Summary
- Microsoft restored Outlook, Teams and Microsoft 365 on November 14.
- The global outage lasted more than a day.
- Some business users may be eligible for SLA service credits.
- Claims are not automatic.
Microsoft has restored Outlook, Teams and Microsoft 365 services following the major global outage that began on November 12, 2026, while some business subscribers may qualify for service credits for the disruption.
On Saturday, November 14, the company said service had been restored for the remaining affected customers and regions. The disruption lasted more than 24 hours, interrupting email access, business accounts and collaboration tools.
What caused the outage
Microsoft attributed the incident to a technical problem introduced by an earlier network-capacity upgrade and triggered after a subsequent network change. It said the incident was unrelated to cyberattacks or AI systems.
Services were restored in stages to check stability. Engineers also addressed Exchange Online server problems and delayed email delivery. The earlier global Microsoft 365 outage had affected users across multiple countries and disrupted essential business operations.
Who may qualify for service credits
For commercial Microsoft 365 subscriptions and services such as Exchange Online, credit eligibility depends on the applicable Service Level Agreement (SLA), measured availability and specific product. This is not a universal refund for all Outlook users, and credits are not automatic.
Applicable credits are calculated as a percentage of the monthly fee for the affected service according to the relevant contract. Microsoft provides its official terms on the Service Level Agreements for Online Services page. Personal and family plans are not necessarily covered by the same uptime commitments.
How to submit a claim
An organisation’s administrator should document affected users and services, the period of downtime, error messages and any official incident notices. They can then contact support through the Microsoft 365 Admin Center to request an SLA eligibility review.
Claims must be filed within the deadline specified in the applicable agreement. The existence of a global outage alone does not establish an individual credit amount: this depends on the service, measured impact and review of the claim.
What we think
For photographers and filmmakers running projects through email, calendars and shared files, losing access to these tools is more than a minor inconvenience. It can disrupt client communications, deliveries and coordination on a shoot day.
Service credits are appropriate, but a modest subscription reduction is not the same as recovering a lost workday. A reliable fallback communication channel, offline copies of critical files and an agreed way to reach the team when the cloud fails are worth having before the next incident.
Frequently asked questions
Will every Outlook user receive compensation?
No. Business credits depend on the applicable SLA and a documented claim. Personal plans are governed by different terms.
Is the credit applied automatically?
No. An affected business customer or administrator must request a review through support.
