Microsoft is dealing with a major outage affecting services like Outlook and Teams. The issue has impacted users, companies, and some government operations globally. On Friday, Microsoft said it was working to identify and fix the problem, while adding that there were no indications that the outage is caused by malicious activity. Authorities and officials in Singapore, Japan and Australia say they have seen impacts from the outage, while businesses in Hong Kong and India say some operations have been affected. Over 130,000 users reported issues on Thursday. While reports have since decreased, many users globally are still reporting problems.

AP

It was the sound of e-silence. No Microsoft Outlook email chimes, no Teams message pings, no new notifications and, very possibly, no work getting done. Microsoft 365 teetered on the edge of becoming Microsoft 364 as the global outage stretched from Thursday into, ironically, Friday the 13th. The disruption has impacted an unknown number of netizens, but the total could be as high as 430 million — the figure the tech giant itself touts as how many people use Microsoft 365 apps. Many of us were doing the same thing: Refresh, refresh, refresh. But what really happens when an essential workplace tool goes quiet and the silence is heard around the world?

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A widespread outage hit Microsoft platforms including Outlook on Thursday, with many users encountering trouble using their email accounts and other errors across the tech giant’s suite of apps. Nearly 130,000 users on outage tracker Downdetector reported problems accessing Outlook just after 1 p.m. ET. New reports have since fallen, but many have said they couldn’t send and receive emails, or had trouble loading their inboxes altogether. Thousands of others also reported issues with Microsoft’s workplace messaging app Teams, as well as its AI assistant Copilot and wider Microsoft 365 services. Microsoft acknowledged some issues customers were encountering on Thursday, and said it was investigating.

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FILE - In this May 1, 2019, file photo a man walks past a Google sign outside with a span of the Bay Bridge at rear in San Francisco. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)