Is Outlook Down? How to Check Microsoft 365 Status and Fix Outlook Not Working

Is Outlook down, or is the problem only on your side? You can usually tell in under a minute: open Microsoft’s official service status page, then try Outlook in a web browser. If the status page shows an incident, the fix is on Microsoft’s side and you can only wait; if it shows everything healthy and the web version works, the problem is your app, your account or your device, and the steps below will fix it.

This guide was prompted by the November 2026 Microsoft 365 outage, when many people could not reach Outlook, Teams and other Microsoft services for hours. Outages like that come back every few months, so it is worth knowing the checks before the next one.

Quick answer: Check Microsoft’s service status page (external site) (and the Service health page in the admin center if you run a work account). If Microsoft reports a problem, wait and use your phone or another channel for urgent messages. If Microsoft shows no problem, open Outlook in a browser: if that works, restart or repair the Outlook app; if the web version also fails, sign out, clear your browser data, try another browser and check your internet connection.

Step 1: Is Outlook down for everyone or just you?

Run these checks in order. Most people have their answer after the first two.

Check Microsoft’s service status page

Microsoft’s public status page lists known problems with Microsoft 365 services, including Outlook.com and Outlook for work accounts. Microsoft’s own Outlook.com help pages send you there first when you can’t get into your mailbox. It is the best place to start because it works even when you can’t sign in to your account.

• A green or “everything is up and running” message means Microsoft is not aware of a wide problem.
• An incident message means Microsoft has confirmed an issue. Read which services are affected (Outlook, Exchange Online, Teams) and check back for updates.

Work or school account? Check Service health

Businesses and schools see a more detailed view. An administrator can sign in to the Microsoft 365 admin center (external site) and go to Health > Service health to see current incidents and advisories for that organisation. If you are not an admin, ask your IT team: they can tell you whether there is a known incident before you spend time troubleshooting.

Follow Microsoft’s status account on X

During larger incidents Microsoft posts updates on its @MSFT365Status (external site) account on X. This is often where the first acknowledgement and the “we’ve rolled out a fix” message appear.

Look at outage reports from other users

Sites such as Downdetector (external site) collect reports from users. A sudden spike in reports, many people in your city or country saying the same thing, or colleagues all hitting the same error is a strong sign of a wider problem, even before Microsoft confirms it. Treat these sites as a hint, not an official answer.

Try Outlook on the web

Open Outlook in a browser: outlook.live.com for personal Outlook.com and Hotmail accounts, or outlook.office.com for work and school accounts. This one test tells you a lot:

Step 2: What to do while Outlook is down

When the outage is on Microsoft’s side, nothing you change on your computer will bring Outlook back sooner. Reinstalling Outlook, deleting your profile or changing your password during an outage can create new problems once the service returns. Instead:

• Don’t delete and re-add your account while Microsoft reports an incident. Wait for the all-clear first.
• Keep the desktop app open. Classic Outlook keeps a local copy of recent mail, so you can often still read and search messages you already downloaded, and new emails you write wait in the Outbox until the service is back.
• Use another channel for urgent messages: a phone call, SMS or a different messaging app. If Teams is down too, agree on a backup channel with your team in advance.
• Re-send anything time-sensitive after the outage. Mail sent during an outage may be delayed, so check your Sent and Outbox folders once things recover.
• Watch out for scams. Outages are a favourite moment for fake “verify your Outlook account” emails and texts. Microsoft does not ask you to sign in through a link in a message to restore your mailbox, so go to Outlook directly.

Step 3: How to fix Outlook not working when it’s only you

If the status page is clear and other people’s Outlook works, start with the quick fixes and move down the list.

1. Restart Outlook and your device

Close Outlook completely, then open it again. On Windows, if the new Outlook app seems frozen, right-click Start, open Task Manager, select Microsoft Outlook and choose End task before reopening it. Restarting the whole computer or phone also clears stuck network connections.

2. Check your internet connection and Work Offline

Open any other website to confirm you are online. In classic Outlook for Windows, look at the status bar at the bottom: if it says Working Offline or Disconnected, go to the Send / Receive tab and click Work Offline to turn it off. A VPN or a strict office network can also block Outlook, so try once with the VPN off or on another network (for example, your phone’s hotspot).

3. Fix Outlook on the web (browser problems)

Microsoft’s own Outlook.com troubleshooting advice covers most browser issues:

• Sign out, close every browser window, then sign in again.
• Clear your browser cache and cookies.
• Try a different browser, such as Microsoft Edge, Chrome or Firefox.
• Turn off ad blockers and other extensions for Outlook, then refresh the page.
• If your mailbox says it is full, delete emails with large attachments, then sign out and back in so the storage figure refreshes.

You can read the full list on Microsoft’s fixes and workarounds for Outlook.com (external site) page, which also lists issues Microsoft is currently working on.

