Microsoft outage: Outlook.com and OneDrive affected, and what to keep offline at home
Microsoft's status page says the outage affects Outlook.com, OneDrive, OneNote, To Do, Teams and Microsoft 365 for the web, with no time for a fix. What it means at home, and the short list worth keeping outside the cloud.
Microsoft's own status page confirms an outage that reaches home users, not just businesses. At 07:00 UK time on Friday 13 November, its consumer notice said: "This issue impacts Outlook.com, OneDrive, OneNote, Microsoft To Do, Teams, and Microsoft 365 for the web." Its business notice says people may be unable to reach their work mailboxes and that email delivery may be delayed, and adds: "As of now, we are not aware of any malicious activity that is causing this incident." Microsoft has given no time for a fix. The headline line that it is prioritising "life, safety and government services" is not in the Microsoft status notices we read. At home, the government's Be Ready advice already covers this: keep a paper copy of important phone numbers, a small amount of cash and printed copies of key documents, and back up photos and files. Microsoft's notices are about reaching services, not lost data.
By Tom Calder · Updated 13 November 2026 · Sourced to Microsoft's own service status page (its consumer Microsoft 365 notice, its admin centre notice for business services and its Azure status), read at 07:00 UK time on 13 November 2026, and to the government's Be Ready campaign pages on phone and broadband outages, emergency preparation and cyber security, read the same morning
What Microsoft's status page says
Microsoft publishes the state of its services at status.cloud.microsoft. At 07:00 UK time on 13 November, the notice for its consumer services, last updated at 06:24, was headed "Users may be unable to access or perform several actions in Microsoft 365 services" and marked "Service degradation". It said: "This issue impacts Outlook.com, OneDrive, OneNote, Microsoft To Do, Teams, and Microsoft 365 for the web although you may also see issues in other Microsoft 365 services."
On the work in progress, it said: "We're pursuing multiple workstreams to pinpoint the source of the issue and ensure the recovery of the affected environment." It gave no time for a fix. Its next update was due by 8:30am UK time. The same page showed "Operational" against each consumer service's own line at that moment, so the incident notice is the part to read.
Work email and Teams
A separate notice for business services, headed "Users may be unable to connect to multiple Microsoft 365 services", says people "may be unable to access their mailbox" in Outlook on the web and the Outlook desktop app, and "email delivery may be delayed." It lists 20 affected business services, from Exchange Online to Windows 365. Its 06:57 update said: "At this point, we have observed marginal success."
For Teams at work, it says "most of the core functionality including joining calls, meetings, group chats, and channel messages are not impacted", but calendar scheduling, invites and edits that depend on its Exchange Online email service are failing. On the cause, it says: "As of now, we are not aware of any malicious activity that is causing this incident." Microsoft says it will publish a post-incident report once the issue is mitigated. Its Azure cloud status said: "No Azure issues detected at this time."
What the headlines say, and what Microsoft says
Some headlines say Microsoft is "prioritising life, safety and government services". That phrase is not in either Microsoft status notice we read on Friday morning, and we could not trace it to a Microsoft statement. Microsoft's own notices describe the services affected and the repair work, not an order of priority.
Microsoft's notices also don't give a count of affected users or countries. The consumer notice names no country or region, and it doesn't single out the UK.
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What it means at home
If you use Outlook.com for email, or keep photos and documents in OneDrive, you may not be able to open them while the outage lasts. Microsoft's notices are about reaching services; they don't say any data has been lost. The business notice says email delivery may be delayed; the consumer notice doesn't say either way for Outlook.com.
The practical problem is anything you only have in that account: a booking confirmation, a boarding pass, a code you were waiting for, or the phone number of someone you only ever email. To check progress, go to Microsoft's status page directly rather than following links in messages that claim to be about the outage.
The short list to keep outside the cloud
The government's Be Ready campaign has a page on phone and broadband outages, and its advice fits a cloud outage too. It says: "Keep a paper copy of important phone numbers (family, neighbours, doctor, utilities) and other essential information you may need." It also says: "Keep a small amount of cash for essential purchases if mobile payment apps are disrupted." Our guide to paying when the card machine is down covers the cash side.
Its emergency preparation page adds: "Have printed copies of important documents such as passports, birth certificates, insurance policy details and instructions for any medical equipment you rely on." Its cyber security page says: "Know where your data lives – it could be on the device itself or in the cloud," and "Back up important data (including photos and files)." For wider disruption, it recommends a battery or wind-up radio; our guide to an emergency radio explains what to look for, and our emergency kit list has the rest.
Common questions
Is there a Microsoft outage today?
Yes. At 07:00 UK time on 13 November, Microsoft's status page showed a service degradation affecting Outlook.com, OneDrive, OneNote, Microsoft To Do, Teams and Microsoft 365 for the web, with a separate notice for business email. It gave no time for a fix.
Is Outlook down for home users or just businesses?
Both. Microsoft's consumer notice names Outlook.com, and its business notice says people may be unable to reach their work mailboxes and that email delivery may be delayed.
Was the Microsoft outage a cyber attack?
Microsoft's business notice says: "As of now, we are not aware of any malicious activity that is causing this incident." It says it will publish a post-incident report on the cause once the issue is mitigated.
Have I lost my emails or OneDrive files?
Microsoft's notices describe problems reaching services, not lost data. They don't say anything has been deleted. Microsoft hasn't said when access will return.
What should I keep offline in case of an outage?
The government's Be Ready advice is a paper copy of important phone numbers, a small amount of cash, printed copies of key documents such as passports and insurance details, a backup of photos and files, and a battery or wind-up radio.
Sources (4)
- Microsoft, Microsoft 365 Service health status: consumer notice and admin centre notice (updated 06:24 and 06:57 UTC, 13 November 2026), read 07:00 UK time, 13 November 2026
- UK Government, Be Ready: phone and broadband outages, read 13 November 2026
- UK Government, Be Ready for emergencies, read 13 November 2026
- UK Government, Be Ready: cyber, read 13 November 2026
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