NEW YORK, June 16, 2025 – Hundreds of Microsoft 365 users are grappling with frustrating technical difficulties affecting Outlook and Teams, leaving many unable to access critical features.
Microsoft 365 users are experiencing widespread outages, primarily impacting Outlook and Teams, causing widespread frustration.
- Outlook and teams are experiencing significant issues.
- Complaints spiked before 7 p.m. EST with over 1,400 reports.
- Microsoft is aware of the problems and working on a fix.
Are you experiencing issues with microsoft 365? A surge of reports flooded the internet, revealing that many users were unable to use popular applications like Outlook and Teams.
User Frustration Mounts
Users took to social media, sharing their exasperation with the ongoing problems. One user shared a video of a blank screen while using the email app on an Android device.
Another user vented, “OMFG I hate Microsoft Word!!!! Has it always sucked this bad?” one person reported a memory leak in Outlook, consuming up to 5GB of RAM before being shut down.
Did you know? microsoft 365 is used by over two million companies worldwide,with over a million business customers in the US.
Digging into the Details
Tracking from Downdetector showed complaints about Microsoft 365 spiked just before 7 p.m. EST, with over 1,400 reports. Outlook was the primary focus of 60 percent of these complaints, while 26 percent concerned Exchange, and 14 percent related to the website in general.
Microsoft acknowledged the outages,releasing a service status update that stated,”We’re having issues,but we’re working on it.”
Hundreds of Microsoft 365 users have expressed frustration and confusion with unexplained issues with Outlook and Teams
Reader question: Have you experienced similar outages with other software services? What steps did you take to mitigate the impact on your workflow?
Microsoft’s Response and Planned Fix
The software giant specifically noted that Teams was down. Microsoft stated users “may experience intermittent crashes of the Microsoft Teams desktop app.”
They continued with an update: “We’ve initiated the deployment of the new build version containing our fix, and anticipate it will complete by our next scheduled update on Wednesday, June 18, 2025, at 6:00 PM UTC, remediating impact for all users.”
Microsoft 365 has addressed the outages, sharing a service status update reading: ‘We’re having issues, but we’re working on it’
Did you know? Microsoft typically releases updates for Microsoft 365 on tuesdays. This outage occurred outside of the normal update schedule, suggesting an unexpected issue.
Shortly after announcing the problems with Teams, the firm also indicated issues with Microsoft 365.
“Users may experience degraded functionality for some Microsoft 365 apps,” the notice reads. “We’ve confirmed that all services are recovering following our mitigative actions. We’re continuing to monitor recovery and in parallel confirm details regarding the impacting update.”
One user shared a glitch they are experiencing with their Outlook account
The company announced that Outlook “is up and running,” despite complaints.
Possible Workaround
On Friday, the Microsoft 365 team published a possible ‘workaround’ to Outlook crashes.
On Friday, the Microsoft 365 team published a possible ‘workaround’ to Outlook crashes
This online document was updated on Monday morning, before the internet was swarmed with Outlook-related complaints.
“When you open or start a new email, classic Outlook crashes.This issue occurs because Outlook cannot open the Forms Library,” the company wrote.
The software giant specifically noted that Teams is down, marking a red ‘x’ to indicate its current status
“This issue can occur for Outlook on all Microsoft 365 Office channels. The emerging cases for this issue are on virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI). “This issue has been escalated for investigation. We will update this topic when we know more.”
The support team suggested creating a FORMS2 folder as a potential fix,listing out step-by-step instructions.
What Caused the Microsoft 365 Outage?
While Microsoft has not officially released a comprehensive explanation for the widespread Microsoft 365 outage, the company’s communication suggests a recent update may be the root cause.
The outage coincided with the deployment of a new build, indicating that a problem within the update itself may have triggered the issues. The precise nature of the bug remains unclear.However,it seems to have affected multiple applications within the microsoft 365 suite.
The out-of-schedule nature of the fix also implies the issue was not anticipated.this suggests that the problems may have stemmed from a conflict with existing software, hardware, or a previously unknown code defect. Further investigation is highly likely underway to pinpoint the exact cause.
Timeline of Events
- June 16, 2025: Initial reports of outlook and Teams issues emerge.
- Before 7 p.m. EST: Complaints peak on Downdetector, with over 1,400 reports.
- June 17, 2025: Microsoft acknowledges problems and releases a service status update.
- June 18, 2025, 6:00 PM UTC: Scheduled completion of the fix.
Mitigating the Impact of Microsoft 365 Outages
Dealing with application outages can be frustrating. There are steps users can take to minimize disruption.
Users can try a mix of short and long-term strategies to minimize disruption during a Microsoft 365 outage.
- Check the Service Status: Before troubleshooting, check the official Microsoft Service Health dashboard for any known issues. This will confirm if the problem is widespread.
- Option Access Methods: Try using the web version of the affected applications (e.g., Outlook on the web) if the desktop app is down.
- Cache and Data Clearing: Clearing the cache and temporary files associated with the affected apps can sometiems resolve minor glitches.
- Restart the Computer: Restarting your computer can resolve issues caused by temporary software conflicts.
- Contact Support: Contacting Microsoft support can definitely help report issues or gain insights.
- Consider Alternatives: If the outage persists, consider using alternative communication tools.
Reader Questions Answered
Here are some common questions about the recent Microsoft 365 outage.
What should I do if Outlook keeps crashing? Microsoft has a workaround available including creating a FORMS2 folder, as listed in the document. You may also try to use Outlook on the web until the desktop app is fixed.
Why did this outage happen outside of the Tuesday update schedule? This indicates an unplanned issue. Microsoft likely released a new build to address a critical problem, or discovered the issue after Tuesday’s usual update.
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