4. Start classic Outlook in Safe Mode

A faulty add-in is one of the most common reasons classic Outlook for Windows won’t open or keeps freezing. Safe Mode starts Outlook without add-ins:

1. Press Windows key + R to open Run.
2. Type Outlook /safe and click OK.
3. Choose your usual profile and click OK.

If Outlook works in Safe Mode, an add-in is the likely cause. Go to File > Options > Add-ins, make sure Manage shows COM Add-ins, click Go, untick the add-ins (don’t click Remove), then restart Outlook normally and turn them back on one at a time to find the culprit.

5. Repair your profile or data file

If Outlook still won’t start even in Safe Mode, your Outlook profile or mail data file may be damaged. Microsoft’s options are to repair the data file with the Inbox Repair Tool (scanpst.exe), reset the navigation pane by running Outlook.exe /resetnavpane from the Run box, or create a new Outlook profile and choose it when Outlook starts. If a new profile works, the old one was the problem. Back up first: removing a profile deletes the offline copy of your mail stored on that computer (the mail on the server is not affected for Microsoft 365 and Outlook.com accounts).

If your whole Windows user account is acting up, not just Outlook, see our guide to fixing a corrupted Windows user profile.

6. Repair or update Office

Install pending updates first: in classic Outlook go to File > Office Account > Update Options > Update Now, and run Windows Update. If Outlook still crashes, repair Office from Settings > Apps > Installed apps: find Microsoft 365 (or Microsoft Office), choose Modify, and run Quick Repair. If that doesn’t help, run Online Repair, which reinstalls Office and takes longer.

7. New Outlook for Windows problems

The new Outlook for Windows is a separate app. If it misbehaves, end it in Task Manager and reopen it. If that fails, uninstall it from the Start menu (right-click it and choose Uninstall) and reinstall it from the Microsoft Store; your mail lives on the server, so it comes back after you sign in. You can also switch back to classic Outlook for a while if your version still offers it.

8. Fix the Outlook app on iPhone and Android

1. Force close the Outlook app from the app switcher and open it again.
2. If mail still doesn’t sync, open Outlook, go to Settings, tap the email account that has the problem and tap Reset Account. This clears the app’s local copy and downloads your mail again.
3. Update the app from the App Store or Google Play.
4. If you use the built-in iPhone Mail app with an Outlook account and keep getting sign-in prompts, Microsoft suggests using the Outlook app instead.

9. Sign-in and password problems

If Outlook keeps asking for your password or says it can’t sign in, first confirm the password works on the web. If you recently changed it, sign out of every Outlook app and sign in again with the new one. Check your authenticator app or phone for a pending sign-in request. If you can’t sign in anywhere and Microsoft shows no outage, use Microsoft’s account recovery from the sign-in page. Never use a “recovery” link from an email or text you didn’t ask for.

10. Email not arriving but Outlook works

If Outlook opens fine but a message never arrives, check the Junk Email folder, the Other tab if Focused Inbox is on, and any rules that move mail automatically. Ask the sender to check for a bounce message. For a personal Outlook.com account, also check that your mailbox is not full.

How to be ready for the next Outlook outage

• Bookmark the status page so you can check it in seconds.
• Install the Outlook phone app as well as the desktop app. Different apps sometimes fail differently, and the web version often recovers first.
• Keep a backup contact channel with your team, family or clients.
• Keep important attachments in OneDrive or on your device, not only in your inbox.
• Keep Office and your phone apps updated, so a fixed bug doesn’t keep hitting you.

Setting up a free personal mailbox? Our guide on how to create an Outlook.com email account walks through it. And if Copilot buttons in Outlook are getting in your way, see how to turn off Copilot in Windows, Edge and Office.

FAQ

How do I know if Outlook is down right now?

Check Microsoft’s service status page and the @MSFT365Status account on X. If they report an incident, Outlook is down for many users. If they don’t, try Outlook on the web; if the web works, the problem is with your app or device.

Why is Outlook down but Teams is working (or the other way round)?

Outlook mail runs on Exchange Online, which is a separate service from Teams. An incident can hit one service and not the other, so the status page lists each service on its own.

How long do Outlook outages last?

Most are fixed within minutes to a few hours, but some larger incidents have lasted most of a day. Microsoft posts estimated recovery updates on its status page and X account; there is no fixed time.

Will I lose emails during an Outlook outage?

Usually not. Mail sent to you during an outage is normally delayed and delivered once the service recovers. Check your Outbox for messages you wrote during the outage and re-send anything urgent.

Why does Outlook work on my phone but not on my computer?

That points to a problem with the desktop app, not the service. Restart Outlook, check Work Offline, try Safe Mode to rule out add-ins, and repair Office if needed.

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