Breaking: Outlook Outage Hits Thousands of UK Users

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The Outlook outage has left thousands of people in Britain struggling to access Microsoft’s email service, with users reporting failed logins, blank inboxes and messages that refuse to send.

The disruption began shortly after 5.20pm on November 12, 2026. Reports rose rapidly, with Downdetector recording more than 3,300 UK complaints within around 20 minutes. The incident also appeared to affect Microsoft users in other parts of the world.

Urgent Outlook outage causes widespread email problems

People attempting to load Outlook were met with a “Failed to fetch” message. The error usually means a browser has sent a request to a server but has not received a response.

For some users, the Microsoft website opened but did not work properly. Inboxes appeared empty, while outgoing emails remained stuck or failed to send altogether. The problems appeared to affect several connection methods, meaning the disruption was not limited to one browser or device.

• Outlook users reported problems loading the service.
• Some inboxes appeared blank after login.
• Emails failed to send or remained pending.
• Users saw a “Failed to fetch” error.
• Microsoft Teams and Copilot were also affected for some people.

Microsoft warns outage may affect users in any region

Microsoft initially said the issue was affecting “mailboxes through multiple connection methods in the Americas”. However, the company later widened its warning.

An update posted by the Microsoft 365 Status account said the problem “may affect Microsoft 365 service connectivity for users in any region”. The company added that further information would be provided through the Microsoft 365 admin centre under incident reference EX1550543.

The update suggests the disruption could have a broader impact than the first reports indicated. Microsoft 365 includes Outlook, Teams and a range of workplace services used by businesses, schools and individuals around the world.

US reports climb as Teams and Copilot face issues

The outage was not confined to Britain. Downdetector figures showed that around 60,000 people in the United States were also experiencing problems with Outlook. Reports there began appearing earlier, at approximately 4pm.

Hundreds of users also reported trouble accessing Microsoft Teams, the company’s videoconferencing platform. Copilot, Microsoft’s artificial intelligence chatbot, was affected too, adding to concerns about a wider Microsoft 365 service interruption.

Outage trackers measure user-submitted reports rather than confirmed service failures, so the numbers can rise and fall quickly. Even so, the sharp increase in complaints suggested the issue was widespread rather than an isolated account or local connection problem.

What should Outlook users do now?

People affected by the outage can check Microsoft’s official service updates and try refreshing Outlook after a short wait. It may also help to test the service through another connection, such as mobile data, although the reported nature of this incident indicates that changing networks may not resolve the underlying problem.

Users should avoid repeatedly resending important emails, as messages may eventually be delivered after the service recovers. Anyone relying on Outlook for urgent work should consider another approved communication method until Microsoft confirms that normal service has returned.

There was no immediate indication in the available reports that the incident was caused by a cyberattack. The symptoms described were consistent with a service connectivity failure, but only Microsoft can confirm the technical cause.

Frequently asked questions about the Outlook outage

Is Outlook down in the UK?

Thousands of UK users reported problems accessing Outlook on November 12, 2026. Reports included loading failures, blank inboxes and emails that would not send.

What does “Failed to fetch” mean on Outlook?

It generally means the browser or app sent a request to Microsoft’s server but did not receive a response. During an outage, this can appear even when a user’s internet connection is working normally.

Are Microsoft Teams and Copilot affected?

Hundreds of users reported issues with Microsoft Teams and Copilot during the wider Microsoft 365 disruption. The exact impact varied between users and regions.

When will Outlook be working again?

Microsoft had not provided a confirmed restoration time in the available update. Users should monitor Microsoft 365 service communications for the latest information.