Overview of the Outage
On September 12, 2024, Microsoft confirmed that its cloud-based productivity software suite, which includes popular applications like Word, Excel, and Teams, has successfully recovered from a significant outage that affected thousands of users. The company announced that connectivity issues with its services have been resolved.
Cause of the Disruption
The outage was linked to changes made by a third-party internet service provider (ISP) within a “managed environment,” which disrupted access to Microsoft services. Recovery began once the ISP reverted the problematic change, allowing Microsoft to restore service connectivity.
Recent History of Service Issues
This incident follows a previous disruption caused by a faulty software update from cybersecurity provider CrowdStrike, which impacted nearly 8.5 million Windows devices and disrupted operations across various sectors, including airlines, banking, and healthcare.
Impact on Users
Reports indicate that the outage affected multiple Microsoft services, including Azure, Teams, Xbox, Bing, and the Microsoft Store. Downdetector, a platform that tracks service disruptions, received over 90,000 user reports in the United States. Incident reports for Microsoft 365 peaked at more than 23,000 earlier in the day but decreased to around 800 by 10:28 AM ET.
Response from AT&T
AT&T, a major network provider, acknowledged experiencing a brief disruption in connecting to Microsoft services. However, the company confirmed that the issue has been resolved, and normal service has resumed.