Microsoft outage disrupts services at US companies, schools and governments

A widespread Microsoft Outlook outage has significantly impacted companies, local governments and educational institutions throughout the United States, disrupting essential email, calendar, video conferencing and cloud storage services. Although Outlook began returning to normal operations on Friday morning, authorities in regions such as Miami, Maryland and Los Angeles cautioned that certain staff members and services remained unavailable following the disruption, which initially began around 1pm ET on Thursday.

In Arapahoe county, Colorado, a local detention facility reported an inability to process online bond payments required for the release of detainees. Officials stated in a social media message: “Until Outlook email is restored, anyone needing to post bond for immediate release must do so in person at the jail.” Meanwhile, the Los Angeles county sheriff’s department confirmed that it was also facing disruptions to its email and communication platforms.

Emergency services in Gillespie county and Fredericksburg, Texas, reported that they were unable to receive emails, advising residents and partners to contact them by telephone instead. Similarly, the Washington suburban sanitary commission in Maryland, responsible for water and sewer services, noted that technical response times might be delayed and some customers could face difficulties paying water bills.

Congressional staff in Washington DC expressed frustration regarding the outage during the current lame duck session of Congress. Some individuals informed Politico that the timing was particularly problematic, as offices were actively negotiating legislation and planning for the upcoming Congress. Sharon Eliza Nichols, the communications director for congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, remarked: “Shall we start conducting all official business via DM?”

Educational institutions also faced challenges, with school districts in Port Washington, New York, and Richmond, Virginia, informing parents on Friday morning of ongoing outages and requesting that they communicate via phone or alternative platforms. Conversely, the Albany school district reported that its services had been restored. The Colorado School of Mines urged faculty to show flexibility with deadlines for students unable to access Microsoft tools, noting that many other systems, such as Canvas and Google Workspace, remained unaffected.

Anthropic, the developer of Claude, which is preparing for a stock market debut with a valuation of up to $1.4tn, reported signs of recovery from the outages, though warned that some users might still encounter errors. OpenAI also confirmed it was investigating performance issues related to “Microsoft connectors.” The company stated: “We’re investigating an issue with Microsoft connectors where new connections may be broken and tools are not working as expected. We’ll share an update when we know more.”

Within the financial sector, the industrial manufacturer Workhorse Group was forced to reschedule its Q3 earnings call, which had been set for Thursday afternoon. Microsoft executive Charles Lamanna addressed the situation on social media late Thursday, stating: “there is no indication this is the result of malicious or cyber activity.”

By Friday morning, Microsoft reported “improvements in service availability” while noting that “some users may still experience intermittent access issues or delayed email delivery as a recovery continues.” Most issues appeared resolved by the end of the day, with schools and businesses returning to normal operations and congressional staff noting improved Outlook functionality. The Arapahoe county detention facility confirmed it was once again receiving email notifications for online bond payments, and Texas emergency services reported that emails were beginning to arrive, adding: “Thanks for your patience with the worldwide outage!”