Outlook was hit by a widespread outage on 12 November 2026, according to reports from TechCrunch and 9to5Mac. If your email stopped working that day, the problem may be on Microsoft's side, not your computer or phone.
This is a short article on purpose. Our research for it could not read Microsoft's own incident notes or the full news coverage. Below, we separate the little that is confirmed from the larger set of things that are not.
Two outlets reported an Outlook outage on 12 November
TechCrunch's report is headlined as Microsoft's Outlook email being hit by a new outage. 9to5Mac described Microsoft Outlook as experiencing a widespread outage. Both stories are dated 12 November 2026.
That is as far as this article can go with confidence.
Not yet confirmed: fix time, workarounds and links to earlier problems
These questions matter, and this article cannot answer them:
- When it will be fixed. No confirmed resolution time.
- Whether there is a workaround. We have not seen Microsoft recommend switching to the web version or the mobile app. Do not assume one works until Microsoft says so.
- Whether this is a second incident. TechCrunch calls it a "new" outage. It is not confirmed whether this is linked to an earlier Microsoft 365 problem or is a separate event.
Details that would settle the open questions
Microsoft's own account is the one to trust over any news report, because it comes from the company running the service. The useful details to look for in Microsoft's updates are:
- The incident ID Microsoft assigns to the problem.
- The time Microsoft says the outage started.
- Which services Microsoft lists as affected, beyond Outlook email.
- Microsoft's statement on the root cause.
- Any workaround Microsoft publishes.
Once Microsoft posts those, compare them with the news coverage. If the two disagree, go with Microsoft's version.
What to watch next
Watch for further updates from Microsoft and in the TechCrunch and 9to5Mac coverage. The open question is whether TechCrunch's "new outage" is a repeat of an earlier Microsoft 365 problem or something separate.
