Microsoft Outlook Is Down

Jake Peterson Jake Peterson Senior Technology Editor ExperienceJake Peterson is Lifehacker’s Tech Editor, and has been covering tech news and how-tos for nearly a decade. His team covers all things technology, including AI, smartphones, computers, game consoles, and subscriptions. Read Full Bio August 31, 2026 Add as a preferred source on Google Add as a preferred source on Google Credit: Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Key Takeaways Microsoft Outlook is down for many users as of Monday afternoon. Downdetector highlights tens of thousands of users reports suggesting issues with Outlook. In addition, other Microsoft services, including Microsoft 365, are also down. Table of Contents If you're trying to check your inbox or send an email in Microsoft Outlook, only to find the app uncooperative, you're not alone. Outlook is currently down for many users as of Monday afternoon. That's apparent to anyone who can't get the app to work: Downdetector, which highlights user reports for app outages, shows tens of thousands of reports as of 3:00 p.m. ET, and while the rate of reports does seem to be decreasing, thousands of reports keep coming in with every refresh. As CNET reports, Microsoft has officially confirmed the outage itself. The company posted on its Microsoft 365 Status X account, stating: “We’ve identified an issue with an authentication component which is contributing to impact. To address this, we’ve developed a remediation strategy, and we’re applying it to a portion of infrastructure to test its efficacy. Once we’ve confirmed this resolves impact, we’ll apply the solution more broadly. For more information, please see EX1464935 in the admin center.”As such, the company should be rolling out a fix in due time, though it's difficult to say how long that may be. Recent outages have been fixed in a matter of hours, while others have stretched into the following day. At the time of writing, Downdetector shows that 38% of users are reporting issues receiving messages in Outlook, while 24% report issues with the app, and 21% with logging in. As it happens, Outlook isn't the only Microsoft product facing issues: Users report that Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Store, Microsoft Azur and Microsoft 365 in general are experiencing issues. In addition, OpenAI users are reporting issues with ChatGPT. What do you think so far? Lifehacker has been a go-to source of tech help and life advice since 2005. Our mission is to offer reliable tech help and credible, practical, science-based life advice to help you live better. Our Mission Our Team Newsletter © 2001-2026 Ziff Davis, LLC., A ZIFF DAVIS COMPANY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Lifehacker is a federally registered trademark of Ziff Davis and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of Lifehacker. If you click an affiliate link and buy a product or service, we may be paid a fee by that merchant.