On Thursday, January 22, 2026, Microsoft reported a widespread service disruption impacting Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook, Teams, Exchange, and the Microsoft 365 Administration Center.
Throughout the afternoon, thousands of users across North America reported difficulties accessing email and collaboration tools. Microsoft acknowledged the issue and confirmed it was related to a portion of its service infrastructure that was not processing traffic as expected.
What Happened?
Microsoft stated that the outage stemmed from an internal service infrastructure issue that impacted traffic processing for Microsoft 365 services. Once the issue was identified, restoration efforts began.
While recovery is underway, some users may continue to experience intermittent access or reduced performance until systems fully stabilize.
Is This a Local Issue?
No. This disruption originates within Microsoft’s services and is not related to individual user devices or local network configurations. Local troubleshooting steps are unlikely to resolve the issue until Microsoft completes service restoration.
What Should Users Do?
No action is required at this time. Microsoft continues to monitor and restore affected services, and normal functionality should return automatically once recovery is complete.
Cloud-based platforms, even at enterprise scale, can occasionally experience service disruptions. Events like this highlight the importance of clear communication and preparedness when relying on third-party platforms.
We will continue to monitor updates from Microsoft and share relevant information as it becomes available.