Users around the world are reporting Microsoft Teams, the communications platform used by many businesses, has stopped working.
Faults have also been reported on email service Microsoft Outlook, as well as a number of other products owned by Microsoft.
In an update posted on Twitter, Microsoft said: “We’re investigating issues impacting multiple Microsoft 365 services. More info can be found in the admin center under MO502273.”
We’re investigating issues impacting multiple Microsoft 365 services. More info can be found in the admin center under MO502273.
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) January 25, 2023
Microsoft later added: “We’ve identified a potential networking issue and are reviewing telemetry to determine the next troubleshooting steps.”
We’re investigating issues impacting multiple Microsoft 365 services. More info can be found in the admin center under MO502273.
— Microsoft 365 Status (@MSFT365Status) January 25, 2023
Azure, Microsoft’s cloud unit, also reported problems, tweeting: “We are currently investigating a networking issue impacting connectivity to Azure for a subset of users. More information will be provided as it becomes available.”
According to website Down Detector, which monitors the performance of major online platforms, a flood of reports claiming Teams wasn’t working began to come in around 6:59 a.m. GMT (1:59 a.m. ET).
At 6:44 a.m. GMT the website hadn’t received a single new report of the service not working, but this surged to 219 at 7:12 a.m. GMT, followed by a high of 279 at 7:44 a.m. GMT.
In the Down Detector comment section users from all over the world discussed the problems they were having with Teams in their respective countries.
One user wrote: “MS Teams suddenly stops working. Manila.”
Another posted: “No screen sharing and chat, audio is sketchy – Poland.”
A third said: “Both Denmark and the Philippines have huge issues, we can attend meetings and talk, but not share screens, and hardly video.”
Microsoft Teams customers also took to social media to discuss what had happened to the service.
Paul Andrew, from Derby in the U.K., tweeted: “Anyone else having issues with Microsoft Teams, OneDrive and Outlook?”
Another user posted: “Microsoft Outlook, Teams services down in Sri Lanka and around the globe.”
Data scientist Harveen Singh Chadha posted: “#MicrosoftTeams is down and some of my colleagues thought they got laid off. Difficult Times!!”
Jeenah Moon/GETTY
Microsoft Teams was launched in 2017, as part of the Microsoft 365 batch of products, offering videoconferencing and chat functions aimed at workers. In this respect it has a similar function to rival product Slack, which was launched in 2013 by Slack Technologies.
In January 2022, Teams reported it had over 270 million monthly users, with more than 90 percent of Fortune 500 companies using the product.
This latest incident isn’t the only recent bad news for the company, with the global technology giant announcing 10,000 layoffs on January 5, comprising about five percent of its global workforce.
Other big tech companies including Amazon, Facebook and Alphabet, the Google parent company, have also announced big job losses over the past few months, suggesting a global trend of paring back and consolidation.
On January 11 Microsoft also announced a new ‘energy saving mode’ for its Xbox console, sparking a backlash from some conservatives who claimed the company had gone “woke.”
Microsoft has been contacted for comment.
