiple disruptions, most of which were linked to software issues rather than cyberattacks or external factors.

What Can Microsoft Do to Prevent Future Outages?

More Rigorous Pre-Deployment Testing – Implementing stricter quality assurance (QA) and testing procedures before pushing updates could reduce the chances of such outages.
Rollback Mechanisms – While Microsoft does have rollback capabilities, the speed of response is crucial. Faster rollback mechanisms can minimize downtime.
Regional Rollouts Instead of Global Deployments – Staggering updates across different regions instead of rolling them out globally could help detect and fix issues before they impact all users.
Increased Transparency – Microsoft should provide clearer communication on affected regions and estimated recovery times to help businesses and users plan accordingly.
AI-Driven Monitoring and Prediction – Leveraging AI to predict potential service disruptions before they escalate could help in preventing widespread outages.

While Microsoft is working to resolve the current outage, the recurring nature of these issues suggests a deeper problem in its cloud service management strategy. As reliance on cloud services grows, so does the expectation for reliability.

Fact Checker Results

Confirmed Issue: Microsoft Outlook on the web outage due to a faulty code update.
Affected Users: Widespread impact, with thousands of user reports on DownDetector.
Current Status: Microsoft has started rolling back the update, showing signs of service improvement.

References:

Reported By: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/microsoft/microsoft-exchange-online-outage-affects-outlook-web-users/
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